The subway artists then and now, a new book by henry chalfant and sacha jenkins, presents the firstperson accounts of 12 infamous. Fernando miteff, 60, graffiti artist with a generous spirit. Opened in 1904, the new york city subway is one of the worlds oldest public transit systems, one of the mostused, and the one with the most stations. A beautiful book and a great read from start to finish. Modern graffiti began in philadelphia, in the 1960s. The surprising history of graffiti on nyc subways cars and. Dondi was one of a kind both artistically and personally. The new york city subway is a rapid transit system owned by the city of new york and leased to the new york city transit authority, a subsidiary agency of the staterun metropolitan transportation authority mta. It is even contended that it forms a subculture within a subculture, as many graffiti creatives operate exclusively as train graffiti authors. Feb 05, 2017 gregory locke was enjoying his saturday night after dinner with friends in manhattan when he boarded the no. Throughout america, and the world, it had a reputation for being a crimeriddled, dirty metropolis. New yorkers unite to scrub hateful graffiti from subway cnn.
Major graffiti incidents in the subway are extremely rare today thanks to strong deterrence measures by both the new york city transit. The new york city subway system, love it or hate it, is a staple of the citys culture, and has been for more than a century. Trains street art nyc from the streets of new york. A rare look at the graffiticovered history of nycs subway. In new introductions, authors martha cooper and henry chalfant recall how they gained entry into the new york city graffiti community in the 1970s and 1980s. The streets of manhattan were known as dark and dangerous. I worked as an executive for the mta in the mid 1980s and am going to disagree with the broken windows theory, and say improved subway car technology and storage yard security made the difference. New york graffiti artist, vulcan, remarked that one of the. Henry chalfants big subway archive the new york times. Dsel, i remember the first time i seen this piece it rolled through the chambers street station, passed in the express train center. For anyone who rides the new york city subway today, the images paint a.
Jan 26, 2018 the new york city subway has the worst ontime performance of any major rapid transit system in the world. The subway system in the 1970s80s history of new york city. Learn the history of graffiti and how it has evolved from an irritation into an appreciated artform. Bruce davidsons subway photography takes us to new yorks. Rosy founded books on the subway in nyc in 20, after learning about books on the underground in london. From underground to gallery spaces, graffiti grow into respectable practice, while train graffiti still impossible to capture, preserve, or sell remain the unique expression of this art form born out of rebellion and discontent. First off, let me just say, i like the old nyc graffiti on subway trains. Since the era of the new york subway graffiti ended in 1980s, the freight train graffiti movement became the widespread part of the graffiti subculture. He is one of the graffiti artists who helped jumpstart the freight train graffiti movement and is often credited as the inventor of numerous graffiti styles still widely used today. Sep 03, 2010 two early photographers and writers of the subway graffiti scene have great books on the topic jack stewart graffiti kings. Gregory locke was enjoying his saturday night after dinner with friends in manhattan when he boarded the no. Subway graffiti in new york, an informative and evenhanded book published in 1982 by m. The photographers classic book subway is an extraordinarily visceral record of the city in the 1980s and provides a revealing contrast to walker evanss earlier underground images. This is an informative, nostalgic look at new york subway graffiti.
Another great part was the description of the whole train by lee and the fabulous 5. Collection of real new york city subway graffiti dont forget the good old times and roots. Getting up is the term used by graffiti artists to describe their success in making their mark on the new york subway system. Jan 19, 2016 it was the summer of 1977, and i had decided to find a way to take pictures of graffiti on new yorks subways. Through candid interviews, new yorker craig castleman documents the inside story of the lives and activities of these young graffitists. For city officials, train graffiti was a sign that they had lost control. New york graffiti nyc graffiti trains and subway with old. He gained reputation for the massive whole car murals he. This book is more of a collection of a train enthusiasts photos instead of a graffiti enthusiasts. In 1974, norman mailer published an essay, the faith of graffiti, that explores the question of graffiti as art and includes interviews from early subway train graffitists, and then new york city mayor, john lindsey. Explains the terminology and colloquialisms of the young people involved in this movement, discusses the legal ramifications of writing graffiti and explores organizations dedicated to graffiti artists.
Nov 23, 2018 the new york city subway system, love it or hate it, is a staple of the citys culture, and has been for more than a century. Video shows mta subway train fully covered in graffiti. He brought graffiti back to the new york city subway. Fernando miteff, 60, graffiti artist with a generous. This is the story of how it ended up in a state of emergency. The subway artists then and now, a new book by henry chalfant and sacha jenkins, presents the firstperson accounts of 12 infamous graffiti writers of the 1970s.
