tvibe
04-17-2006, 02:52 AM
www.seenworld.com, had never seen this Seen piece b4 & had a great little story with it....
People have often asked me about the "Hicki & Ski" car. The idea actually came from the N.Y.P.D. Vandal Squad Unit. That's right -they came to me with the idea!
One day while I was painting a hand ball court in the Bronx, two detectives from the Vandal Squad approached me. I was sure that they were going to give me a hard time about painting the wall but instead, they praised my work! They then continued on to ask me the most peculiar thing; would I like to paint a "Whole Car" dedication piece for Hicki & Ski as a retirement gift. I stood there in disbelief, especially when they said that they would supply the paint and look out.
The first thing that came to my mind was that they were setting me up! But, I figured I'd play along for now and said that I would do it. We met at 3:00 AM on a week day at the Buhre Avenue Lay Up on the #6 line. The DT's were there waiting and had brought the paint as they said they would.
The first half hour, I was still suspicious and painted with sweat running down my face as they watched me from the platform of the train station. After awhile I relaxed and got into the flow of painting. About 1 1/2 hours into the piece, a motorman showed up to warm up the train. I wasn't sure if it was going into service so I kept painting. It did pull out, and ran on the 5 & 2 line unfinished.
Two months had gone by, when we decide to try again. This time we met on the Zerega Avenue Lay-up on a Saturday night. This way I was sure that the train would not pull out until Monday morning. Feeling comfortable that they were not setting me up, I went right to work. I even felt comfortable enough to give them my camera and asked them to take action shots. I think they were even having fun. They would let me know when a train was coming, detour people coming up the stairs to the other side -it's amazing what the law can do when they're on your side.
I was well into the piece when suddenly one of the detectives called me up to the platform. By the look into their face, I knew something was wrong. I jumped off the no clearance and scrambled onto the platform. I could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. Playing it cool, I leaned up against the wall as if I were waiting for a train. The two DT's confronted to other men who had come up the stairs. It turned out they were DT's too! At this point, all sorts of things were running through my head. I thought things were about to go down. The other DT's had seen someone on the tracks from the next station and had come to investigate. My lookouts covered up quickly and explained that they had been on the tracks.
The DT's who were looking out apologized for the interruption and explained that they the other two officers were supposed to be off Duty. So I went back to work, and painted till the sun came up. I finished up and took pictures of the finished product. After that, I never saw those DTs again. I found out that 3 enlargements were made, one went to Hicki and one went to SKI, the 3rd was hanging in the Vandal Squad Station.
I will tell you this, I was honored when those DT's asked me to paint that car. I know that those two DT's risked their jobs. I don't know the reason why they took that chance but I will tell you mine; I believe deep down that Hicki & Ski really loved Graffiti. They could of slowed me down some, but they didn't.
Thanks for letting me have some of the best times of my life without a hassle.
SEEN
People have often asked me about the "Hicki & Ski" car. The idea actually came from the N.Y.P.D. Vandal Squad Unit. That's right -they came to me with the idea!
One day while I was painting a hand ball court in the Bronx, two detectives from the Vandal Squad approached me. I was sure that they were going to give me a hard time about painting the wall but instead, they praised my work! They then continued on to ask me the most peculiar thing; would I like to paint a "Whole Car" dedication piece for Hicki & Ski as a retirement gift. I stood there in disbelief, especially when they said that they would supply the paint and look out.
The first thing that came to my mind was that they were setting me up! But, I figured I'd play along for now and said that I would do it. We met at 3:00 AM on a week day at the Buhre Avenue Lay Up on the #6 line. The DT's were there waiting and had brought the paint as they said they would.
The first half hour, I was still suspicious and painted with sweat running down my face as they watched me from the platform of the train station. After awhile I relaxed and got into the flow of painting. About 1 1/2 hours into the piece, a motorman showed up to warm up the train. I wasn't sure if it was going into service so I kept painting. It did pull out, and ran on the 5 & 2 line unfinished.
Two months had gone by, when we decide to try again. This time we met on the Zerega Avenue Lay-up on a Saturday night. This way I was sure that the train would not pull out until Monday morning. Feeling comfortable that they were not setting me up, I went right to work. I even felt comfortable enough to give them my camera and asked them to take action shots. I think they were even having fun. They would let me know when a train was coming, detour people coming up the stairs to the other side -it's amazing what the law can do when they're on your side.
I was well into the piece when suddenly one of the detectives called me up to the platform. By the look into their face, I knew something was wrong. I jumped off the no clearance and scrambled onto the platform. I could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. Playing it cool, I leaned up against the wall as if I were waiting for a train. The two DT's confronted to other men who had come up the stairs. It turned out they were DT's too! At this point, all sorts of things were running through my head. I thought things were about to go down. The other DT's had seen someone on the tracks from the next station and had come to investigate. My lookouts covered up quickly and explained that they had been on the tracks.
The DT's who were looking out apologized for the interruption and explained that they the other two officers were supposed to be off Duty. So I went back to work, and painted till the sun came up. I finished up and took pictures of the finished product. After that, I never saw those DTs again. I found out that 3 enlargements were made, one went to Hicki and one went to SKI, the 3rd was hanging in the Vandal Squad Station.
I will tell you this, I was honored when those DT's asked me to paint that car. I know that those two DT's risked their jobs. I don't know the reason why they took that chance but I will tell you mine; I believe deep down that Hicki & Ski really loved Graffiti. They could of slowed me down some, but they didn't.
Thanks for letting me have some of the best times of my life without a hassle.
SEEN