Handstyles tag by Haze. Mass Appeal (2001)

Click here for the full 7-page compilation of graffiti writers’ tags and handstyles from the 70s up through 2001. 

Photo by Alan Copeland for Berkeley Barb (1969)

Million Dollar Vandal

Emory Douglas & buZ blurr connect at my old store/gallery back in 2008. Photo by the homie Shaun Roberts

And, for those who care about such things, here’s an interview that I did with buZ around that same time:

2 Sides To Every Boxcar

I hired out in ‘62 and didn’t start marking the cars until November ‘71. So that nine-year interim I was working various night jobs, and I had given up my idea on any kind of art, and had started reading novels like Vonnegut’s; all his greatest novels featuring his Kilgore Trout character—a writer that didn’t have readers, but he continued writing compulsively. I was also reading ‘Understanding Media’ by McLuhan, RD Laing’s ‘Politics of Experience,’ and those other heavy thinkers like Skinner and the conditioned response of his experiments and all that. So during all this time I had been in an afternoon job—it was one of the first times I’d had a regular daylight job—and most times I was working at night on switch engines and locals. So on this job I was working what they call the long field position, and I was down in the yard—the rail yard was downhill—and I had to keep the tracks from rolling out the north end so I had to keep the head brakes tied down on all the rails. So after I had that done, I was just laying down in amongst the cars to make certain they didn’t roll out. I had some free time so I decided to be a vandal myself, you know?

CLAW. powerHouse magazine #1

Sace. Photo by Kenneth Cappello for Mass Appeal (2001)

alexanderrichterphoto:

http://babylonfalling.tumblr.com © Alexander Richter

happy on the inside

alexanderrichterphoto:

The third of May 1992 © Alexander Richter

- It only seems right to post this photo 20 years after the piece was originally created by Chris ‘Freedom’ Smith. Click the image if you are interested in seeing more photos from the Freedom Tunnel.

In the 1930s, Robert Moses covered the New York Central Railroad line to expand and improve Riverside Park, creating a tunnel underneath. With an increased use of cars and trucks for transportation, the tunnel was soon abandoned and became a haven for the homeless. Hundreds of people moved into the tunnel and built their dwellings, creating underground communities. In 1991, the tunnel was reopened for use by Amtrak, and the shantytown was bulldozed.  

It’s an amazing place, and even though I did not get to see all of the original artwork that was in the tunnel, I am very happy that I got the chance to go down and explore this special place in New York City. Shout out to my ace http://babylonfalling.tumblr.com for taking the trip with me!

Dope! Definitely click through to see some amazing photos of one of the coolest spots in the city.

NYC LASE interviews Futura 2000.  Mass Appeal (Manhattan Issue, 2001)