MST Special
Summer 2003
When i first entered the Keleti subway station, i wasn't prepared for anything. I was passing through and had to change trains at Budapest after a 12-hour ride. Only a short layover. My connecting train was to depart from Nyugati station. According to my German itinerary i would have to ride the subway for a few stops in order to get there from Keleti. Said and done! Bag shouldered, suitcase in hand, on to the escalator to the subway. As you descend you get a whiff of that greasy-musty smell you only get in big cities with old subway systems.
Berlin, Prague, London, New York. Hmm... dirt, a warm draft; when you're living in Leipzig, you don't get to enjoy that often enough. Passing bums and shady characters. Eastern Europe. I was thinking of the 14 hours left ahead of me and tried to not look too much like a tourist. And i didn't know if those hooligan-looking security guards would really be any help when needed. Oh well, there i went.
I passed ticket vending machines, and an old woman who tried to sell me jewelry. There were no turnstiles or anything of the kind, which was fine by me as i had neither Forint (Hungaran currency) nor cash to get exchanged left.
At the departure hall i tried in vain to figure out which direction i had to take and decided to go and read the schedules. But not a chance. All in Hungarian. My DB (German Rail) itinerary proved to be of no help here, either. And while i was still staring at the colorful lines, the thing i was really wanting to talk about happened: the first subway arrived...
Wow! I was expecting nice train types, but i didn't think that they would be silver ones. I almost had to rub my eyes when i realized that i was looking at a wholecar. Left-right, another one - this was a damn wholetrain. Subway, wholetrain - say what? That's what it must've been like in New York back in the days. I was dumbstruck. These things still exist?
Shortly after that the next one rolled up, right behind me. Completely covered...as far as i could make out there were layers of panels on top of wholecars on the thing.
No one back home would believe this. I thought about breaking out my camera, but then turned to my personal, more pressing issues. So there i stood with my luggage, starting to ask people in English for directions. It's Budapest, a metropolis, yet no one wants to talk to me in English. I get lucky about 20 people down the line. A young student is able to help me out. As she is explaining to me that it's not that many subway stops to go from here, a man taps me on the shoulder with the words 'Ticket Kontroll!' Great! Just what i needed. I'm starting to sweat and it's all getting a little much for me. Fuck Budapest! I'm trying to play the dumb tourist as the next couple of trains arrive. Again, completely covered. I showed the inspector the not-quite 4 Euros i had left on me, hoping he would understand and feel sorry for me. He went on to say something in Hungarian, turned away from his partners, took my money and put it in his pocket. He wrote something on a piece of cardboard (that i am sure was not a ticket), handed it to me and left. This wasn't to be my last encounter with corrupt officials on my journey. Anyway, i got onto the next subway, changed lines to the M3 and continued toward Nyugati Station. As i could make out from time to time the cars running on the two lines i rode were originally painted blue. I felt the first pangs of guilt on my way to the station. Take pictures! Get flicks! I'll be in trouble with Chief Ranuk! I only got train flicks at Nyugati while i was waiting for my train, which was running late by two hours. Just a few for now, better than nothing. My journey was to get alot crazier from there, but that would be another story. I was going to come back for sure, a.s.a.p...
Summer 2004
One half of the Farbsucht-Team on a business trip. After my tales of a completely cracked subway system and the prospects of many, many flicks i was able to convince Ranuk to spend our joint picture-hunting vacation in Hungary's capital. What a disappointment to find out on the scene how much had changed! The subway was completely clean. A mere year later. Everything buffed. End credits Wild Style. It was sad.
Still, we had a good time in the weeks to come. Not only were there countless painted trains to shoot. We also, by accident, met a few writers at the station, who were really fun to hang out, drink beer, and party with. Communication with these guys was no problem, either, as some of them knew German from watching TV. And so they showed us their city's best parts: clubs, bars and beautiful spots we'd never have found on our own. Beautiful women and cheap beer made those days all the better. I love Budapest! Our vacation was soon over and we went back to Leipzig loaded with pictures.
A few months later, one of the guys did an interview for us, which we now give to you.
Interview
Please introduce Yourself briefly.
