Whole Cars and Wild Letters – Studying SEEN in New York

9 November 2019 · 18:20 · VenRod

New York – 9 November 2019, 18:20. A diner in the Bronx, pancakes for me, coffee for DeeNice, Kinky's travel tips in my pocket.

The godfather of graffiti

Our biggest trip so far, for one name: SEEN. Richard Mirando, born in the Bronx in 1961, painted New York subway cars from 1973 to 1989 and is often called the godfather of graffiti. With his crew United Artists (UA) he painted dozens of whole cars, top to bottom, above all on the 2, 5 and 6 lines. He appears in the 1983 documentary Style Wars, and from the early 1980s he also painted canvases for galleries.

Today we visited an exhibition with his canvases and photographs of the old whole cars. You stand in front of the photos and try to imagine the size – a whole train painted, moving through the city.

How it went

Kinky called twice to ask if we had eaten. We had. DeeNice says SEEN's letters are the proof that discipline and wildness can be the same thing. Questions for later: What did a whole car feel like the first time it rolled past you? Which line was your favourite? What did canvas give you that a train never could?

Kinky grew up with these trains. Now I understand why she still talks about them. – VenRod

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