Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd St.
Friday, August 8, $10 ($40 with book), 6:30
212-534-1672
www.mcny.org
www.bladekingofgraf.com
During the 1970s, Bronx native Steven Ogburn began turning subway trains into his canvas. Taking the street name BLADE, he went on to tag more than five thousand cars between 1972 and 1984. The man also known as the King of Graffiti and the King of Trains is now coming to the Museum of the City of New York in conjunction with the exhibit “City as Canvas: Graffiti Art from the Martin Wong Collection.” On August 8, BLADE will sit down for an intimate conversation, accompanied by a slideshow, with Chris Pape, his cowriter on the new book Blade: King of Graffiti (Schiffer, June 2014, $39.99). “I was just developing my moral compass at the time,” BLADE writes near the beginning of the book, “and if there’s one thing I learned it’s that everyone drew the line in the sand somewhere.” BLADE will talk about the line and more as he examines his life and career; the discussion will be followed by a book signing. “City as Canvas” continues at MCNY through September 21.