Train Art: Graffiti, Murals & Urban Canvas

subway networks Subway Systems | Did you know that our planet has now 178 metro systems including 84 metros and 21 subways, and that the rest has other official names, such as MRT, Metrorail, or U-Bahn? Or that trains on 34 circle lines are orbiting through 27 cities, 33 systems run on the left track, 113 on the right and that 33 cities have driverless lines? These and much more interesting facts as well as all the original schematic rail network maps, logos, news, statistics and a lot more about Metro, Subway, MRT, Rapid Transit, U-Bahn, Metrorail or whatever you like to call it, can be found on metrobits.org, a brilliant source for info about all subways around the globe! ...

Graffiti Magazine | Today I first got to know the graffiti mag Sandblast, which “is the first magazine to cover the Middle Eastern graffiti scene in depth.” (Invasian) Including interviews, photos and background-stories, the first issue of the Magazine which will be out in July features graffiti and its protagonists from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Egypt what’s a quite interesting thing with all the riots, protests and revolutions in mind! And also the cover whets my appetite for some more nice shots and Arabic letters on trains and walls! ...

Urban Action | I know it’s a controversial topic (especially because of a lot of people died!) but for some people train-surfing is just another kind of an urban extreme sport. Although it’s illegal and dangerous - some would say because of - the small train-surfers scene experienced highlights in different countries in the last years. Nowadays, Russian teenagers in Moscow revive this formerly unfashionable sport again… A new extreme and illegal sport, known as train surfing, is sweeping Russia’s capital. Dozens of young daredevils risk their lives to fight daily boredom and brighten their leisure. The craze involves riding on top or at the side of fast moving carriages, clinging on with their hands or with the aid of a belt. (Russia Today) ...

Graffiti Flood | There are pictures like this that go around the world in those days: Flooded roads, people on the roofs of their houses… and massive graffiti on the trains. Australia’s flooded metropolis Brisbane is experiencing a new graffiti boom! As my friend, who recently came back from Australia, told me and the following flicks confirm, it becomes more and more easier for the writers to paint trains. Because of the evacuated neighborhoods the police is completely overwhelmed and has other things to do than monitor railway lines. Additionally, trains are often parked all night at train stations or on the tracks. The result is that Brisbane is nowadays a paradise for the local crews. The proves it… ...

Graffiti Documentary | Another trainwriting film premiers in Berlin: February 2nd, Unlike U - Trainwriting in Berlin will be shown first at the Babylon cinema in Berlin-Mitte. Unlike U portrais four generations of sprayers in Berlin, of which the oldest of the hardcore artists is already over 40 years old, while the youngest are around 17. All protagonists have one thing in common. Each one has sprayed countless trains in their lives, some of them even over a 1000. ...

In 2009, a very interesting graffiti book called “Subway World” was published by Dokument Press, which somehow past my attention. Anyway, here is the article about that clean book about international train graffiti… Subway World is a book about graffiti on subway trains all over the world. What started in New York in the seventies has become an worldwide artform with thousands of artists. The tradition of using subway cars as canvases has been preserved and has become an integrated part of the graffiti movement. Subway World takes you through more than 70 cities and four different continents. (dokument.org) ...

Oh yeah, it’s Friday afternoon and there are only a few hours to the opening of this years Backjumps, but before I go off immediately, I will present you the three urban top shot of the week! For those of you, who haven’t heard something about the weekly urban top shots, I will explain it shortly: Every week I feature the three best Urban Artcore shots of the last seven days. Perhaps you have a great shot of urban art, graffiti, architecture, street design, or other urban impressions, too – Become a member of the Urban Artcore Flickr-group and add your photos! ...

First of all I have to say, that there are about 110 photos of the “Graffiti meets Thalys” event in my flickr photo-stream. Take a look! Announced were only the four famous European graffiti artists Seak One (Cologne), Sozy One (Brussels), JonOne 156 (Paris) and Zedz (Amsterdam), but in the end there were additionally Nunca (Sao Paulo) and Opak (Paris). Because photos alone are not enough to get to know the artists, here is some background info about these internationally known artists: ...

As I wrote two days ago, international high-speed train operator Thalys invited me to document the “Graffiti meets Thalys” live event, which took place at “Gare du Nord” (North Station) in Paris yesterday. Four Six well-known and famous European writers - Seak One (Cologne), Sozy One (Brussels), JonOne 156 (Paris) and Zedz (Amsterdam) - had to paint a train as fast as Thalys will soon take to get from Paris to Cologne or Amsterdam, 3 hours and 15 minutes. ...

At this moment I’m on the way to Paris, where the train manufacturer Thalys will have its “Graffiti meets Thalys” live event tomorrow. In addition to the graffiti artists Seak One from Cologne and Sozy One from Brussels, the writer JonOne 156 from Paris and Zedz from Amsterdam will duly bring the railway line on stream by painting 4 whole-trains within three hours. Of course I will try to photographically document this graffiti event. But before the live performance will start tomorrow, I will meet the authors of the “Paris Street Art” book, Romuald Stivine and Vito today. They will instruct me a little in the Parisian urban art culture. ...