Let’s get on with the glossary #keywordsgraffitistreetart !
Today’s term is TRAIN BOMBING😊
Literally train bombing means “bombing a train,” from the graffiti perspective it means bombing it with colorful spray paint from cans!
Since the early days of Writing, train cars have always been a cherished tool for writers, both because of the difficulty involved in “hitting” the cars (albeit stationary at the end of the line), and because trains represent moving tunnels that travel from one end of the line to the next, carrying pieces around and offering the possibility of greater visibility.
Also especially in the period of the movement’s early development in the 1970s, covering the wagons far and wide created an opportunity for the writers to activate a kind of challenge between crews representing different parts of the city particularly the suburbs of the suburbs. For example, if a crew in Harlem created a new piece on a car on Line 2 (which still travels from North to South New York), that piece would be seen all over the city all the way to Brooklyn; then crews from every neighborhood on that line could observe and respond with a counterattack by “bombing” another car or by cross-bombing that same piece.
Penalties and fines for train bombing vary from country to country, especially if you are caught in the act several times, the punishment can get quite severe.
Despite its dangerousness and high risk of being “caught,” train bombing, like Writing in general, endures and comes down to us today, as we can see in some shots of recent years particularly in South Sardinia.
Until the next article Street art and Graffiti Lovers! 😊
Melania
Photo: M. Garau
