Thursday, January 30, 2014

Capturing 'Cool'


[From August 2013 via EVG reader Marc]

Yesterday's item about the apparent arrest of graffiti writer SMELL reminded me of this post, which I never finished ... I had been documenting some of the Cool tags around the neighborhood... it's the work of "Drew," whose "Ross is Not Cool" tag on David Schwimmer's new East Sixth Street estate in August generated coverage everywhere from the supermarket tabloids to Vanity Fair.

Here are but a few Cool tags from recent months... Anyway, these tags — scourge of the city or a welcome part of the urban landscape?























19 comments:

JM said...

I think it's cool. Always have and always will.

Anonymous said...

Cool is so funny. It's so simple and 70'sish. And making it look like a cloud on the 9th ST building was awesome. Actually, the owners painting the building ilke that out of nowhere was awesome!

Makeout said...

What's up with pics 5 & 7? The guy some sorta Doritos enthusiast?

Anonymous said...

10:09, I think they're candy corns. I was just about to come here and say I liked the candy corns! I enjoy COOL's seasonality and holiday themes. I find it charming, sue me.

Much rather see graffiti than stupid American Apparel ads, liquor ads, ads for HBO's Girls, blah blah

Anonymous said...

It's sooo hip and edgy I looove it!!!

-Meghan

Anonymous said...

Perhaps a better tag than Cool would be Not Cool/Not Art. Why? because it is not cool and it is not art. No sense of composition. No content. Nothing socially redeeming. No message. No understanding of color. Hmmm..maybe that is a better tag...."NO".

Anonymous said...

Painting a wall approved & paid for by the owner is cool. Painting someones building in the middle of the night without their approval is uncool and they should go to jail.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. Really? I hate the Cool tags.

Anonymous said...

Man. How did you miss 4th and Ave A.
Not large but really stands out. Maybe more than any of these others in some way, given that they spent like a year refurbing and steaming all that brick (4th to 5th)

Anonymous said...

@makeout it was around halloween... candy corn!

love cool!

Anonymous said...

self centered "scourge of the city"

Anonymous said...

There are several of these tags in LIC that have been there for a few years. They're all about to become obscured by a yet another batch of luxury apartments going up.

Anonymous said...

Cool is K3WL

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

Whatever happened to Neckface?

BJ said...

Cool is cool.

Anonymous said...

If you can't see the beauty in that melancholy-looking little candy corn then you are probably dead inside

Anonymous said...

love cool and the candy corn is my favorite!!:)

lu said...

only an art student would give this.snide review. not an artist. you think in a box dude. keep cultural context in mind, professir

Anonymous said...

Vandalism is not cool.

I vote "Scourge of the city". Arrest the uncool vandal and punishment should be cleaning gum stains off all the side walks of the East Village.

- East Villager