Freight Fridays Feature Fix

 Todays Freight Fridays Feature Fix is brought to by the letters, U-P-F-E.  The letters stand for, Union Pacific Fruit Express which was a mechanical refrigerated boxcars (reefers) owned by the Union Pacific Railroad Company.  This car was equipped with a mechanical apparatus for furnishing protection against heat and/or cold. The apparatus was operated by diesel power rather than from the car axle.  The diesel fuel stain on the tank that hung below the car was a signature look for these cars.  These cars were either scrapped or painted and converted to what is now the Union Pacifics, ARMN's.

It was around 2005 that the Union Pacific company started to convert and scrap these style of reefers.  The purpose was to replace the mechanical apparatus to a more high-tech/fuel efficient, modern cooling equipment.  Reefers are hard sought out by graffiti writers and the UPFE's were loved but the fact the UP railroad company painted the converted cars to white makes them more desirable.  The ARMN identification letters come from the former American Refrigerator Transit Company that the UP took over in the 70's and is now a subsidiary of them.

The Freight Fridays Feature Fix tributes are pieces done by MECA and COLT45.  The MECA freight (above) was a cleanly done silver simple style piece dissed by an unknown assailant.  The COLT45 piece is pretty fresh but being it was inbetween the lines made the photo difficult to get but it's a perspective any freight graffiti writer understands.  The last image is a before and after of the UPFE's.  As dope as the white ARMN's are, there will always be a special place for the UPFE's.

Enjoy your Freight Fridays Feature Fix and stay safe!

Tuesday's Underground Lowdown

This documentary held up to its magazines well known organization and professionalism. A real breath of fresh air, definitely not another 'drugs, sex, graffiti, violence' ...a true documentary on the art of graffiti.  I really enjoyed the 'down to Earth' - nothing but love for
graffiti interviews and commentaries from the real street artists and hardcore graffiti writers. Chock full insane on the edge of your seat bombing with the writer giving commentary on their own thoughts and feelings about who, what, why they do, what they do! With so many dope writers this flick was really well organized and had an awesome and original soundtrack.

(9 out of 10)

Website Fossils

Are graffiti archive style websites a thing of the past?  Have they gone the way of MySpace and Bing?  Well, I guess they're still around but who uses it and who ever used Bing to begin with?  A decade ago there was no such thing as an 'app' and you had to search relatively hard to find your favorite writer online.  We've heard old school writers from the 80s talk about how it was before the internet.  I guess this is this generations "before the app" or "before social media".

Apps and the popular social media choices has changed the game drastically.  One can find nearly any writer they want and now have the chance to interact with that person.  Instagram is probably the biggest influence of this as we've seen writers have hundreds and thousands of followers and half of their Instagram posts are shots of their dinner.  Kids still jock them and their "dope dinner" comments.  We're not hating at all, just simply reflecting on how apps and these social media style sites have become such a powerful tool.  Probably one of the most positive influences in the graffiti culture thus yet.

Anonymity still exists on Twitter, Instagram and Flickr however there is a lot more accountability than you would find in a forum .  "Back in my day", it was online forums to see new graffiti from else where in the world.  Online archive sites were the cool thing and to submit your photos and have them archived was a way to get your name out.  You use to hear a lot about this or that site but does anyone go on those sites anymore?  We  like the way the culture has evolved and adapted to these new trends.  We understand that online graffiti forums and archived sites are still out there and are still used but theyre not as talked about or used as much they use to be

Freight Fridays Feature Fix

There are writers who get up bombing their neighborhood and city.  There are also writers who like to stay legal and do big productions and sometimes get paid to do them.  There are those that like to do pieces on freight cars.

Crushing freight cars deserves its own individual level of respect because there's a lot of preparation that goes into a freight mission. Getting in and out unnoticed and without injury is an accomplishment in it's self.  To get your name up and have it seen throughout the country and later benched on the internet is rewarding.  A lot of curves, bumps, handles and painting on metal alone isn't easy.  To keep it clean while pitch dark, on metal and working around the elements that make up a train car is respectable and not as easy as non-train writers would think.  Many big names have came and gone through the years but many come back every now and then.  The writer that shares an equal love for rolling stock as they do for graffiti and are skilled enough will actually paint around all of the stenciling as well.

Todays pick is a cylinder hopper done by FOX.  Below we found a nice flat panel Canadian National clean car.  Enjoy your Freight Friday and stay safe!

Tuesday's Underground Lowdown

Did you know we've been around since 2001?  We've been reviewing underground graffiti movies for over a decade.  This week, we're starting with a European movie called, Dirty Handz.

