THE XNY GUIDE TO CLASSIC NEW YORK CITY CULTURE Presents: The Best Of New York Subway Graffiti
Back in August, the 4 train pulled into the Woodlawn stop in the Bronx covered in wide swaths of neon-colored paint from one end of a car to the other. The train remained in service just long enough for a couple of riders to snap a few pics before it was taken in to be buffed clean, a sign of the times. Starting with the Clean Train Movement of the late 80s and intensifying with Mayor Giuliani’s Anti-Graffiti Task Force in the mid-90s, tags and large pieces on subways are essentially non-existent.
City officials saw graf as a menace, and its purveyors not as artists, but vandals. Whether you disagree with that sentiment or not, there is no denying the creativity that sprang from the streets of New York City during the heydey of writers getting up on subway trains. Using the city as their canvases, the artists hitting the train yards in the ’70s and ’80s literally ascended to the highest heights possible, turning their vividly colored tags into mobile art galleries as the iron horses stampeded throughout the five boroughs. There are far too many influential artists to name them all here, but we feel a short tribute to just a few of the kings of the New York City subway lines is in order.
Photo: Facebook
1. DONDI
Neighborhood: Brooklyn
Years Active: 1976-1984
Born in Manhattan, but raised in East New York, Brooklyn, legendary artist DONDI was a born risk-taker. Taking the bold step of using his childhood nickname as his tag–and eventually painting it in huge letters on the roof of his home–when the MTA and boys in blue were taking aim at writers, DONDI was a fearless innovator. Initially making his name on the 2 and 3 lines, DONDI’s meticulously planned, top to bottom, whole car pieces inspired generations of writers to follow. Besides being a stylistic pioneer, DONDI was also one of the first to give outsiders a peek into the secretive world of writers, letting renowned photojournalist Martha Cooper record him creating the third piece of his Children Of The Grave trilogy. The photos appeared in Cooper’s seminal work, Subway Art.
Photo: Getty
PHASE 2
Neighborhood: The Bronx
Years Active: 1971-1974
PHASE 2 was an all-city king, as ubiquitous as any other artist of his time. Representing the Bronx, Phase 2 is most famous for creating the bubble letter style that directly influenced every other writer to follow him. In 1974, he and fellow members of artist collective, United Graffiti Artists, were featured in a New York Magazine article, which further inspired a new generation of writers.
Photo: Source
GHOST
Neighborhood: Queens
Years Active: 1980-present
Before transitioning into other media, Queens, NY writer GHOST was one of the last kings of the subway lines. GHOST got his start in 1980, but by the mid to late 1980s, New York City’s MTA was devoting significant man hours and resources to ridding the subways of aerosol art. In his relatively brief period of time writing on subway lines, GHOST made his presence felt. His loose style was developed through experimentation and constantly writing. Even in the clean train era, GHOST got busy. As opposed to focusing on larger, more detailed pieces, GHOST would write a large variety of throw ups in one sitting, playing around with the orientation of his letters and bold bright colors.
Stay High “149”
Neighborhood: All-city King
Years Active: 1970-1975
Legendary artist Stay High “149,” born Wayne Roberts, passed away from liver disease in 2012, but he solidified himself as a king and groundbreaking stylist long before he left us. His trademark “Smoker” stick figure that he incorporated into his tags was likely the first instance of a writer incorporating a commercial image–the stick figure was a slight twist on the logo of the 1960s television show “The Saint”–into his or her tag. Stay High was an extremely influential and unique writer, who after a long hiatus spent the last decade of his life creating art once again.
Photo: Facebook
Tracy 168
Neighborhood: The Bronx
Years Active: 1970-1977
Tracy 168’s claim to fame is that he invented wild style, a very intricate and highly stylized method of writing one’s tag that is still utilized by artists to this day. Tracy was also a pioneer in creating scenery and including characters in large pieces along with his tag. The Bronx native was known for his whole car murals, which raised the bar for other artists with his novel choices for color and unique stylistic approach.