Almost exactly 40 years ago, a train in Germany was sprayed with large-scale graffiti for the first time: the “Geltendorf Train”, painted in eponymous village ‘Geltendorf’ on the western outskirts of Munich. Titled “Munich’s biggest painting” by a local newspaper, the colorful train – a phenomenon still (mostly) unheard-of outside of NYC at that time – drew mixed reactions from the public, but became a trailblazer whose legacy is still palpable these days.
But first things first: On the night of March 23rd to 24th, 1985, a ‘window-down end to end’ piece was created on an S-Bahn train parked at the train station in Geltendorf – a graffiti piece stretching across the entire length of the car below the windows. The perpetrators: seven teenagers from the Munich area, some of them still minors, and going by the monikers of Don M. Zaza, Cheech H., Blash, Cryptic2 (nowadays known as Loomit), Roy, Roscoe und Zip.
The creation of the “Geltendorfer Zug” marked a turning point not only for the German train agency and German police (who didn’t even have special committees dedicated to graffiti yet), but especially for the still-evolving graffiti scene in Germany:
It was the initial spark for an inspirational explosion heard all around the country that would soon be considered the graffiti capital of Europe, with Munich serving as its most popular destination, birthing world-renowned artists like WON ABC and the aforementioned Loomit – who also played a role in the creative development of Mirko Borsche, as you can read in this interview with the designer.
To celebrate the anniversary, the Munich Graffiti Library – just a quick train ride away from the BSTN Store Munich – is presenting BR420 model trains featuring images of four decades of graffiti on Munich’s S-Bahn trains.
The exhibition, which will take place on Saturday, March 22nd at 8 PM, will also include selected prints and exhibits related to the topic. Joining the special anniversary will be eyewitnesses from the Geltendorf Train, who will also take graffiti enthusiasts on a literal ride down memory lane the next day:
On Sunday, March 23th, the artists Loomit, Blash and Don M Zaza will take the S4 train to Geltendorf, leaving Munich Central Station at 10:59 AM, to return to the train station where it all began. The time travel is rounded out by a lecture of Blash and Don Karl at the close-by St. Ottilien monastery, taking the audience back to the legendary night of March 23rd, 1985.
