Graffiti

There is graffiti all around my new neighborhood. I have been photographing it with my film camera, but I wanted to take some test shots of the tagged warehouses near my home.

They cover all the walls of one warehouse.

I am trying to decide if they look better from far away, with the neighborhood for context,

or closer to show the detail.

The details are so intense.

There is a play between the detritus and the tags.

I love concertina wire I think it is really beautiful. Most people tend to read too much dark symbolism into it though.

Before I know it, I am focusing on cracks in the walls and scatterings of spray paint. I am not sure where I should go with this.

Meanwhile, my friend Jessica and her friend Seth did some spontaneous street art on a blank wall in Manhattan. They drew portraits of the passers by.

The hearts came for a subsequent tagger. I am guessing the portraits were well received.

April

                                                                 The hydrangea is waiting for me to plant it.

This week feels like the heart of April. It has been rainy, tax day has come, the plants seem so small. Spring break has left the young son in my company. It has been hard to get work done. I have been taking pictures with the film camera with very little to show for it. I am slowly moving towards another round of street art, again with little photographic evidence.

The other night I had a dream that I was walking through a green field near the Bronx (naturally), the clover was thick and huge, springing up between my toes. I hope that my garden clover starts to grow like that. I think the dream was transmitted by the cat Voltaire, who was sleeping next to me.

The cats have been frolicking in the dusty branches on the patio any chance they get. 

 

Mystery Tree No Longer Mysterious

As I mentioned last week, our neighbor's tree was something of a mystery. When we moved in, it had just shed its leaves into our patio. I did not examine them much. The tree was a bit menacing in the winter with its black hand-like branches.

When I was working in the garden over the weekend, I noticed that it was budding. I felt reassured because flowering trees are usually jolly. Further blossoming has led me to believe that it is some kind of apple tree.

It is adding a soft presence to some of the more unusual siding choices on the neighboring buildings.

Speaking of the garden, I planted a row of shell peas which I did not photograph because it looks like a patch of dirt. The above plant is veronica, which will hopefully send out more delicate blue flowers to attract butterflies.

I also got the "shamrocks" planted. There is a lot of rubble in the soil. I have pulled up rocks, broken class, shopping bags, rubber tubing, bricks, all sorts of things.

There is a growing pile of detritus in the center of the garden which I will eventually move out.

I have saved some of the nicer stones to outline beds. I am really enjoying working with the earth. It is hard work, I am always sore after, but it is deeply satisfying.