Paul Cavalieri

Decades of New York City graffiti artist CAVS's prolific, iconic graffiti art in hundreds of photos and stories from CAVS himself. CAVS (Paul Cavalieri), a prolific and influential Bronx graffiti writer and artist for nearly 40 years, shares hundreds of photos of his work, his progression as an artist, and stories of the New York City graffiti scene through the decades in one colorful volume. From the Wakefield neighborhood in the northern borough of the Bronx, CAVS tells his own story in his own singular voice. With a chapter examining each, he reminisces and documents his family and background, his beginnings in the Bronx, and his work on walls, subways, freight trains, and trucks. He covers dodging cops, working with other writers, and being one of the East Coast pioneers of freight train writing in the mid- to late '80s, bringing the reader into that specific time and place now so changed. While CAVS has changed, too, now painting only with permission, he’s still a vandal at heart.

1980s Bronx subway graffiti documented through over 500 photos with raw accounts by the artists themselves. Foreword by graffiti historian Henry Chalfant, coproducer of Style Wars—the seminal documentary on New York graffiti and hip-hop culture. In the 1980s, brothers Kenny (a.k.a. KEY) and Paul (a.k.a. CAVS) immersed themselves in the graffiti scene in the Boogie Down Bronx, dutifully photographing hundreds of pieces on now-discontinued MTA subway cars and capturing their proud comrades before, during, and after the act. Documenting with their cameras, which they always carried, they were on the ride of their lives—until 1989, when the last painted train was removed from service. Tags by names like QUIK, IZTHEWIZ, and many others appear here in color exposures, and dozens of artists share stories and drop knowledge with no filter. A Foreword by graffiti historian Henry Chalfant, coproducer of Style Wars—the seminal documentary on New York graffiti and hip-hop culture—kicks things off.

New York City graffiti artist Cavs shares his experiences under the Bronx’s East 238th Street bridge, which over the years has become a Bronx "Graffiti Hall of Fame," through an astonishing, lifelong photographic diary. Join Paul "Cavs" Cavalieri on a journey through graffiti history and the evolution of a major cultural landmark. In this account, Cavs shares his experiences under the Bronx's East 238th Street bridge, which over the years has become a Bronx "Graffiti Hall of Fame," through an astonishing, lifelong photographic diary. From the late 1950s to the 1990s, graffiti artists would congregate here to express themselves by unleashing their creative energy. In this adopted home away from home, generations of graffiti artists formed bonds as well as rivalries. Take in four decades' worth of work from prolific artists including Boots119, Sent, and Sien5. Also represented are graffiti writers from the Woodlawn and Wakefield neighborhoods, connected by the famous concrete viaduct built between 1929 and 1931, as well as unique and personal insights into successive generations of crews, such as a recent, major contributor from Matilda Avenue.

A visual compilation of NYC subway graffiti art from 1983-1989 New York City native and graffiti writer Paul Cavalieri ("CAVS") was drawn to the colorful tags on the New York City subway trains in the early 1980's. He started learning train schedules so he could snap works by many artists of the time. From the Platform is his compilation of subway graffiti from 1983, at a time the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has tried hard to forget, through to 1989, when the MTA announced that its fleet was entirely graffiti-free. More than 325 color photos capture everything from motion-bombed train interiors riddled with pilot marker tags to epic works covering whole exteriors, top to bottom. Artists tell their tales of adventure throughout and reminisce about working on live third rails, navigating the complex subway system to find their works, and witnessing graffiti's gradual disappearance from the trains. This book presents a nostalgic look at 1980s New York City and the subway street artists that helped give it soul.