Revisiting Banksy

A few years ago, Banksy engaged in a 30 day residency in New York. Each day offered a new work or performance. It was all ephemeral as street art tends to be. One piece remains visible from the residency.

The streak of red on the boy's forehead and the flash of light under the hammer are reflections on the protective sheet of plexiglass covering the work. Many of Banksy's pieces from the residency were protected with plexi, or roll down metal gates before being removed. One piece, Geisha is still behind its protective gate, but it might as well be elsewhere.

The boy with the hammer was protected by Saul Zabar, of the Zabar's across the street. He is genuinely fond of the work and wants everyone to enjoy it. Still it seems so strange to have street art protected by plexiglass. It is maybe a little poignant.

For more about Bansky's work, check out this awesome page:

https://www.artsy.net/artist/banksy

Once Colorful City Fades to Gray

I have been working on these photos for a while but the subject feels oddly appropriate right now.

Over the years, I have noticed more and more buildings turning gray. Brownstones are resurfaced without the brown.

Gray painted brick looms over Miss Lily's Sunny Jamaican Diner.

While many Georgian townhouses are gray or black, they are usually next to other, lighter colored townhouses. Most new buildings are, of course, gray.

Sometimes it feels as if whole blocks are losing their color.

Two years ago, I posted this building in Williamsburg that was being gut renovated. There was nothing left but its cheery facade.

The graffiti creatures along the buildings base looked as if they were imprisoned in the construction shed.

A tumor building was constructed around it and it has been adorned with the most hectic graffiti.

Here is a closer look.

I am not sure what the misshapen lump in is, I think I see a footprint in there. I do not like this graffiti at all and not just because it was also temporarily adorning a Douglas Elliman office. There are so many better examples of graffiti murals. Once there were murals all around New York City. They are slowly disappearing as the gray buildings become more common. In Bushwick there ares still lots of beautiful walls.

This one is so nice we have to look at it twice

I love the image of this young woman. She is my inspiration.

Following with Chanel's descent into lipstick revolution is all the more depressing.

Let's clear our palette with a cat eating a bat.

I also love these odd chaotic spots of tags.

Near White St. and Moore, the warehouses are all painted with tags and art. It gets panted over with new work every few months.

La Borinquena

The Williamsburg Bridge is always getting tagged, with the dedication plaque as a favorite spot.

The city tried to clean the plaque, but it did not last. This was the first tag, the plaque is covered once again, but it isn't as nice as the Stay Human art above.

Summer, Some Strange Eyes

Spring With Red Highlights

For a while it felt as if spring would never come. Finally, the trees started flowering, but the weather turned cold. Today seemed like the perfect spring day.

The oversized ad featuring Kate Moss did not irritate so much when framed by pear blossoms.

Something about the light made the reds pop out.

Kara Walker - A Sublety

I went to see Kara Walker's installation in the Domino Sugar refinery. On the web site it is described as:

an Homage to the unpaid and overworked Artisans who have refined our Sweet tastes from the cane fields to the Kitchens of the New World on the Occasion of the demolition of the Domino Sugar Refining Plant

There was a short wait outside. The sun was hot and the shift into the cool factory space was noticeable, as was the smell of molasses. The walls were painted in sugar.

Some of the boys made out of sugar have already melted, but others are still standing.

They leave pools of sugar on the floor.

The boys seemed to be watching the viewers.

The sphinx drew everyone towards her, massive even in the large space. It was a lot like a cathedral with the light filtering down from high windows.

Her head was held high in spite of the impossible position of her body. Her eyes were blank, certainly not engaging the viewers.

Some of my favorite details:

Her fist

Her thumb clenched between the fingers of her other hand

Her feet

The installation will be up until July 6

Eyes on Graffiti

I took my camera with me when I was running errands on my bicycle. It was mid afternoon and I wasn't sure there would be anything to photograph. I had forgotten about this wall I kept wanting to catch.

The bars on the eye are a trompe l'oeil, an eye that is a trick of the eye.

When I was crossing the Williamsburg bridge I noticed that workers were resurfacing the building with the JR photo. Its days may be numbered, so I photographed it as well. 

Meanwhile, Bansky has been in New York putting up art and creating frenzy.