‘SUBWAY ART: 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION’ – MARTHA COOPER & HENRY CHALFANT, THAMES & HUDSON
The original edition of ‘Subway Art’ (released in 1984) was born out of a desire to document an emerging, local level art-scene within NYC. The paintings photographed were loud, raw, public and ephemeral and those responsible were not, in the main, viewed as ‘artists’. Graffiti has evolved considerably since, but intrinsically it remains a divisive and a challenging art-form.
Drawn to this ‘art’ that was painted on sides of train carriages (sic. cars), photographers Cooper and Chalfant created a guide to the aesthetics of graffiti. Through their close bonds with practitioners, Cooper and Chalfant also managed to delve into the sociology of the movement, exploring the protagonists creative and ego led motivations and the apparent tribal culture.
On release ‘Subway Art’, along with the films ‘Wild Style’ and ‘Style Wars’, quickly became shorthand for the visual cool and excitement that graffiti and hip-hop could generate. It was a new sub-culture and with its sampling ethos and DIY attitude it had unlimited potential. As the genre established itself and disseminated across the globe, so the aforementioned book and films became increasingly influential. ‘Subway Art’ is then one of the key introductions to the building blocks of graffiti art. 25 years later, the ongoing success of the publication is clearly rooted in the fact that is was one of the first visual recording of the art-form. This lends the book an authenticity that few art publications can match: Cooper and Chalfant were out capturing art (and indeed artists) that many, even in NYC, would never have seen due to the councils un-appreciative attitude to art that was using public transport as its canvas. Additionally, from the outside looking, the whole concept of crafting a beautiful piece work of art that was likely to have a brutally short life-cycle went against traditional arguments that authentic art is timeless.
In 2009 graffiti and street art has a massive following and increased media exposure has spawned a proliferation of books on the subject. With this new edition, ‘Subway Art’ effectively retakes the crown as the most important graffiti based book ever produced. Anyone with an interest in the DNA of the street art scene has to have an appreciation of this book. The work documented is fresh, experimental and ground-breaking and represents a unique attitude in relation to producing works of art. Look through the spreads and you realise how this work has inspired several generations of artists and students.
The format of the new edition literally dwarfs the first release; indeed it is less of a coffee table book and more a coffee table top. It is a monster and at Bonafide we have dubbed it the Photographers Cut; not only are the original photographs blown up in scale but new copy and additional photography makes this the definitive artistic version. It attempts to capture the lens that Cooper or Chalfant looked through and show you how their eyes were arrested by an intoxicating coloured haze of energy, testosterone and creativity.
Personally speaking, alongside Mo’ Wax’s Futura visual bio, Banksy’s cracking ‘Wall and Piece’, Stephen Powers’ ‘The Art of Getting Over’, Scrawl Collectives classic ‘Dirty Graphics and Strange Characters’ and Dondi White’s ‘Style Master General’, ‘Subway Art’ is one of the truly must-have graffiti and hip-hop related publications printed. Without doubt the new version will connect with a new set fans and re-connect with those who loved the first run.
James Griffin