A typical new york city subway train consists of 8 to 11 cars, although shuttles can have as few as two, and the train can range from 150 to 600 feet 46 to 183 m in length. The book is the definitive history collection of this vibrant art form. Nov 14, 2009 new york subway 1976, 1984, 1990 graffiti and all, complete version part silent movie duration. Book collects glimpses of nyc underground, hidden graffiti posted on june 23, 2014 by metro some explorers and artists say they are drawn to the silence underground. One day as i rode up to the bronx on the 2 train, between the prospect avenue. Originating in the new york city subway and spreading beyond it, graffiti is among the most common forms of vandalism committed today. She moved from lebanon in 2012 and has always been an avid reader and book enthusiast. Photographs from harlem, south bronx, times square and coney island.
Graffiti unlimited bombing of subway train in new york. Angel duster nyc graffiti legend in the winter of 1982 i was hanging out at a youth center on the border of corona. It was the summer of 1977, and i had decided to find a way to take pictures of graffiti on new yorks subways. For anyone who rides the new york city subway today, the images paint a whole different. Posted by admin on dec 30, 20 in art talk, sidebar. These days, the jampacked subways are filled people glued to their.
It got so bad that in 1983, the dullards at the mta painted hundreds of subway cars white practically begging the graffiti vandals to bomb and tag away. The photographers descent into the citys famed transit system followed a period of broader exploration in new york. Pictured above is photographerarts educator rachel fawn alban snapping graff pioneer dr revolt, an original member of the historic nyc subway graffiti crew the rolling thunder. The new york city subway system only added to the citys darkness. If you commuted in the early 90s, you probably remember staring out the train cars windows at garishly colored art that flashed by like a zoetrope.
The new york city subway opened for business on october 27, 1904 and since then it has become more than a way to get around, but a place in which the city lives, standing clear of the closing doors, in chunks of a halfhour at a time or longer, depending on delays. May 23, 2017 in 1984, the new york city transit authority implemented a fiveyear program with the aim of getting rid of the graffiti all together. Increased security in the subway also kept the problem from. There is no mystery, especially to the graffiti writers, that mass culture is eating this stuff by the pound. The subway artists then and now is a new book by henry chalfant and sacha jenkins capturing the early graffiti artists stories and artwork. Chalfant went on to amass an archive of new york city subway graffiti that is rivaled only by that of martha cooper, a noted shooter in her own right and his collaborator on the seminal volume subway art. Tod lange, artist and subway archivist, presents more than 150 images of his favorite train lines, graffiti painted cars, stations, subway yards, and work equipment that defined one of new yorks bygone eras.
Freight train graffiti by roger gastman, darin rowland, ian sattler article by darin rowland bus take 5 books on graffiti and graffiti writers are no new thing. The era is richly illustrated with over 235 rare, neverbeforepublished photographs accompanied by personal accounts from the writers talking about their art and recalling their wild antics. In 1984, the new york city transit authority implemented a fiveyear program with the aim of getting rid of the graffiti all together. New book documents the birth of new yorks subway graffiti. Graffiti in new york city has had a substantial role in the rise of property crimes at the local, national, and international scale. Now, subway riders rode on clean cars past an endlessly changing underground landscape, as graffiti writers added new works or defaced rival works overnight. In just about every movie set in new york city in the 1970s and 80s theres an establishing shot with a graffiticovered subway. Since the 1980s, museums and art galleries started treating graffiti seriously.
The wild times of the subway graffiti era 19701989 the. Aug 23, 2017 their book is a visual tribute to their youth, new york s graffiti culture, and their fellow artists. Oct 16, 2019 10 secret subway tunnels in new york city. That graffiti was like illegible technicolor hieroglyphics a language that even most new yorkers couldnt read. New york city mass transit art of the 1970s and keith baugh early new york subway graffiti 19731975. After a spell of work as a producer on a movie, davidson as he writes in subways introductory text felt a need to return to stills, to his roots. The mayors antigraffiti task force cleaning up the mess by annette hall 2005 sep organizations just about anyone who lived in or visited new york city in the 1980s or early 90s probably has vivid recollections of how the city looked back then. Curated by nic 707, the ingenious instafame phantom art continues to bring old school writers, along with a diverse range of younger artists, onto new york city subway trains. In late 60s new york city, a local teenager began to decorate the city with what became an infamous tag taki 183. Transit, 19771987 at the bronx museum shows the striking photography of henry chalfant, who documented the street art and urban culture in new york city. The subway was known as filthy, noisy, dangerous, and tagged with graffiti.
