Blade 1980

Henry Chalfant captured this image of spray paint on a subway car. What I love about this piece is the sheer audacity of it – the scale, the color, and the context. I can imagine Blade out there in the train yard, with the clock ticking and the constant threat of getting caught. There’s a real sense of freedom and energy in those lines, the artist using the whole train car as a canvas, turning it into a traveling work of art. The lettering is so stylized, transforming language into pure form, and the shapes are so rounded and friendly it’s hard to believe this was once seen as vandalism. I like how the sky is visible behind the clouds in the background. There is a conversation between the graffiti on the side of the train and the environment in which it exists. Painters are always looking at other painters, and the artists who inspire them across time, and Blade’s work is no different. The history of painting is one of constant exchange and creative risk-taking.