The mural at Houston and the Bowery 5 years ago

On Friday, we posted a photo from a mere five years ago of the wall at the Bowery and Houston... Here are two more shots from 2006 via Fresh Paint NYC....

A few years ago, when no one gave a shit about the wall at Houston and the Bowery

Billy Leroy, proprietor of Billy's Antiques, sends along this photo from 2006... I sort of summarized his sentiment from the e-mail in the headline...

Today, of course, the wall here is the scene of ongoing drama.

On keeping 'street art safely pristine'

Nice piece in Artinfo about the ongoing drama with the Kenny Scharf mural on Houston and the Bowery. (Read the article here.)

The article, written by Emma Allen, focuses on the surveillance cameras and alleged 24/7 mural guard put in place by the wall's owner, Tony Goldman and his Goldman Properties ... to the article:

"There's no guard there now," countered Tony Goldman's prickly personal assistant, when asked if Goldman Properties had hired someone to protect the work. To which Goldman himself added in an email: "We had a guard there while the paint was drying," after Scharf touched it up. "There were many people in the street and we did not want the new paint damaged. The cameras remain."

And!

"While the guard may be gone, larger questions of whose job it is (if it is anyone's) to keep street art safely pristine persist. Beginning in 2008, the works created for the East Houston space — collaborations between Goldman and galleries around the city, from Deitch Projects to The Hole, to Kasmin — have been executed by artists whose 'street art' sells in galleries and at auction for thousands of dollars. And while it seems logical to try to protect such valuable, and often beautiful, artworks from the destructive impulses of ruffians, the Houston Street wall once in fact was the uncontested terrain of those who made art outside of, and often in opposition to, the art establishment."

And Billy Leroy has the best line, which ends the piece: " ... it's funny, five years ago no one gave a shit about the wall, and now it's become the epicenter of the art world."

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] 24/7 security guards now on duty at the Bowery-Houston mural

6:01 p.m., Houston Street, Jan. 31

[Updated] 24/7 security guards now on duty at the Bowery-Houston mural

Apparently those surveillance cameras on the Deitch Wall aren't enough. Billy Leroy at Billy's Antiques sends along word that Goldman Properties have hired 24/7 security guards to watch over the often-bombed mural on Houston and The Bowery.

Updated at 1:45: Billy reports back... turns out Goldman did hire security, though they were only for until the paint on Scharf's work from Saturday night dried...

Yesterday on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Kenny Scharf restores his mural

New York Post discovers Deitch Wall

The Post checks in today with a lengthy spread on the mural on Houston and the Bowery... And if the story seems familiar to you, then you're probably right... The blogs have been on this story for a long time... Specifically, Animal NY... such as with this piece from Dec. 27 ...

Anyway! A few comparisons:

The Post:

And it worked. Out of respect for the names on the wall, the mural was left alone. Ironically, regular folks were inspired to write their names in pen, adding their contribution to the piece.

Animal NY from Nov. 15:

With the exception of a few tags, no prominent graffiti writers have bombed the Deitch wall that TWIST and company spray painted months ago in the Lower East Village, but there has been plenty of John and Jane Doe’s leaving their mark—Tumblrs included. It’s kind of ironic that vandals have mostly respected the wall, while the general public hasn’t, no?

Animal NY's Bucky Turco has more on the story here.

Credit for pointing out these similarities go to @Newyorkist ... More here. Reporter likely just got confused. Just another day in the newsroom ...?

Read Jeremiah's Vanishing New York for more ... in piece titled, "Post pillages East Village."

Do those security cameras on the Kenny Scharf mural really work?

Yes they do, says Billy Leroy, who first passed along the tip that someone had installed security cameras here on the wall at Houston and the Bowery after the latest Kenny Scharf bombing...

A few people questioned whether these things were actually working...

Billy, the proprietor of Billy's Antiques, checked in with the wall's landlord... and learned the cameras are active and recording the wall 24/7.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Latest addition to Kenny Scharf's mural: Security cameras

Latest addition to Kenny Scharf's mural: Security cameras

The Kenny Scharf mural here on Houston and the Bowery has been bombed twice now... (here ... and here)

After this, several people mentioned that someone mounted security cameras here... Sure enough, as we saw last night...