Evis: What's up. My so-called 'pen-names' [pun intended] are SHA and EVIS. I represent MST and UGK crews. MST was formed after a graffiti battle in august of 2002. Aside from me, the crew includes Rouge, Euth, Edyo and Futur. There's no particular meaning to the letters MST. MovieStarzTeam or MaSeraTi, maybe.
How did You get into graffiti?
Evis: I started tagging the subway in 1994. I was inspired by our good ol' Old School. I was fascinated by the insides, because back then everything was written on and the cleaners were simply too lazy. Well, they didn't really have any idea of what was going on. Graffiti was moving alot of young people in 1994. But there were relatively few who actively did trains. I did my first piece in 1999.
Y'all are a pretty fun bunch. What's the crew like? Do You do things together besides graffiti?
: We do plenty of things together. Still, sometimes we don't see each other for weeks at a time. Every crew member has their own 'private life' and interests. But we still go through alot of crazy things together.
We see and hear of alot of 'tourists' coming to Budapest to paint. What's Your experience with visitors?
: Fortunately, the positive outweigh the negative experiences. There are guy who speak almost no English or German. They come here to stay for one day and all they know how to say is 'Metro, Metro'... ehh. The other day, we had four guys from Brno over. They were really cool. Sadly, all we got to do was like a 10-minute train action, but they were still really grateful. Meeting new people and going out to paint with them is always good. But getting out safely afterward and having a good time is more important to me. We've had plenty of people from abroad here - i don't want to name any names - but there are a few who come back year after year. They tell us they love Budapest and the people here. We have good friends in Czech, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Croatia.
Current trends in Hungary's scene?
: I think the scene is falling apart right now. There are many divergent opinions and most writers are too strong-headed to see the world objectively for a change. There are writers we don't like, and others with whom we get along very well. But everything is changing all the time. Today, there are about 20 people actively writing in Budapest. There are more in the country. We have a store here where you can meet other writers, but regular get-togethers are few and far in between.
Tell us little bit about subway-writing in Budapest.
: Stuff was first done on the Red Line (M2) in 1994. Up until 1998 not many subways were done, but from there on the Blue Line (M3) took the leading role. The craziest time was between 2000 and 2003. There were alot of tunnel-, hangar- and backjump-actions that were done. You could see 5 year-old pieces running! Almost all trains running on the Blue Line were covered top-to-bottom, end-to-end! Things are different these days. Everything is clean, there are motion detectors all over the place, cameras and guards. And if you do get to do something, your piece will only run for about half an hour.
What's it like, seeing your piece running after two years? We're not really used to that back in Germany.
: It's like meeting an old acquaintance... seeing your piece is like reliving the action. Many things come back to you and it's interesting to see the wear-and-tear the piece has taken. But like i said, things are different now. There are several buffs and you don't get to see pieces that old often anymore.
Apparently, street bombing is not as popular with you guys as it is in Germany, for example.
: I think that's because there are alot of people and police out and about at midnight here.
Budapest is a beautiful city. What do You like here in particular?
: There are the world's most beautiful women here. Goddesses, all of them!
Are there similar writing scenes in other Hungarian cities? Is there such a thing as a distinct Budapest-Style?
: Yes, there are many crews and writers all over the country. And most of them only paint there. That's why i think that Budapest will remain dominant in the future. But i do not think that Budapest has its own distinct style. Even within our own crew everyone paints differently. Our own style is still in the making.
What about going places? Other countries? What have You seen so far?
: I was in Croatia recently. It was very nice, even though they don't have very many trains there. Still, we did two trains in different small towns in one night. Also, i've had many episodes in Prague. Almost every action i've done there was crazy. But i really like the city and the writers there. What i've seen in Prague was that all the writers out there are very much about doing their own style. And almost all of them have got some very good ideas, too. And i've been to Germany, too.
Thanks for doing the the interview...
: For more Hungary-stuff check out the 'Sick Business Vol. 1 & 2'-videos or issues 1-3 of the 'Sick Business'-magazine, and the 'Harmless'-mag.
Early 2007.
: What Budapest looks like today is something you'll have to find out on your own. The subway will most probably be clean, and the inspectors will probably be the same as, too.
For anyone wanting to see painted subways, going to Rome, Bucarest or Amsterdam as soon as possible is recommended. It is very much worth one's while, and no one knows how much longer one will have the chance to witness something like that.
And please, don't forget your cameras : )