New york city during the 19701980s was not the same city we know today. From long island, new york, the destiny childrenunlimited styled artists commemorate the 25year history of the crew and their impact on the new york city subway graffiti era. Dont get around someone who is unknown andor knows nobody. Dec 30, 20 in 1974 phase 2 joined the newly created united graffiti artists, a professional graffiti collective that began to attract media attention. Why new york city has to beat the cancer of graffiti. This book is more of a collection of a train enthusiasts photos instead of a. New afterwords continue the story, tracing the decline of the subway and graffiti scene in the late 1980s to its unexpected rebirth as a global art movement. So, starting in the early 70s, mayors of new york vowed to eradicate graffiti. Chalfants new book with sacha jenkins includes photos and the stories about the murals as told by the artists.
In 1984, along with henry chalfant, cooper published their images in the groundbreaking book subway art, which over the years has been referred to as the graffiti bible. Zephyr andrew witten is a legendary new york city graffiti artist who emerged from the bandshell scene of the 1970s. While it wasnt the cleanest system, it had the most color and attracted people from all over the world. New york people new york times new york street new york city 6 train lexington avenue new. Apr 17, 2020 fernando miteff in 2015 on a broadway subway train. He was featured in an important essay on graffiti art by richard goldstein, which appeared in new york magazine and inspired a new generation of graffiti artists. Graffiti artwork street art graffiti graffiti drawing film photography street photography graffiti photography arte hip hop train art vintage new york southside 365 a collection of my favorite images, videos, songs and quotes. Fernando miteff in 2015 on a broadway subway train. Castleman probes many aspects of the subculture giving an inside perspective into subway graffiti. Jan 22, 2014 new york was a very different place in the 1980s. Shes the ultimate harry potter fan, and is on a mission to convert as many muggles as possible into potterheads. This book is an amazing insight into the evolution of graffiti on the lesser photographed nyc subway lines. Graffiti unlimited bombing of subway train in new york by.
His most famous work was children of the grave parts 1, 2 and 3three whole cars on the new york subway in the years 19781980. It is full color photographs though out, however can get a but dull and boring, or confusing if youre not into the images. It gave you a sense that the subways controlled by wild gangs of teenagers. Their book is a visual tribute to their youth, new yorks graffiti culture, and their fellow artists. New york subway 1976, 1984, 1990 graffiti and all, complete version part silent movie duration. I began to photograph the traffic islands that line broadway. Early new york subway graffiti 19731975 captures the golden era of new york subway grafiti in the 1970s, a period in which graffiti was first emerging as an artform and exhisted then, perhaps, in its purest form. I particularly enjoyed the parts about early graffiti gangs in new york and the slang they used dga. The new york city subway has the worst ontime performance of any major rapid transit system in the world. Quinones started writing graffiti in the early 1970s and from the start he worked on groundbreaking projects. During those heady days in the 1970s, as the city went broke and crazy, armies of young people swept. This large collectors book is loaded with 500 color images of original art ranging from burners on hand ball courts to pieces on tractor trailers to works throughout the new york city subway system.
Throughout america, and the world, it had a reputation for being a crimeriddled, dirty metropolis one much changed from its bustling, mid. Through documenting this emerging scene, the book suceeds as an important historical chronical. The following piece was written by guest contributor and author of urban styles. George lee quinones is a famous american street artist from manhattan, graffiti pioneer and originator of the new york city subway graffiti movement, best known as zoro, movie character from the hiphop cult classic wild style. In depth sociological study of new york city graffiti writers in the 1970s and 1980s. The name of the piece was taken from a black sabbath song. The most infamous graffiti artists of 1970s new york city. From 1960s philadelphia to nearly every new york city subway car and throughout the entire underground tunnel system, graffiti artists have left their mark in thousands of places. I was fortunate enough to be a part in the 70s era of new york city subway art. The faces behind new yorks graffiti explosion of the 70s. Angel duster nyc graffiti legend in the winter of 1982 i was hanging out at a youth center on the border of corona and elmhurst, queens that served as the meeting plac. Kings of new york is a spectacular photo blog of past and current work on walls and other surfaces throughout the city two early photographers and writers of the subway graffiti scene have great books on the topic jack. If you are looking to see old nyc subway graffiti photos, there are plenty of other books that would be better to spend your money on.
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