Late subway surfer's art used to make film aimed at deterring others from attempting dangerous stunt
LOWER MANHATTAN (WABC) -- A filmmaker's powerful tribute to his friend, now on display in Lower Manhattan, also serves as a profound lesson on the deadly dangers of subway surfing.
The images are stunning. Hurtling through subway tunnels. The gritty beauty of a railyard at midnight.
Kosse Loureano, 17, was on his way to becoming an urban Ansel Adams until he tumbled from a moving subway car and died.
"I just want people to think about what they're doing before they do it," filmmaker Alexander Antleman said.
Antleman was his best friend and made this short film as both a tribute and a cautionary tale.
"I hope at least one kid will see this video and be like, 'You know what? I'm not going to train-surf because that could happen to me.' So as long as at least one person stops, then I feel good about it," Antleman said.
So far this year, at least four people have died attempting the dangerous stunt.
He was given Kosse's videos and hundreds of photos which he edited together along with haunting texts from Kosse's mom, desperate to contact her son on the night he died.
The video is now on exhibit at NYC Culture Club, an art gallery in the Oculus in Lower Manhattan.
"He created this visual installation to honor his friend, as an homage. But from an artistic perspective, he's also captured a really brilliant visual representation, both by video and in images, of a really talented artist," curator Laura Hart said.
"The video is part of a larger exhibit called "Innervisions"-images of New York by New Yorkers-that runs here in The Oculus through August 5th.
Kosse, himself, is seen only once in the video, lying between the rails in a self-portrait.
"He's captured very beautifully a vision of the city that very few will ever see. It ended tragically at 17 for him to do it. While the images are very compelling and powerful. It's also a warning perhaps to don't do this because the risk is too great," Hart said.
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