Taking The Train (PDF): How Graffiti Art Became An Urban Crisis In New York City (Popular Cultures, Everyday Lives Ser.)

Synopsis

In the 1960s and early 1970s, young people in New York City radically altered the tradition of writing their initials on neighborhood walls. Influenced by the widespread use of famous names on billboards, in neon, in magazines, newspapers, and typographies from advertising and comics, city youth created a new form of expression built around elaborately designed names and initials displayed on public walls, vehicles, and subways. Critics called it "graffiti," but to the practitioners it was "writing." Taking the Traintraces the history of "writing" in New York City against the backdrop of the struggle that developed between the city and the writers. Austin tracks the ways in which "writing" -- a small, seemingly insignificant act of youthful rebellion -- assumed crisis-level importance inside the bureaucracy and the public relations of New York City mayoral administrations and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for almost two decades. Taking the Trainreveals why a global city short on funds made "wiping out graffiti" an expensive priority while other needs went unfunded. Although the city eventually took back the trains, Austin eloquently shows how and why the culture of "writing" survived to become an international art movement and a vital part of hip-hop culture.

Copyright:

2001

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

ISBN-13:

9780231111430

Publisher:

Columbia University Press

Date of Addition:

09/30/22

Copyrighted By:

Joe Austin

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Art and Architecture, Social Studies, Music, Politics and Government

Submitted By:

Julia Simmons

Proofread By:

Julia Simmons

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.