Caught on tape: New installation for Houston and the Bowery

Back in December 2009, tape artist Sam Bassett put his signature touch above the Os Gêmeos mural at Houston and the Bowery. (You can see a photo of it here at AnimalNY ... Check out the video of it too.)



On Christmas night, Bassett installed another creation above Houston at the Bowery.... which goes west to near the location of Billy's Antiques...



I asked Bassett via e-mail about the creation, and whether there was a significance with this intersection....

"I placed it there because its a central point in Manhattan, the poles line up to form the triangle, because of Billy and Billy's, because of the painting wall there," said Bassett, who was arrested in November 2009 after attempting to tape up Sotheby’s.

He continued:

"The triangle points East which represents the direction the world rotates. When we meditate in silence we face East in honor of this fact. The triangle in the sky is meant to calm, protect and inspire. To do more with less. To translate the power of reinvention and stillness. To showcase the hidden space in between, when utilized, open great possibilities of life. This ribbon sculpture is my interpretation of a Tibetan Prayer Flag. For unity and wisdom"




Meanwhile, Bassett hopes to install another tape sculpture on the former Deitch Wall, where someone quickly removed his work back in 2009. "That tape sculpture was secured like Fort Knox with very thick appoxy so it was definitely removed on purpose. If you look up to that space you can still see the faint outline of the shape. I would like to replace that tape sculpture with a painting or another tape sculpture. Thought it brought lovely energy to the intersection."

Kenny Scharf's mural restored

After getting tagged a few days ago, Kenny Scharf's mural at the old Deitch Wall has been cleaned up... from a few minutes ago...

Meanhwile, via Animal NY, famed graffiti photographer Martha Cooper expresses disappointment in what happened to Scharf's work. Writes Cooper at 12ozProphet: "Much as I admire vandals, I feel these perps were mean-spirited and heartless." Be sure to check out the wall here on Houston and the Bowery circa 1983.

Scharf Attack: Deitch Wall tagged

Billy Leroy, proprietor of Billy's Antique's, passes along these photos ... noting that the Kenny Scharf mural on Houston and The Bowery has been hit...

Updated: Sorry... missed that Animal NY already had this... See their photos here.

A week or so in the life of the Deitch Wall

Kenny Scharf's work is done at the Bowery and Houston ... here's a look back...

Nov. 22

[Photo via Eddie Brannan]


Last Wednesday! (This image via BoweryBoogie)



Friday!



Saturday!



Sunday!



Monday!




Last night...

And on the seventh day...

Kenny Scharf's work is done on the Deitch Wall, a day early even, as Gothamist noted. In all, it took him 100 hours spread out over six days...

Your daily Deitch Wall update

The Lo-Down ... BoweryBoogie... and AnimalNY have more on the mural... Animal's Bucky Turco asked Kenny Scharf if he thought any graffiti writers might tag the new work here: "No, I’m not Shepard Fairey. Not to knock him or anything, but I’m not putting up wallpaper made safely in a studio.”

Another day, another Deitch Wall update

Previously. GammaBlog has more here.

Your daily Deitch Wall update

Kenny Scharf continues his mural here on Houston and the Bowery. Check out some great photos of Scharf at work on GammaBlog.

Scharf attack

On Wednesday, BoweryBoogie noted that Brooklyn-based artist Kenny Scharf had started his work on the Deitch Wall at Houston and the Bowery... here's a progress report...

When Ashley and friends tag the Deitch Wall

Twist gets a Bob

BoweryBoogie reported the other day that Barry McGee's wall of tags was tagged on Houston and the Bowery ... Meanwhile, the Graffiti Friend of EV Grieve (GFOEVG) noted that, during the long weekend, another small tag was added to the wall...



Previously on EV Grieve:
What about Bob?

Shepard Fairey back up at Houston and the Bowery (sort of)

An addition to the Deitch wall where Barry McGee (aka Twist) is now holding forth...