NOGA, or Nation of Graffiti Artists was the utopian vision of Jack
Pelsinger, who begged the city for a studio where kids of all talent
levels could further their interests in the arts. The 1970s were a time
in New York's history where a request like this could be accommodated,
the city leased the group a run-down storefront for $1 dollar a month in
1974. Like moths drawn to a light, the kids showed up, hundreds of them.
A ragtag bunch of teenagers helped him clear garbage from the space and
build it out (while covering it in tags and pieces, of course). For some
of them, it was the first time holding a brush or spray can. Some had
painted a few trains before, and soon some of the biggest names of the
era became regulars (SCORPIO, BLOOD TEA, ALI, STAN 153, SAL 161and CLIFF
159).