In case you haven't been by the Second Avenue F stop at Houston... FL00D and Stänzi have collaborated to create "Project Stun," described as "a hybrid street art and animated experience," on view (and digitally here) through September.
Via the EVG inbox:
Paying homage to local culture and creativity from decades past, "Project Stun" emits hope upon the streets of New York City. These words hold power — letter by letter, chaotic expression seeps through in philosophies of NYHC, iconic musical influences (Bad Brains, CBGB) and signature motifs from the creators' archives.
The other day someone spray painted a stupid message — not worth repeating — on the plywood of an empty storefront here on Avenue B between 10th Street and 11th Street.
Before long, Ian Dave Knife came along and painted an array of hearts over the words and added some much-needed color on the space...
Updated to note that Ian Dave Knife was the artist responsible for the hearts!
She received permission from store owners to paint on the plywood of the boarded-up businesses along the Bowery. She then reached out to some local artists to have them create murals, such as Love Power between Great Jones and Fourth Street...
The murals, which were started to feel the effects of the summer heat, will now find a second life at Howl! Here's more about the show:
After the tragic death of George Floyd, impassioned citizens in cities around the world rose up together in a call for justice. The streets became the backdrop for our collective mourning, our outrage, and our plea for change. Opportunistic agitators took advantage of peaceful demonstrations and forced many businesses to board up storefronts all over New York. On the Bowery ... the plywood barriers became windows into the hearts of the neighborhood’s artists.
"Bringing Back Bowery: Public Art as Protest" is a re-presentation of public artworks made in solidarity with the protest movement fighting for racial equality and police reform.
Howl! Happening, 6 E. First St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery, is open Thursday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The show ends on Aug. 23.
The gallery is limiting the number of visitors at any one time, and will require masks for everyone. Guests must also register upon entering and have their temperature taken. Find more details at this link.
Over the weekend, artist Early Riser (aka Lauren Elzbi) completed a mural alongside the 1st Ave. Laundry Center on Second Street at First Avenue, as EVG contributor Stacie Joy reported.
The subject: local pup Oscar Madison, a special needs rescue...
More Winter Flowers have arrived along the fence at La Plaza Cultural on Avenue C at Ninth Street...
Rolando Politi created these unique sculptures from discarded materials in 2000, and displayed them at the community garden. The Winter Flowers, numbering nearly 250, had to be removed when La Plaza received a new fence last year.
I received an urgent message one recent evening about an interactive art installation with music in Tompkins Square Park. So I raced over to see for myself.
There, I met East Village resident Uriel Guy, the creator of what's known as Touchy Blinky. It was something to behold in the heat of a summer night in the park. Uriel showed me how Touchy Blinky works by adjusting the lights, patterns, colors and music.
I had some questions, so we agreed to meet up the next time he brought it out. I tagged along with Uriel and his friends as they steered the piece from its East Third Street home to Tompkins Square Park.
How did Touchy Blinky come to be?
Touchy Blinky came about as I wanted to build the biggest Burning Man art installation that I could fit in my one-bedroom East Village apartment.
Originally I envisioned it as a musical instrument — something that people can press buttons and affect the music played, but by the time I built the buttons and light parts of it I realized I am not musical at all, and decided to focus it on the tactile and visual experience, which proved to be even better than the original idea.
It was actually planned to leave NYC for good this summer and permanently live at Burning Man and create room for other projects, but with coronavirus canceling the event, I decided to put it on wheels and share it with the neighborhood. I want to help keep the East Village — and NYC — weird.
How did you create the piece?
I wanted to create a giant musical instrument. The main considerations were to make something portable, so I can take it to places in [a car], and cool, so people enjoy it.
After prototyping a few versions, I had one that survived about a year and required tons of maintenance, so some more work later, I created the one I have now. I’m very proud that I was able to do it all on my own — design, woodwork, electronics and coding.
One of the happiest moments was when I realized I can use takeout containers with paper towels instead of having a custom-made box. That’s probably what made the project affordable and brought it to life rather than get abandoned along the way.
The name came up as half a joke when trying to find names with my girlfriend at the time, but it described it perfectly and sat well with the "this is just for people to enjoy" attitude of the project.
This version has been to Burning Man a few times, where it’s double in size, with the other half in storage there, the National Mall for the Catharsis on the Mall event, and a couple of parties in NYC and one in D.C.
What’s the general reaction to Touchy Blinky? How do you decide where to bring it?
The question I get most often is, "What is it?," which I admit I don’t have a good answer to. It seems that people like it, and I'm happy to say we're starting to get regulars. I'm very glad to meet new people from the neighborhood.
Generally, I try to find places where Touchy Blinky won't be too much of a nuisance. Mostly it's just Tompkins Square Park ... but there are walks planned soon to the Lower East Side and Washington Square Park.
This mural, titled "unalienable," went up over the holiday weekend alongside the 1st Ave. Laundry Center on Second Street at First Avenue. The work — freehand spray — is by BKFoxx.
From the EVG inbox ... Someone re-purposed one of the broken police barricades along Avenue B's Open Streets into this "Police Brutality" skateboard sign and attached it to a No Parking Anytime pole on 10th Street along Tompkins Square Park...
East Village artist/activist Holli Porreca and the team at J&M Special Effects collaborated with NYC-based black artists to project their work onto public spaces, including, recently, the Washington Square Arch.
[Holli Porreca]
[J&M special effects team]
This action, the one I am documenting, is projecting onto two spaces in DUMBO — the walls of St. Ann’s Warehouse and the side of a building near Old Fulton Street and Everit.
Artists selected for this installation are street photographer Kobie Proctor, whose images include several shots from recent Union Square and Astor Place-based peaceful protests. His slideshow is shown on the St. Ann’s Warehouse walls, with permission from the performance space.
East Village-based artist Scooter LaForge, working with Hitomi Nakamura and James Rubio, created this Love Power mural on the Bowery between Great Jones and Fourth Street earlier this week.
This was part of a larger effort organized by Bowery artist Sono Kuwayama. (Read about it here.) She received permission from store owners to paint on the plywood of the boarded-up businesses along this stretch of the Bowery. She then reached out to some local artists to have them create murals ...
And what will happen to the plywood when the businesses reopen?
Per Reuters: "When the boards eventually come down, Kuwayama’s plan is to store the art in a gallery, and later sell it, donating the proceeds to local homeless shelters."
As a P.S.
While we're on the Bowery and Fourth Street... Phebe's reopened yesterday for to-go food... they are open from 4-9 p.m. during the week and 2-9 p.m. today...
