“… when we had nothing to worry about except finding more trains to paint.”
Painting trains seems older than horses, but of course that can’t be true. Outside of public transportation trains, which have been largely free of graffiti since the late 80s, the lust for hopping freights still runs deep for some. Like the current romantic fixation that many bars and rock bands and suspender-wearing, handlebar moustache-baring cads have for a hand hewn old-timey world they never lived in, some Street Artists still have a forlorn longing for the simpler freight bombing of yesteryear. Before streaming surveillance, cell-phones, Snooki.
Labrona and Other (photo © Labrona)
Like migrant workers and hobos during the American dustbowl, some artists opt for the screeching low-cost traveling option of hopping freights across the country for a little paintcation – intrepidly forgoing comfort and regular meals and risking occasional close-misses with fate and dodgy dudes with irregular agendas. It’s like a rite of passage, like starring in your own old Western movie. It’s like putting your work up on Flickr, except all the Internet wires are thick heavy steel rails and your page is a rusty rectangular 100 ton boxcar. Also, images take longer to refresh.
Labrona and Other (photo © Labrona)
For Labrona and Other aka Troy Lovegates the whole weighty freight topic is an exercise in nostalgia; now that everyday life has been getting in the way and they’ve been developing professionally as artists. But there are occasional exceptions, including these recent images that give you a taste of how art on freights has been updated lately.
Labrona says, “Other and I have been painting trains together since the mid 90s. I can’t believe it’s been that long. Frigg, we are getting old. These days we are both busy and located in different cities and don’t get to paint together anymore all that much. Getting to spend a week together painting trains was an amazing blast from the past that brought me back to the days before art shows, traveling, studios, careers, bills and responsibility. – Back to days of painting for the fun of it when we had nothing to worry about except finding more trains to paint.”
Labrona and Other (photo © Labrona)
Labrona and Other (photo © Labrona)
Labrona and Other (photo © Labrona)
Labrona and Other (photo © Labrona)
<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA
Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
The Spanish Street Artist Hyuro again features the uncovered breast of a female form in her public mural. The news here in Barcelona is that it is not news. Hyuro. BCN Transit Walls Festival. Barc...
Just over 50 years ago Cuban architect Hilario Candela designed the Miami Marine Stadium using modernist design to create a great open air theater along the water to watch powerboat racing. In the thi...
Ah, the feckless, sebaceous, inward-turned man; Bumbling through the world unaware and uncaring how his actions may impact the lives of others. Little does he know that the fire he starts will burn h...
Hot off the video boards Here's the brand new video, less than an hour old, of Gregory Siff pouncing on an LA wall to prepare for his big solo opening tonight in LA. Big Ups to Carlos Gonzalez for ...
With Director as Curator, Urban Nation opens it’s second exhibition since last years' inaugural opening show, entitled “The Power of Art as a Social Architect” next week on September 27th in Berlin. ...