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Artist Ron English Talks Underbelly Project
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 3, 2010
Modified Nov 8, 2010
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 3, 2010
Modified Nov 8, 2010
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More artists are coming forward with bits and pieces of their stories about working on the Underbelly Project, whose existence was revealed to the world this past Sunday. Project curators Workhorse and PAC were understandably paranoid about any of the 103 artists talking to press about the project, both to preserve their desire for "a space in the world that collectors couldn’t contaminate," as well because of the illegal nature of the project, and the fact that the MTA would like to catch the two curators.
Popagandist artist Ron English described to Animal what it was like working on the project in secret:
It’s ludicrous that [Workhorse] is telling us not to talk about it, since it’s in the Times. The night I went down there with FAILE, we couldn’t see anything or talk to each other. We were trapped there all night, trying not to get noticed. Yeah, the track people were there, walking around and bitching about their pensions. They didn’t notice any of the art because they were too busy doing their thing. They didn’t see us until we exited. We just calmly walked past them. They were in shock, like “Where the hell did they come from?” which is different than a guy chasing you with a baseball bat for tagging up his billboard. Only when we got to the street did they start to chase us, so we split… I’ve been doing this crap forever. I’ve been in jail 30 times. But did 200 hits for each arrest. But you never know.
If you're wondering what an artist can do to follow-up participating in such a massive, secretive project, English tells Animal about his next collaboration with renowned girlfriend-puncher Chris Brown, who is such a fan, he has a Ron English forearm tattoo.
Tagged
graffiti
ron english
street art
subway
subway station
the underbelly project
track people
underbelly project
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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