The Urban Vision of Elaine Norman, an exhibit opening tonight on 1st Street

Tonight is the opening reception of a photo exhibit at City Lore on First Street titled "Apple of My Eye: The Urban Vision of Elaine Norman."

Per the City Lore website:

City Lore is pleased to present Elaine Norman’s vision of the city as the first exhibit in our Deep New York series.

“Simply strolling down any New York street can be a visual adventure and an endless opportunity for discovery,” she writes. “The City has an extraordinary capacity to blend past and present, high-brow and low, traditional and modern.”

This vibrant, eclectic and constantly evolving architectural and cultural kaleidoscope has always been Elaine Norman’s passion and source of inspiration.

The reception is 6-9 tonight. The exhibit, which spans 35 years of NYC life, is up through Oct. 15. The gallery, 56 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, has hours of 2-6 p.m. on Friday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

'Moving Murals' marks the first exhibit for City Lore on East 1st Street

City Lore is now up and running at 54 E. First St. with its new gallery space at the former home of the Lower Eastside Girls Club.

For starters, a little about City Lore. Per the organization's website:

Founded in 1986, City Lore’s mission is to foster New York City – and America’s – living cultural heritage through education and public programs. We document, present, and advocate for New York City’s grassroots cultures to ensure their living legacy in stories and histories, places and traditions. We work in four cultural domains: urban folklore and history; preservation; arts education; and grassroots poetry traditions. In each of these realms, we see ourselves as furthering cultural equity and modeling a better world with projects as dynamic and diverse as New York City itself.

"Moving Murals," City Lore's inaugural exhibition, opened this past Thursday … it features the photography of Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper…



Here's a description:

Photographed during the "Golden Age of Graffiti" in the '70s and early '80s, Chalfant and Cooper's images of graffitied subway cars are among the major documents of American popular culture in the late twentieth century. Moving Murals presents the images in a wall to wall mosaic of over 850 muraled trains, creating an ultimate All City graffiti trainyard environment. Complimenting the murals: photographs of the writers in their element.

And for the first time, the exhibit provides an interactive audience experience through the addition of Chalfant's recently published iBook viewed on a large screen, complete with the train image archive, artist interviews, and videos.

We stopped by to check it out…












The exhibit is up through July 10. And there are a few special events associated with it, including a screening of the hip-hop documentaries "Style Wars" I and II on April 17.

The Gallery is open every Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m.

For more about City Lore and their new space, you can read this article by Serena Solomon at DNAinfo from February.