The Underbelly Project

We've talked a lot about how music, in general, is widely accessible and this is one of the reasons why it gets commodified so easily. This got me thinking about the others aspects of hip-hop culture and why they haven't reached the popularity level of the MUSIC part of the culture. Last year in my journalism class, we read an article about this awesome underground graffiti project. It's called the Underbelly Project- in an abandoned subway station in the Chelsea district of Manhattan. A couple of the project's creators speak anonymously about how they don't want anyone to see the graffiti. In fact, "Collectors can’t buy the art. The public can’t see it. And the only people with a chance of stumbling across it are the urban explorers who prowl the city’s hidden infrastructure or employees of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority." I encourage you guys to read this article and check out the accompanying video!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/arts/design/01underbelly.html?pagewanted=1