SUBWAY ART FACES REPAINTING SUBWAY ART

Forty years after Subway Art was published, Ruyzdael Publishing showed Repainting Subway Art to its authors, Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, and to graffiti writers Skeme, Noc167 and Quik. They leafed through Tripl’s pages and responded in their own words.

In Repainting Subway Art, published in December 2024, Dutch graffiti writer Tripl, a.k.a. Furious, recreated and reinterpreted the train graffiti from Subway Art, a project that took ten years. Seeing those pieces return on Dutch trains raises an obvious question: what do the people behind the original make of it?

Martha Cooper and Skeme

Martha Cooper, photographer and co-author of Subway Art, with graffiti writer Skeme.

“Man, you translated that well.” “You know, you’re trying to capture the spirit of it.”

Henry Chalfant

Henry Chalfant, photographer and co-author of Subway Art.

“They’re all done by you?!” “And the changes are very funny, and witty.” “I think it’s a wonderful, a wonderful idea and a very, very good execution of it.”

Noc167

Graffiti writer Noc167.

“Ah, you tried to do a Style Wars. Well, you got the house right.” “I like the book, I like it, I think it’s an interesting idea.”

Quik

Graffiti writer Quik.

“Just, to have the ambition to do this…” “The dedication is a new level.”