I was not expecting such a sick video to come out of Europe, but I seriously underestimated the European creativity and style. This dude narrates as he goes to most major European cities and destroys passenger trains after passenger trains! The narrator and the artists he meets up with puts most U.S. writers to shame especially when they travel to New York City and destroy the subway cars there and even do 4 whole cars! This video was really well put together and organized and I will watch this video again and again. Along with their graffiti Euro styles, the soundtrack in this video has European style too it, but that should be a given and is definitely not a minus.
(8 out of 10)

Featured Artist of the Day (2014)

Are you following us on Facebook?  If you're not, then why?  We are using our Facebook page to post articles, updates and news.  Also, there will be a different artist featured every day from your submissions.  We want to post graffiti from all around the world.  You can submit your photos to; sales@graffinctrades.com.  This is a very exciting time and we are looking forward to the future as this album grows.

Like, comment and share this album and its photos.  We appreciate any and all support and completely recognize that without you and your support we wouldn't be here today.  Thank you thus far and in advance for all that you do for us.

The Art of Streaking

'Streaks' or 'monikers' is a unique form of graffiti as the only people that really see them are graffiti writers and railroaders.  This form of graffiti started as early as the 30's and was used by railroaders and hobos.  They were mainly messages with solid paint sticks in North America.  As the graffiti artists gravitated towards the freight trains in the late 80's and early 90's, they slowly adopted this art form.  You can now you find streaks being done with the paint sticks or paint markers.

This form of graffiti really doesn't get the respect that it deserves.  They are small and easy to get dozens up quickly however it is an artform and dates way before graffiti ever hit a subway car in New York City.  Steaks are unique and mainly feature some kind of a design and at times are dated or have a location where they're from.  Railroaders continue this tradition as well, but not as much as they used to.

Streaks get covered all the time by graffiti writers painting, bombing and tagging freight trains.  I dont know any that could about a streak on a car.  We're not trying to debate the importance or hierarchy of graffiti on trains.  We just feel that streaks deserve more recognition and we try to flick and post as much as we can.  Some are very elaborate like the piece below and are less likely to get covered but it all depends on the writer.

Among the full color pieces, tags and freight stenciling it's easy to understand how streaks can get lost and not much attention.  Many streaks fade but their outlines remain like a ghost.  The streaks preserve the color of the car as the rest of it fade away by the elements and sunlight.




Here are a few more streaks,

#PANELPIECES

  GraffInc Trades proudly brings you, #PANELPIECES.  It's a photography/art exhibit by one of the founders of graffinc.com and the new company, graffinctrades.com.  Rolling Stock Gallery is the venue holding this event.  The gallery is located in Fort Lauderdale at 506 NW 1st Ave.  The event will take place on March 29th from 7-11p.  For more information, please visit our event page on facebook at the following link, #PANELPIECES.  You can also e-mail us for more information at sales@graffinctrades.com.

We sat down with Todd briefly and asked him why he wanted to do this.  He simply replied, "I've always wanted to do my own gallery event".  He continued to say, "I'm very grateful for Rolling Stock Gallery to allow me to hold this event".  He explains that all work will have something to do with trains and many will be of tight squared up shots on freight train cars.  We had to ask why freight train cars and he explained that freight trains hold so much art in and on itself and are so photogenic.  The photo below is a sample collage of what visitors can expect to see at the show.

The one catch is that this event is currently tentative.  Rolling Stock's lease is up this monday and may not renew.  Todd and GraffInc Trades is fully aware of this stipulation however are moving forward as if it's a guarantee.  In the unfortunate event that this event is to be cancelled, we will be sure to notify everyone promptly.

We hope to see you there and remember to post your visit with the hashtag, #PANELPIECES.

Robbo V Banksy

  You can find any kind of graffiti documentary these days.  Graffiti documentaries go as far back as the early 80's when the classic 'Style Wars' was released.  Style Wars has laid the foundation for generations of videos to come out for decades to come.  It is a must watch for any new beginning graffiti artist and even to revisit for veterans.  Hidden in the depths of the internet is a BBC documentary titled, 'Robbo vs Banksy- Graffiti Wars'.  Many people have seen the popular 'Exit Through the Gift Shop" which has added to Banksy's fame and mysterious image.  However, not many people are familiar with who Robbo is.  This in depth documentary is compelling with real interviews from Robbo himself.  Interviews are also given from other prolific graffiti artists regarding the feud between Robbo and Banksy explaining why this feud continues.

Many graffiti artists and street artists fight this kind of a battle every time they discuss what is "real graffiti art".  This is a well done documentary and helps to walk you through the steps one by one on how this graffiti drama unfolded.  The climatic ending is a twist that you won't see coming and leave you with more questions than answers.  One important question you will have to answer is, are you Team Robbo or Team Banksy?