New York City has spent a lot of money to keep its streets and subway cars graffiti free since 1989. When a train is tagged these days, it hardly ever makes it out of the yard because MTA workers will replace the painted car with a fresh one. The painted car is then cleaned so that it can return to service. The initiative is costly, but it is one that the city and the MTA have committed themselves to because, as former Mayor Bloomberg once said about Banksy, "that's not my definition of art."
In a move that some consider to be a major contradiction to their established morals, the MTA recently allowed the new show, Street Art Throwdown, to wrap a subway train to promote the show, and by extension the culture of street art and graffiti. Bucky Turco of ANIMAL noticed the L train at 8th Avenue and decided to contact the MTA about it.
"So… this one was a close call," said MTA rep Adam Lisberg. "On the one hand, our ad standards prohibit anything that could be construed as actual graffiti, and we also prohibit promoting illegal activity. On the other hand, the typeface of the ad itself was not graffiti-style, and our research concluded that everything the show depicts is done legally with permission."
The elimination-style competition show premieres tonight (Feb. 3) and features a cast of street artists in Los Angeles. The artists will complete several challenges for the chance to win $100,000 and bragging rights. The artists won't be painting illegal murals or tagging alleyways, but that still doesn't mean that the MTA gets to choose which parts of the culture to support. "Do we have second thoughts? Only that a website that celebrates street art is now wondering if we’re subtly encouraging it," Lisberg told ANIMAL.
He added that their policy has not changed, and that they will continue to "mercilessly eradicate vandalism to our trains, buses, and stations anywhere we find it, and we are glad the NYPD is such an eager partner to arrest and prosecute anyone who would vandalize our system and demean its appearance for the more than 8.5 million daily customers who expect a clean and safe journey."
[via ANIMAL]
