People walk in front of New York's graffiti iconic spot '5Pointz' as it stands defaced with white paint covering most of the art work, after the building was painted white in New York, November 19, 2013.
While subway cars in New York have been tag-free for years, the carefully curated spray paintings on the facades of the 5 Pointz warehouse in Queens came to serve as a shrine for the bygone street scene that originated the movement. Now you could say that the culture has come full-circle, as the iconic murals were obliterated by a thick layer of white paint overnight, it was the graffiti artists who were claiming to have been vandalized.
At the scene, it wasn’t just the artists expressing their emotions.
Throughout the day, admirers have posted their condolences over Twitter.
For those who feel they need further edification into the history of graffiti, here is a timeline.
And those who merely want to reminisce on the good old days, here’s a classic.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETRa_tx9c2w&w=420&h=315]