The evolution of Philadelphia’s Northeast Rail Corridor
psychylustro by Katharina Grosse. Photo by Steve Weinik.
In the spring of 2014, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program installed psychylustro, a multi-site artwork by Katharina Grosse, across sections of the Northeast Rail Corridor in Philadelphia. Grosse treated walls, warehouses, and even trees as her canvas. psychylustro‘s bold colors and brush strokes certainly changed the scenery for Amtrak commuters, and Hyperallergic described the work as “a mysterious, puzzling, and surprising presence.” But psychylustro was also an intervention at a site usually controlled by graffiti writers.
There was graffiti along the rail corridor before Mural Arts and Grosse got to work, and it’s no secret that psychylustro was tagged and bombed. For six months, Mural Arts regularly revisited the walls to apply fresh coats of neon paint. And then… they stopped, leaving psychylustro to the elements, the writers, and the buff.
The installation of Katharina Grosse’s psychylustro. Photo by Steve Weinik.
Although psychylustro did cover notable graffiti (including works by Retna, Nekst, Skrew, Curve, and Ntel), it also presented an opportunity: Before installation began, Mural Arts invited Martha Cooper to document the graffiti at the sites where psychylustro was going to be. And recently, a little over a year after Mural Arts stopped maintaining psychylustro, they sent photographer Steve Weinik to revisit the installation. The result is a likely unparalleled documentation of graffiti along the Philadelphia section of the Northeast Rail Corridor in 2014 and 2015.
One nice perk of working at Mural Arts is that I have access to those photos. Since I’m about to leave Mural Arts for New York City, it seems like the perfect time to show the evolution of the psychylustro walls, from the graffiti captured by Martha through to how they look today. The photo captions are incomplete, but hopefully useful nonetheless (thanks to NTEL and Air Rat for help with captions). Enjoy!
Sever, Skrew, Cense, Retna, and more. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.
Harm, Bad, Geez, Tober, Glich, Seus, Goose, Bum, Gane, Kerup, Hollis, and more. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.Geez, Tober, Ken, Derm, Sleep, Crown, Clem, Omar, Bad, and more. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.Gane, Raes, Crown, and more. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.Drama, Tibet, and Skrew. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.Skrew, Nekst, and more. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.Nekst, Among, Kpins, and more. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.Sire and Skrew. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.Among, Kpin, Curve, Cecske, and Shock. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.Acet, Hothead, Curve, and more. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.Distort, NTEL, Nehi, Acet, Curve, and more. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.ESPO, Alma, Bum, Prozak, Vatoe, Obur, Lazzix, and more. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.Fuckin Revs, Augor, Par, Tnt, Spain, and Caze. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.Potatoe, Nekst, Hank, and more. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.Rune, Lazzix and Tastes Like Gold. April 2014. Photo by Martha Cooper.
Shortly after Martha’s visit, psychylustro was installed. And yes, that Nekst piece was intentionally saved.
psychylustro by Katharina Grosse, and Nekst. Photo by Steve Weinik.psychylustro by Katharina Grosse. Photo by Steve Weinik.psychylustro by Katharina Grosse. Photo by Steve Weinik.psychylustro by Katharina Grosse. Photo by Steve Weinik.
After about six months, Mural Arts stopped maintaining psychylustro.
psychylustro by Katharina Grosse, partially-buffed by the City of Philadelphia, next to partially-buffed pieces by Texas, Gane, and Bred. September, 2014. Photo by Steve Weinik.Various writers over psychylustro. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.HM, Stoic, Reach, and Duzit over psychylustro, with Sever, Skrew, and Cense above. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.Far, Wire, Taze, and D30 above, and Duzit, Seza, Bred, Vatoe, and Stoic below. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.Reach, Dark, Newse, and more over psychylustro. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.Emes over psychylustro. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.Tober over psychylustro. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.Various writers over and around psychylustro. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.Gage, Fevoe, Namy, Potatoe, Beast, and others over psychylustro. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.Tase, Fevoe, and others over psychylustro. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.Snak, Zman, AMN, and others over psychylustro. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.AMN, Duzit, Czer, and others over psychylustro, with Lazzix off to the left. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.Gong, Havoc, Beast, Zyre, Czer, and others over psychylustro. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.Various writers over psychylustro, with Nekst on the right. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.Potatoe, Osek, Camel, and others over psychylustro. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.Camel, Duzit, XYZ, Anomle, and others over psychylustro. January, 2016. Photo by Steve Weinik.
