#19: Welcome Back!

 

Hello Again!!!  :)

There's nothing like a nice smile, green snot, a vacant stare, anal probing and some ninja ass to welcome you back and make you feel right at home.

2009 was a very silent year for this blog, but I didn't stop taking pictures in the subway, so I have a lot of new stuff to choose from.  And I want to thank you for all the fan support I've received this year.  It means a lot to me to hear you guys are having fun with this project.  I hope to make it up to you in 2010.

By the way, the "Ninja Ass" photo is from a subway artist mod of the poster for the film "Ninja Assassin".  It made laugh when I saw it and I thought, "shit, I 'have' to post this!".  So I want to also thank the artist who did it for pushing me to go back to this blog.

#18: Le Mustache I

I_knew this girl who would paint curvy mustaches on her and walk around all day with that thing on her face.  I have to admit she looked kindda hot.

Frida Kahlo is the ultimate mustache girl, I think.

I had a girlfriend once with a little mustache shadow.  I can't remember how I managed to ask her to wax it off without offending her, but I did it.  It was one of my great moments in diplomacy.

#17: Random

Four random pics I just happen to love.  And here are a few notes about the techniques used, in case you're curious: 

•"Ashlee Simpson and kid drinking water"   The kid was on the top poster, Ashlee's face was hidden in the old one underneath.  She appeared when a chunk got removed from the front b&w image.

•"Leatherheads" (Clooney and the other dude).  Their faces were cut out/taken from another poster and pasted on top of the ones with the women.  

•"Gourgeous Smile"   I guess the art gallery description of the technique, would be 'mixed media'.  I just find it plain ol'funny. 

#16: Cate

This is Cate Blanchett.  The ridiculously gorgeous actress, Cate Blanchett.  And this is proof of the Indestructibility of her beauty.  No matter what you do to this woman, literally, she still looks amazing.  

#15: Text

So your strength isn't painting or etching your way with a knife, but you still have something to say about one of these posters.  Go ahead, this is an open art form.  Use whatever means you can to express your opinion.

#14: Abstract Art

Maybe there's not much humor here, but I love these.  And I'm pretty sure most of them weren't done by a single 'artist'.  I say this, mainly because I saw these evolve over a period of days.  Someone started them by cutting out a small piece of the poster.  Then other people would walk by and rip another little piece off, exposing the older posters hidden underneath.  This is the result after several days of that.  

It would be nice to document the progress, if only I knew beforehand which posters are going to end up this way.  

#13: Defacer Profiling

Ok, so check this out.  This is a poster for the World Wrestling Federation or something like that.  They are promoting their upcoming TV season.  Its a big campaign, you can find these posters literally EVERYWHERE in the subway system.  Now, my problem is that I have not been able to find ONE SINGLE defacing of these posters.  Not one!!!

In a previous post I wrote about how some celebrities with 'street cred' were safe from getting defaced.  But come on... these guys get immunity!!!?????  Is this some kind of indication of who our anonymous artists really are?  So our defacers are "WW Smack Down" fans!!???   I have to say I'm a little disappointed.  No, ...not really.  Actually, I just find it hard to believe that UMAGA, has "street cred".

UMAGA is the silly looking guy in the middle, with the painted face, in case you can't read his name in the photo.

If someone finds one these posters defaced, please send me a picture.

#11: New York Marathon

I wanted to dedicated this post to defending New York Marathon champion Paula Radcliffe, who won her third title today.  I also want to thank her for lending her image to beautify the NYC subway system and inspire our beloved anonymous artists, who in turn beautify this blog.

#10: Devilish

Devilish.  I've always loved this cheesy word, ever since Michael Jackson used it to publicly insult music industry heavyweight Tommy Mottola, a few years ago.

I figured this was an appropriate subject, since I'm posting this a day before Halloween.  The devilish part, not Michael Jackson.

My apologies for the lack of postings this past few weeks.  My work sometimes pulls me away from everything else in my life.

#8: Unibrows Are Sexy

Just check out these hot babes.  

By the way, notice that one of those was actually done inside a train, not at the station like most of the others.  These are rare. Posters inside the train are hardly ever messed with.  Artists can be so shy sometimes....

#7: See no evil. Speak no evil... Smell no evil???

...well, it is New York City.

By the way, can you see where her nose ended up?  It's on the other girl, next to her.  That is actually an evolution of that 'cutting' technique I showed before.  They cut out elements from one place and stick it back somewhere else.  In a later posting I'll show you some great examples of this method.

#6: What would Freud say?

It's such a childish thing to giggle at drawings of penises but, "what the hell" I say, "go ahead and giggle, dammit!!"  There's a lot of shit to worry about in life, so if a stupid doodle of male genitalia makes me laugh, so be it!  I'll take a good reason to smile anytime.

#3: Why Me!!???

I knew I had another chewing gum shot I wanted to add to that previous post.  Here it is.  This poor girl got ripped in her posters.  She's an anchor of a morning news show.  Which brings up the topic of who gets defaced and who doesn't.  

Once you start paying attention to one thing in your surroundings, you quickly begin to see patterns.  

I learned that some celebrities NEVER get their posters messed with.  I studied the phenomenon and came to realize that the cooler the celeb is, the more "street cred" the person has, the lesser the chances of getting their face altered in a NYC subway poster.  People like sport athletes, especially NBA and NFL players, can have a poster for a month, promoting shoes or TV shows, and not a single scratch on them.  Instead, a morning news anchor with a cheesy poster saying "I'm jolly and fun, so please watch my show", will definitely ALWAYS get plastered with this kind of art.  And there are other patterns or reasons for who gets it and who doesn't.  

So there is some social comment here.  It's not just simple goofiness.

#2: Tools of the Trade

It's not just mustaches and black teeth.  A Sharpie is not the only tool they wield.  These used chewing gum.  I love the color on the yellow one! 

These pieces are particularly short lived because the maintenance crews that clean the stations take them down as soon as they see them, so you have to be lucky to find one.  The one with the kiss, for example, was taken down the same night it appeared, but the 'artist' redid it the next day.

Actually, I haven't seen any with gum in about a year.  Oh yes, there are fashions and trends that appear in this joy of defacing as you will see...