Subway Art, by Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper, reviewed by Marc Ecko, CEO and chairman of Marc Ecko Enterprises

Subway Art, by Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper, reviewed by Marc Ecko, CEO and chairman of Marc Ecko Enterprises

From time to time, I dig out my copy of Subway Art by Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper. It is a photo journal of the early 1980s New York City graffiti scene. When I was younger, it served as a critical piece of inspiration for my art, helping me to find my voice.

I didn’t know it at the time, but seeing those images turned out to be a tipping point for my interest in graf [graffiti]. For me, the thought-provoking imagery practically leaps off the page: unconventional, defiant, refreshing. It’s counter culture
at its best.

When I dropped out of college to start my own clothing company, there weren’t too many people that thought I could carve a niche out as a designer. Especially with an aesthetic born out of street culture.

Subway Art showed me you don’t have to follow a conventional route to be successful. Although it looks from the outside that graf is spontaneously created, the book revealed the painstaking preparation behind each piece. Rule-breakers, those who think outside the box, often make the most successful entrepreneurs.

Fashion is about expressing where we are ‘at’ and not where we are ‘from’. Subway Art helped in this capacity for sure and it helped me tap into a certain philosophy to create the market I have for my brand today.