Photo Show Celebrates Graffiti-Tagged Train Cars of 1970s New York City

During the “bad old days” of 1970s New York City, some viewed the graffiti-covered subway cars as a blight symbolizing the crumbling, crime-ridden city. But while the MTA waged war against kids armed with spray paint, Henry Chalfant would rush to the elevated stations in the Bronx to document tagged cars before they could be buffed clean.

“I always thought of it as art,” said Chalfant. “Somebody [would] say, ‘Yes, but it’s vandalism,’ and I couldn’t say it wasn’t vandalism, but you can hold two thoughts in your head at the same time. It has its value as art and it always has.”

Originally a sculptor, Chalfant spent a decade photographing and filming graffiti artists and their works as the paint-covered train cars made their way from the outer boroughs and in through Manhattan. The Bronx Museum of the Arts’ new exhibition, Henry Chalfant: Art vs Transit, 1977-1987 is the first retrospective of his work to be shown in New York City.

You can read the full story on Gothamist.