If  you are not yet familiar with the underground subway art “Underbelly Project,” you should check out this New York Times article.

If you are familiar with the project (and you are a big fan like myself) you will be excited to hear that the organizers, Workhorse and PAC, are putting together a book.

Since the existence of the project had been announced publicly in the Times article, the NYPD has arrested people who tried to find the entrance to the abandoned station and those who made it inside have reported that the work had been defaced. Luckily, the art was well-documented before the project was publicized and the organizers have an extensive collection of photos and videos.

Over 100 street artists from around the world were involved; several of them Subway Art Blog veterans, including: Posterchild, Jason Eppink and CASH4.

We Own the Night: The Art of the Underbelly Project is expected to be 240 pages and is set for release on February 7th, 2012.

Pre-orders are available now on Amazon.com.

Moustache Man’s iconic cursive has been appearing in more and more stations and has gotten an increasing amount of media attention recently. Unfortunately it also got the attention of the NYPD’s vandal taskforce aka Vandal Squad who has been tracking his work over the past two months.

Our friend, who was only trying to make New Yorkers smile, faces charges of Felony Criminal Mischief, Misdemeanor Criminal Mischief, Making Graffiti and Possession of Graffiti Instrument.

The real crime here is that the police department wastes so much time and money tracking down street artists instead of concentrating on real criminals.

There’s something different around here! I pushed out a site design update today with a bunch of new graphics and icons.

The first thing you may notice is the new header. From now on we will be using this space to feature the work of subway artists. I asked one of my favorites, Amitai Plasse, to design the first of these new headers. Above is the original drawing straight from his Moleskine notebook.

You can expect to find new artwork featured every few months. Check out Ami’s website for many more awesome subway drawings!

The East Village artist has been creating watercolor or oil paintings on city subway cards and selling them on Etsy alongside other original works, creating what she calls “a world where the eccentric downtown East Village of NYC gently rubs shoulders with the ragamuffin heart of the Caribbean.”

However, her subway card artwork raised the ire of the MTA, who sent McKenzie a letter urging her to stop selling them until she gets a license from the agency to do so:

“While we at the MTA are flattered that you recognize the value of our brand to consumers, please understand the MTA has a well-established product licensing program which markets authorized versions of such products. While we have no record of your firm requesting or being granted such authorization, we are prepared to initiate discussions with you about acquiring a license from us.”

“That ain’t gonna happen,” McKenzie wrote on her Tumblr, referencing the recent Single Fare 2 show as evidence that the MetroCard art scene is alive and well: “A full-scale gallery show is permitted, at top-notch prices of $100 per card, but my handful of offerings on Etsy, and at a lower price, are not?“

Mark Heavey, the MTA’s chief of marketing and advertising, explained the issue last week to the Village Voice‘s Runnin’ Scared blog: “Whenever we find someone profiting from use of our trademarks, we must strictly enforce and protect our trademark rights. As a public entity, this is our obligation. And the issue is not the size of the infringer (individual or corporation), but the principle.”

The story seems headed for a happy ending, we’re glad to report: after her story was picked up by news outlets across New York, McKenzie wrote a followup post on Monday stating that she had exchanged emails with Heavey. With some changes to her Etsy shop, he claimed, “you may continue to do what you are doing.” (That is, once she creates some new works of subway card art to sell – she’s currently all sold out.)

Subway enthusiasts and typography junkies have a treat in store! MIT Press is republishing a book called Helvetica and the New York City Subway: The True (Maybe) Story. Previously only available in a limited edition of 500, the book is a study of the subway’s signage system written by historian and graphic designer Paul Shaw. Shaw’s composition spans the entire history of the subway–from the terra-cotta of the original subway lines, to the the hodgepodge of signage left by the three separate subway companies, through to the work of pioneering design firm Unimark International and finally the uniform Helvetica signage we have today.

Helvetica and the New York City Subway: The True (Maybe) Story is set for release in March. Check back here for a full review next month!

The Subway Art Blog turns 2 today! In commemoration of this momentous occasion, above is the first image posted here on that fateful day, many moons ago. It has been a wild ride with hundreds of posts, tweets, photos, podcasts, videos and we are just as lesbianic as ever!

The New York Daily News reports that Cope2, a well-known graffiti writer from the South Bronx was arrested last week for tagging a train on September 11, 2009. The cops said the arrest happened now because they were waiting for him to return from travels abroad. He was charged with two counts of felony mischief and one of making graffiti. Check out the original article for details.

Here is the e-mail:

Since his arrest, a “Free Poster Boy” movement has been started. A Facebook group was created for the cause and attracted over 1,400 members as of Thursday night.

A seemingly unrelated group of Poster Boy supporters has utilized Banksy’s latest work to get their message out. Several of Banksy’s new NYC pieces had been tagged to say “FREE HENRY! -POSTER BOY.” Gothamist has compiled a gallery of all the defaced defacements. These were presumably added by other members of the Poster Boy movement. Ironically, Poster Boy actually appears in the opening sequence of Banksy’s recent documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop.

We are still waiting on an official statement from Poster Boy’s camp on his release.

I’m going to take a shot in the dark here: the book, and my interview are not going to happen any time soon.

Poster Boy was sentenced to 11 months in jail today after failing to appear in court on May 6th. The irony is that had he shown up, he would have avoided any jail time due to a technical error. According to a statement by his attorney on ANIMAL, the illustrious street artist showed up in court the next day to apologize for not appearing, but was immediately taken into custody. Unfortunately, Poster Boy’s luck has run out and he will be sent to Riker’s Island.

This is a sad day for subway art.

The Netherlands Board of Tourism has temporarily transformed the Grand Central – Times Square shuttle into the moving advertisement you see above. The cars were made over as part of the “Just be. In Holland” ad campaign by the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions.

PointClickHome described the makeover in detail:

One car is dressed to evoke the interior of a grand salon. The seats are wrapped to resemble tufted red benches, the ceiling sports faux plaster medallions, and there’s mahogany wainscot, a rich damask wall covering, and a selection of iconic Dutch masterpieces, including Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.

The ad campaign ends March 4th, so time is running out if you want to check these out.