Gibson’s early works, and those of his many lesser imitators, would herald the hacker as the rebellious hero of the future; a trope that would immeasurably shape everything from political activism to venture capitalism in the decades to follow. Perhaps the stereotypical image of the hacker as lone digital warrior, skulking over keyboards in screen-glare lit rooms seems very far removed from the image of the spray can welding, shadow dwelling, trespassing graffiti writer, but the two subcultures share a startlingly similar set of goals, values, and approaches: both look to subvert existing infrastructures and systems, both value one-upmanship and bragging rights, and neither can resist the illegal thrill of breaking-and-entering — whether physical or virtual — even when the risk of being caught may well lead to ruthless, draconian punishment. Both graffiti artists and hackers share an aesthetic obsession with the future — something apparent in the work of artist Leonard McGurr, better known as FUTURA 2000. His career started in 1970 alongside his best friend Marc Edmunds (AKA ALI), but it was cut short when an explosion caused by spray cans coming into contact with a live subway third rail left Edmunds with severe burns. It was enough to make FUTURA abandon art for a few years and do a stint in the navy — however, his return to NYC in 1979 heralded a dramatic comeback, marked by his — then groundbreaking — decision to reject the focus on words and artist names in favour of pure abstraction.

“I was like ‘you know what? Forget the name.’” he explains, “It was about understanding that [there was more than] hitting a wall and the gratification of seeing my name, that was all it was about, the initial thrill of like ‘oh shit, look at my name!’… I didn’t know what I was talking about, but in a sense my career is somewhat prophetic in that I’m Futura, along with that I gotta be a certain way, my work has to look a certain way, it’s gotta be futuristic, it’s gotta be new, it can’t be some bullshit or something… My big breakthrough was 1980, when I painted a train… a whole car with no lettering, just colors. And that was really how I, you know, sort of understood who I was going to be in this game. I gotta do different shit. And to this day I think I’m still kind of that guy.”