We Own the Night: The Art of the Underbelly Project

by Workhorse, Pac, Eric Haze

From early 2009 to mid-2010, the Underbelly Project was the world’s best-kept urban art secret. This is the only book documenting the project, during which the world’s leading urban artists, such as Swoon, Faile, Revok, and Lister, made late-night trips to an abandoned New York City subway station, painting night after night to transform the space into the largest underground art gallery in the world.

When curators Workhorse and PAC declared the project finished, there was no opening to show the work. In fact, the space’s location remains a secret kept by the MTA, which boarded up the space, making it, like the cave of Lascaux, a time capsule for future generations to discover.

The book includes three hundred photographs documenting the project and the participating artists’ stories of secret expeditions, ranging from the hilarious to the suspenseful. With texts from artists such as Dan Witz, Elbow Toe, Jeff Soto, Miya Ando, and Ron English, the result is an extraordinary contribution to urban history and the annals of street art. 

Genres: Art

240 pages, Hardcover

First published February 7, 2012

Reviews

[Jolanta (knygupė) · Rating 5 out of 5]

WE OWN THE NIGHT albumas pristato 18 menesiu trukusi projekta – UNDERBELLY(2009). New York miesto apleistoje pozemineje metro stotyje dirbo 103 gatves meno/graffiti (ir ne tik) dailininkai is viso pasaulio. Rizikuodami buti suciupti policijos jie dirbo naktimis, nezinodami kas dirbo pries ir dirbs po ju… Jiems buvo skirtas limituotas laikas (nuo keliu iki keliolikos valandu), jie nezinojo kur tai vyks, iki kol juos ten nulydedavo. Projektas buvo laikomas grieztoje paslaptyje…
Si didziausia pasaulyje pozemine meno ”galerija” buvo atidaryta ir uzdaryta ta pacia diena. Be dalyviu projekta mate nedaug kas. Pavieniai fanai, kurie nepabijojo klaidzioti ir ieskoti jo po pozemini New York ir sio miesto metropoliteno darbuotojai…
,IF NO ONE SEES IT, IS IT STILL IMPORTANT?’ – geras kalusymas.


PAC ON KEEPING TRACK (US)
‘Graffiti never originally intended to become a means to an end; it was born simply out of a way for us to communicate our identities and presence to each other within the inner city. The Underbelly project represents what is still part of that unifying spirit – an underground tunnel in New York City providing a platform for a community of now worldwide artists to continue this perpetual dialogue.’


MARK JENKINS & CON (US) 4 hours.

Ir taip kuriama miesto istorija...

[Jeffrey Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danger plus beauty equals glory. Recognize. And these murals, created illegally in the bowels of the city’s transit system, are thrilling. Painted in an abandoned subway station four stories down, they epitomize the potency of the “underground.”
Organized by Workhorse and Pac, the year-long exploit involved a hundred artists. The record of this unique feat is remarkable. One can imagine a day when tour guides take visitors to see the Lascaux of our era.
In addition to the artwork reproduced in full plates, we see before-and-after as well as action shots. Some of the artists are legends already, like Ron English who provided a statement about his motivation and experience. English wrote about the tangible threat of being arrested or getting hurt in the dark as did others. Heart-pounding stuff and pretty heroic.
Essentially, we are given entre into a secret, international society. This compendium of street artists offers an incomparable sample of styles and subjects. Strafe, Stash and Swoon join Bigfoot, Momo and Asylum.
There are many considerable aspects of this project, foremost of which is the art itself, some beautiful and all of it site-specific by nature. Environmental, political and aesthetic concerns brush shoulders in the shadows. What’s the purpose of creating art no one’s allowed to see? This denial of market control is subversive and liberating. In a word, the Underbelly Project is — historic.