First Friday: Subway Insides Workshop—The Ink Explosion of the 1980s

Many people are familiar with the colorful cartoon-laden logotypes and abstract masterpieces that adorned the exteriors of New York City subway cars throughout the 1970s and ’80s. However, unless you were a straphanger yourself during that time, you are probably not aware that the interiors of the subway cars were also completely covered with bold signatures of every size written with homemade fountain pens and magic markers. This chiseled-script calligraphy dripped and ran over every available space inside the subway cars between about 1970 and 1989. In his photographs from this era, Richard Sandler captured New Yorkers amidst this visual chaotic energy, which he likens to free jazz or the semblance of thoughts within the minds of his subjects.  

Hosted in honor of From the Bronx to the Battery: The Subway Sun, this workshop will discuss and look back at this little-studied phenomenon that was once a large part of the city’s aesthetic and can be seen in countless movies from Saturday Night Fever to Coming to America. Visitors will look at examples and create their own tag-covered image on a subway interior template, using chisel- and broad-nibbed markers to mimic this time-honored practice. You can take home your piece on glossy cardstock at the end of the workshop. 

This is not a drop-in workshop. Please plan on arriving on time and staying for the duration of the event. Appropriate for participants ages 13 and up. 

Sam Meyerson is a visual designer who grew up studying and practicing within the “Graffiti Art” movement. He has a deep affinity for the subway, and for the youth-oriented folk-art forms of graffiti that turned public urban environments into museums. He has painted murals for BEYOND THE STREETS and designed apparel for Supreme. He currently lives in NYC, where he works as a freelance artist in several capacities and mediums.

Accessibility Note: Masks and clear masks are available free of charge at the museum. Assistive listening devices and stools are available. ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or a CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) is also available upon request. Please contact access@posterhouse.org or (914) 295-2387 to request interpretation services and to address any other accessibility needs. For other event-related questions, please contact info@posterhouse.org.