Illustrious graffiti artist and fellow New Yorker, Eric Haze has just released a new website featuring artwork spanning nearly 30 years of his career. The “Roots” section is of particular interest to us as it includes an entire subsection of his early subway graffiti works. It is truly a blast from the past seeing all of these old school trains, outfitted in intricate, large-scale graffiti.
Check out additional subway graffiti and troves more of Haze’s work at Interhaze. more…
The Subway Art Blog turns one today. It’s been a crazy awesome year. The site started as a place for me to post my stupid cell phone photos and it seems to be starting to flourish as a hub for subway art on the web. Thanks to everyone who has contributed and has taken an interest in this project!
Photo taken from the F train platform at Delancey St.
This day has been 10 years in the making.
If you’ve ever been to the Chelsea Galleries, or the west side of the Meatpacking District here in New York you may have noticed an old timey train track standing above the streets. This is the High Line: an elevated freight train line that has been out of service for nearly 30 years. In 1999 the line was coming closer and closer to demolition when two locals, Joshua David and Robert Hammond, founded the Friends of the High Line. Their mission: to transform the High Line into a one of a kind elevated city park. After ten years of working at full steam, their day has finally come. The first phase of the High Line park opens to the public today.
If you are in Manhattan be sure to check out this exciting, unique project.
All joking aside, we subway riders will be pretty screwed if the fare hikes and service cuts really do happen. Single rides are set to jump to $2.50 and monthly cards to $103 a month. LIRR and Metro-North will see 25% fare hikes. This is all on top of two subway and 35 bus line eliminations, not to mention service reduction on many of the surviving lines.
The state senate is now kicking around proposals to bail out the MTA and save us commuters who these changes will affect most, but they are dragging their feet. With all the giant bailouts going on, it will be a relief to hear about one that will help average citizens and not giant, greedy corporations.
There is something you can do to help with this effort. The Working Families Party has set up HaltTheHike.org to encourage us to contact our legislators and demand that they support a fair, comprehensive plan to save New York’s transit riders. On the site is a pre-written letter you can submit. Take action now, before it’s too late!
In August of last year, two of the most notorious subway graffiti artists were arrested as they arrived in the United States after a tagging tour of Europe. Earlier this month, Danielle “Dani” Bremner was charged in her case for vandalizing subway cars in Manhattan. She was tried separately and was sentenced to six months in prison for tagging subway cars in Queens.
The trial of her boyfriend, Jim Clay Harper or “Ether” is currently pending.
During their trip the couple is said to have tagged trains and other properties in ten countries in Europe.
According to police, the graffiti damages totaled between $100,000 and $200,000 in New York City alone.
Dani and Ether were among a dying breed of talented artists creating subway car graffiti art similar to that which was commonplace in the 1980s. While the MTA is cutting back on graffiti removal spending, it may be a while before we see the revival of the subway art movement documented in Martha Cooper’s book.
