BY NILS MÜLLER

VANDALS

Photography © Nils MüllerCovershot - Paris (FR) 2010Portraits of Nils Müller by Bartosz RozykInterview and text by WerticalLayout by Alexander Sturm

First published in 2013 by:Publikats Verlags- und Handels GmbH & Co. KGHauptstraße 204D - 63814 MainaschaffGermanyTel: +49 (0) 60 21 / 900 40 - 0Fax: +49 (0) 60 21 / 900 40 - 20info@publikat.dewww.publikat.de

First print run: 05 / 2013

ISBN 978-3-939566-38-0 (Printed Hardcover)

If the book in your hands has a black canvas-cover with only a logo print on the front, you are the proud owner of a limited special edition. This special edition is without ISBN.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher or the editor.

Publikat is documenting the development of the worldwide graffiti scene. Our intention is to show the artistic aspect of graffiti in full range. Please note that we don‘t appeal to do criminal activities in any form. Named articles do not necessarily correspond to the meaning of the publisher.

Printed and bound in China.

BY

About the artist

Whether targeting members of the subculture or passersby, it seems there is no way of avoiding

graffiti these days. It’s on the streets, in advertisements – companies use it as brand communication –

on CD covers, in fashion, in movies, in TV, on websites, blogs, and social media, as well as in books,

newspapers and magazines. It is no longer a question whether graffiti is part of our socioculture.

Its visibility may give it importance, but it helps integration, too. And it is graffiti – a movement that

hovers between unlawful and lawful expression – that needs analysis, both to explain its logic and

to classify its semiotic and semantic value. Graffiti has long been widely discussed and debated in

media. Its terminology has been encoded, its different styles defined. Whether practitioners prefer

to be labelled writers or sprayers, they are now styled as artists as well.

By contrast, little is known about train writing, the supreme discipline of graffiti. That is perhaps

down to two facts. First, train writers have to remain extremely restrained and anonymous to

escape penalty. Secondly, painted trains are often immobilized or cleaned before going back into

circulation. The chance of glimpsing a painted train is therefore slim; glimpsing the act of vandalism

is even rarer.

Vandals, however, dives into the hidden world of illegality to portray the anonymous train writing

scene from the inside. It reveals that each act of train writing is a mission to accomplish. It begins

with finding the right spot, planning the way in and out without getting noticed, managing barbwire,

fences, walls, locked emergency exits, motion detectors, observation cameras, security guards,

and many more barriers to cheat the system.

But who are these people going through so much effort to create something that eventually goes

unnoticed? Well, they are people who live life within the confines of society. And it is precisely this

conflict that fascinates German photographer Nils Müller.

Müller is a former graffiti artist who taught himself photography in order to immortalize his work.

It wasn’t long before he realized he wanted to show more than just the defacement of public structures.

Müller shows the artistry, fearlessness, and agility of the vandals themselves. He elevates train writing

into a sophisticated visual language that thrills both for its illicit nature and aesthetic value.

MILAN (IT) 10 – 25

VANDALISM ONE 26 – 43

NEW YORK CITY (US) 44 – 57

PORTRAITS VANDALS 58 – 73

BUCHAREST (RO) 74 – 87

VANDALISM TWO 88 – 103

SEOUL (KR) 104 – 117

VANDALISM THREE 118 – 133

CARACAS (VE) 134 – 145

VANDALISM FOUR 146 – 169

PARIS (FR) 170 – 187

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16 17

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Berlin (DE) 2010

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NEW YORK CITY (US)

Behind a smooth surface

While New York is indeed striving to be safe and modern, parts of the city still reveal glimpses of

a much edgier era, one that preceded the clean-up campaigns of several mayors and the consequences

of 9/11. While being superfi cially pristine, the city has not lost its charming heart, hidden nowhere more

so than inside the tunnels of its metro. In fact, they serve as the most authentic kind of underground

museum, a showcase of cave paintings offering the legacy of generations of graffi ti artists. Markings

originating from the early 1980s – to name but a few – such as those by Futura 2000, Revolt, Haze,

one of my favorite style-writers Skeme, and the Vandal Squad are immortalized down in the bowels

of the city. You see tags, throw-ups and even pieces. It is an unforgettable journey back in time.

The history of the New York metro itself is equally impressive. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority,

better known as the MTA or TA, is one of the world’s oldest railway networks. Opened in October 1904,

it is one of the longest and most complex systems today: 468 stations, 337 kilometers of route length,

1355 kilometers of total track length, 7500 subway cars, transporting around 5 million passengers a day.

It goes without saying that I have been documenting how some of the subways got spray painted. Two

actions were so remarkable, they felt like a scene from the wrong movie. In both situations, police

presence was stronger than usual. The fi rst was down to the execution of America’s latest public enemy

number one – inside the tunnel, we were tensed up more than usual. The second was because it

was New Year’s Eve. About ten police cars were heading straight to the gas station where we wanted

to buy two bottles of beer to toast to a successful action and the new year. When offi cers arrived

and got out of their cars, we thought we got busted. But instead of investigating us, they called out

a happy new year to each other and enjoyed their well-deserved break. Phew!

Being attentive both under and above ground, I train my lens for moments that can easily remain

unnoticed. Paradoxically, graffi ti remains a form of vandalism while increasingly being considered an

art form too. Just as odd are the New Yorkers who escaped being tarred with the brush of globalization

and assimilation. For instance, the American Indian, who walks amidst the modern city while conveying

the sense of living in the past.

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134

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