A WORD FROM CHILD 357

I was a known local graffiti artist, I was not a legend, but people knew who I was. I recall doing more pieces, burners, characters and murals locally than I can remember. As I grew older, I came to realize that acrylics and oils arent spray paint cans, brushes aren’t fat caps and thin tips. A quiet art room isn’t a train yard, an overhead lamp isn’t a dimlit street light. The two can never compare in andrenaline, in the defining experience and/or the moment. Spray paint fumes was like the smell of roses to us, we loved the scent as we sprayed away our designs. Floral paints smelled like sweet candy and the pastels colors were amazing. We used WD40 spray caps for painting wide fill ins and our spray paint of choice was Krylon, and Rustoleum.

No words will ever define the addictive rush of painting a subway car in a darkened yard or tunnel, the risk of getting arrested doing so was nerve wrecking. But to be honest, we did not care at all, because with big risks came big rewards, it was always about getting up. However, I had a rule I followed, never personal property of people. We only hit trains, walls and city owned properties.

I recall how we would arise in the morning, the day after hitting the yards. Excited, we would get dressed and rush out the door. We would jump the turnstiles at the subway station and hop on the train to our location. There we would get off, and patiently wait on subway platforms with a disposable camera hand. We waited for the trains that we painted to roll into the station. Alas, the thrill of catching our designs in the wild was exhilarating, as it was just too dark to see them at night.

At night, like shadows we would move effortlessly, knowing that no matter how silent we tried to be. We could not escape the sounds of spray cans rattling in our backpack within the shadows. Oh the the thrill of it all cannot be put into words properly. There was a sense of adventure exploring the underground nyc subway tunnels. The darkness, the smells, the black soot on your hands, clothes and in your nose from subway brake dust was crazy.  Yet onward we continued dodging rats the size of cats, and staying clear of the work bums who would have chased us.

We were  shadows in the night, who were not afraid to go down into manhole covers, jump fences and/or creep up fire escapes and cranes all to leave our mark. As a street artist, we always walked with a spray can, a marker, a book or stickers to slap on somewhere. I remember vividly the big fat drippy markers made out of school erasers and old deodorant roll ons, oh how magical they were. Each tag we left dripped black or white ink down those surfaces. These tags were our trademark, our aliases, our cry to be noticed in a messed up world. Tags, burners, throwers and pieces were our claim to fame… Yes, it was illegal, but we were kids just trying to fit in.

They label this vandalism, a crime, but to us it was art. Just a bunch of emotionally messed up kids who found a means to express themselves. Whether it was on paper, in a black book, a wall, the back of a denim jacket or a subway train. It was about getting your name everywhere, about trying to be relevant in a world that labeled us nobodies and irrelevant.

Yet like all else, time moves on, I became an adult and stopped defacing walls, trains and all else many decades ago. I took my art to a digital platform for over 27 yrs. I moved forward and never looked back, even though it was a moment that truly defined us. Now my life is murals, interior designs or canvases for money.  I will not spray paint illegally anymore, for alas, these bones are too old. Also I cannot run fast anymore, can’t climb and don’t have the need or desire to do so. We rocked the arts in a time when cameras did not truly exist as they do today. Perhaps this is why we got away with so much, because luck was on our side.

In conclusion, yes I was a vandal, a street artist, a local graphiti king in my own mind. Yes I went all city, but only with tags and throwies. Now looking back with a smile, I cannot forget the cool people I met and befriended along the way…. Some of which I am still friends with today, some I lost track of.

Big props: Neo Nog, Sur167, Rec127, Miro Ris, Lie, Amer, Tee, Sag, Dash, Ghost, Saint and 2Bad to name a few.

 I am sharing this now many decades later to educate people on why as a street artist I lived this life. I do not condone what I did back then, but I will say it was a moment in time that defined me. I will never regret the carnage we took part of, for it made me the artist I am today. 

“ZN One”, ”Child357” & “PhantomXtra”
NOG – XMEN – UA – TPA – POW – DESTINY – TDK – DRUG