Friends and 'Neighbors'

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Two East Village artists, hmac and Peter Arkle, joined forces for a quick show at 616 E. Ninth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

"Neighbors" opened with a Thursday evening reception, followed by a Friday afternoon viewing — offering a chance to explore the contrasting styles of these friends and neighbors. (They live on the top floor of the same East Village building, which Peter moved into when hmac was 1, he noted.)

For Arkle, this was also a way to create something different from the illustrations he's known for in outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and New York. (He also drew the neighborhood map at the Avenue A Trader Joe's.)

A zine released for the show includes a Q&A with hmac and Arkle. (Arkle's spouse, Amy Goldwasser, conducted the interview.)

An excerpt: 

How does the neighborhood inform your work? 

hmac: I love how accessible everything is in the radius that we have. I was from Montana, which was very quiet and a one high school town. But it's neighborly and community-based in a similar way that I get in the East Village. I can go to get spraypaint in 15 minutes. I can go to the park. I can ride my bike around. It gives a playground to me, like I'm rerooting my roots. 

Peter: If I were sitting at my desk trying to make up characters, I'd be struggling. But I love being able to walk everywhere, the density of this place, and you cannot walk a block without seeing interesting people doing interesting things. 

And the building?

hmac: Working on the roof adds much more breathing room to explore what I soak up out there. Then I'm able to paint but also look down from our building and see people fighting with 2x4s. I need ventilation. I sprawl. And it's the one place I can leave things to dry. 

Peter: The roof's an extreme place. Say you're just a beginner at spraypainting; there's a lot of paint that's not even going on the canvas. It's just sort of around. 

hmac: The wind picks up your paint and throws it. Then it dries in the air and flings onto your work. 

Peter: There's something about the roof that makes you be more big. The elements are in there. You can look at that painting and know forever you were in this crazy place when you made it.

We look forward to more from these two...