Taking the Train: How Graffiti Art Became an Urban Crisis in New York City (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780231111430)

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 Train traces 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 Train reveals 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.

Author: Joe Austin
ISBN-10: 0231111436
ISBN-13: 9780231111430
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Language: English
Published: 01/09/2002
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.90d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/11/2002 pg. 175
Library Journal 03/15/2002 pg. 98
New York Times 05/19/2002 pg. 40