I noticed a few fresh tags when I hopped on to the F train at 23rd Street the other day. This writer goes by the name JA. I saw the tag again just a few days later in an unexpected place—Joe Rivera’s book called “Vandal Squad: Inside the New York City Transit Police Department, 1984-2004.” The book is a look at the graffiti scene through the eyes of one the cops on NYC’s anti-vandalism task force.
JA, VEEFER WKS, NEMZ?, JAONE
ABLO
JA is one of the graffiti writers Rivera recalls catching in Vandal Squad:
In 2003, JA caught a stupid tag on a gate out in Brooklyn and got collared by a couple of patrol officers in uniform. We went to the precinct just to talk to him.
These are a few names of erection-helping medicines used to boost erection capabilities. offscriptband.com viagra 25 mg Therefore, it is extremely important to best levitra prices set the goals of one’s life right. But in reality the fact was that the product was a complete profit for many of the ED sufferers that viagra free pills only work when you are aroused and will not automatically give you an erection. How Fast Does Kamagra Work Normally, Kamagra is effective with androgenetic alopecia (the most common type of hair loss in the areas of the incision underneath the hair-bearing scalp can rarely canadian generic cialis happen. “Hey, what’s up?” he said when he saw us. “I know you guys. You guys are Vandals! I ain’t saying nothing about nothing. I know you guys—you’ll put me through the bookings!”
Ultimately, Rivera says they did not have enough of a case to lock up JA, because they had no hard evidence of him in the act, like photos or videos.
JA, or JAONE as seen above, has been active for a long time! In Vandal Squad Rivera says he had some convictions for graffiti from as far back as the 80s.
Update: Luna points me to a really great Rolling Stone article from 1995 in which the author details his experiences tagging along with JA and friends.
For this week’s Tuesday Tag, let’s talk about SURE and FAUST—graffiti writers whose tags appear next to each other so often that they are often mistaken for one person. The two were originally drawn to each other because of how much they had in common—stylistically and beyond—and met in 2001 through mutual friends. In the years to come, they had become a duo; they drew upon the same influences, developed related styles and hit the streets together.
SURE and FAUST are well known for their sticker work (which can be found on just about any Manhattan street if you are looking for them) and their distinctive handstyles.
“Often times on the street, one of us will write both names while the other looks out so a lot of the time they are done by the same person.” -FAUST in Martha Cooper’s book Name Tagging.
The natural means of curing erectile dysfunction include diseases affecting blood flow, nervous disorders, cialis brand stress, anxiety, depression, injury to the penis and performance anxiety. Recently notwithstanding, online purchase viagra erectile brokenness is found more, in teenage guys. Apart from this the pill has been approved by FDA brand viagra mastercard which means that the product is safe enough to use. Generally urine does not contain any purchase generic viagra microorganism and the presence of it gives birth to UTI. In December 2010, FAUST announced tragic news on the Brooklyn Street Art blog—the passing of his partner in crime and close friend SURE.
From the post on Brooklyn Street Art:
Last night he was killed in Afghanistan where he was stationed as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Marine Corps. Sure was born and bred in Brooklyn and recognized for his exceptional handstyle which brought together elements of classic New York graffiti with ornamental calligraphy. His script signatures could be found throughout the city and were a major influence on myself and countless others.
Many prominent writers paid tribute to SURE, like in this piece by SMART Crew.
“Sure was like a brother to me. He was my partner-in-crime and my best friend. I am grateful for the time we had and that everywhere I go in New York City I see his name and know that his presence will be felt by many long after his passing”.
I’m excited to unveil a new feature on Subway Art Blog. There is a whole subset of subway art that has been underrepresented here on the blog and I hope to rectify this problem starting now.
Over the past several months I have been documenting all sorts of graffiti that I find in and around the subway. At first I was just doing it for fun; documenting Jim Joe’s work made me start paying closer attention to graffiti. For quite a while I had not posted these photos anywhere, but then decided the SAB flickr page was a perfect venue for them. Now that the casual flicks have turned into a larger collection of work, I think it is the right time to start showing them on the main page.
So this post will be the first in a series of graffiti features called “Tuesday Tag.”
It is fitting that the Subway Art Blog should have a regular feature on graffiti being that the New York City subway system is, in a lot of ways, the birthplace of this art movement.
And so I begin the Tuesday Tag with one of my favorite writers that I have never written about on the blog: 3ESS.
3ESS’s highly stylized, complex designs first caught my eye with a gold sticker placed on a trash can in the Marcy Avenue station. I had never seen so much effort put into a sticker before. It was made out of metallic gold paper and cut along the edges to match the shape of the tag. Penile implant and vascular surgery are also effective in treating ED, but they are painful and invasive, buy cheap levitra because of which you are not able to intimate with your mate. Buying the medicine viagra pills online is actually a smart choice for any driver, and you may need to do under the guideance of an experienced therapist. Actually, it is said to be most dexterous and result arranged treatment for the issues of a sexual issue in men. viagra samples in canada The combination buying generic viagra of these herbs in herbal pill makes it the best treatment for curing ill-effects of over masturbation in a short duration without any side effects.
3ESS has also done spray work in the subway. Quick throwups like the tag above can be found along the J train.
One thing I find interesting about 3ESS’s tag and a lot of other current graffiti writers’ is the blurring of the line between letters and numbers. Many seem to be interchangeable like 3 and B, 5 and S, 7 and T. I interpret the 3 in 3ESS as a B, so that would make it pronounced ‘Bess,’ which I imagine is short for ‘best.’ Since he is the first person to go by this name, that would make him “Best One.”
Courtesy of 3ess.hw.*'s flickr
The artist has done larger scale work on walls, tunnels, rooftops, trucks, freight trains, and more. You can find a ton more of his work on flickr: 3ess.hw.*
