Search results
The bench at 149th St. and Grand Concourse is one spot where graffiti writers would gather and watch trains in the 70's and 80's when graffiti ran on the subway trains in New York.
Benching: The Art of Watching Trains is a documentary by M. Nielsen that explores this tradition. The subways in New York were declared graffiti free in 1989 but the story does not end there. The film picks up in the early 1990's when a new generation started benching graffiti on freight trains.
Documentation of New York City subway graffiti history. Featuring graffiti artist biographies, interviews and artwork.
Writers Bench. In March of 2009 we chose to honor the 149th St. & Grand Concourse bench where graffiti writers began to congregate in the mid 70's.
PHASE 2, born Lonny Wood is one of the most influential and well known New York City aerosol artists. Furthermore he is known as member of the Zulu Nation. Mostly active in the 1970s, Phase 2 is generally credited with originating the "bubble letter" style of aerosol writing, also known as "softies". He was also influential in the early hip hop ...
POST (center, holding spray can) and friends at Writers’ Bench, 149th Street and Grand Concourse, New York, 1980. Photo: Henry Chalfant
Writers from all over the city congregated at a bench located at the back of the uptown platform. They came to meet, make plans, sign black books and settle disputes. The main activity was watching art on the passing trains (known as benching). The writers would admire and criticize the latest paintings.
