| Taking the Train: How Graffiti Art Became an Urban Crisis in New York City Contributor(s): Austin, Joe (Author) |
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ISBN: 0231111436 ISBN-13: 9780231111430 Publisher: Columbia University Press OUR PRICE: $39.60 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 2002 Annotation: 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. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Popular Culture - Social Science | Sociology - Urban - Art | Popular Culture |
| Dewey: 751.730 |
| LCCN: 2001042139 |
| Lexile Measure: 1590 |
| Series: Popular Cultures, Everyday Lives |
| Physical Information: 0.9" H x 6" W x 8.9" (1.15 lbs) 400 pages |
| Themes: - Demographic Orientation - Urban - Geographic Orientation - New York - Locality - New York, N.Y. - Cultural Region - Mid-Atlantic - Cultural Region - Northeast U.S. |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: 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. |