Trump sculpture draws attention on 2nd Street (and elsewhere)

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

On Wednesday morning, we received a few reader messages along the lines of "There is a sculpture of former President Donald Trump having sex with an American-flag-clad woman in the back of a pick-up truck on Second Street." 

Not the usual queries that arrive in the inbox first thing in the morning.

Upon arriving on the scene, we discovered this work by UK-based artist Alison Jackson, who has long skewered celebrities, politicians, and royals in art and photography, blurring the line between fact and fiction. 

As Artsy noted in 2016: "... past works have pictured Obama having a cigarette, and Bill Clinton getting a nude massage as Hillary delivers a speech on TV. They're uncanny manifestations of stories and personas that are ever-present in the public imagination, visions of what may or may not occur among public figures behind closed doors." 

She planned to take the statue to Trump Tower on Wednesday for her latest piece (she has done Trump-related performance art in NYC in recent years). "It's a gift for Donald Trump," she told us. "It's quite a gift to leave for him, isn't it?"

According to her site, "she made the sexually charged sculpture to raise questions about how this powerful leader, ex-President Donald Trump, treats women and gets away with it." 

And why was this on Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C?

Turns out the sculpture staging ground was outside 233 E. Second St., where Gio Tocco Productions was lending a hand. The address has storage space that Gio Tocco rents. 

The pick-up truck bearing the sculpture eventually left for a trip through Times Square and eventually a Trump Tower drive-by over the past two days ...

A copy of this hyper-realistic, life-sized sculpture is also currently on display at a gallery in London.

About 'Empty Beds,' a photo memorial that honors Ukrainian children abducted during the war

Photos by Steven 

Saturday saw the arrival on the NE corner of Second Avenue and Second Street of "Empty Beds," a 100-foot-long, 8-foot-tall memorial "to the over 19,546 children abducted by Russian forces" from Ukraine since the invasion in 2022.

Brooklyn-based photographer Phil Buehler recently returned from Ukraine, where he was capturing the war's impact on civilians. 

Here's more about the subject matter: 

These children were taken to Russia or Russian-occupied areas without consent, leaving their beds empty or destroyed by bombs. 

Buehler, though not Ukrainian, felt compelled to return and bring these stories to the U.S. through this powerful public artwork.

When the photographer is present, the exhibit includes discarded toys alongside the photographs... 

From a piece on the memorial via The New York Times:

"I think every parent can imagine there's some loved child there," Buehler said, referring to the bedroom photos. He hopes the mural, spanning an entire block, creates space for viewers to reflect on loss and waiting. 

"I wanted it out on the street, where anyone passing by could stop and engage with the work," he said.

The work will be on display through November. 

Last November, Buehler shared an exhibit on Second and Second titled "Irpin Ukraine: Please Don't Forget Us," a 60-foot-long photograph of the cemetery of civilian cars destroyed by Russian forces at the beginning of the war.

Saturday's opening shot

A new mural for October outside the Second Avenue F stop... work by MOTOMICHI. 

P.S. 

There's a QR code on the wall if you want to try an AR-enhanced version.

A place in the Sun: An installation series on St. Mark's Place celebrates the daylight

Starting tomorrow for the fall equinox, The Flint Collective NYC unveils a temporary installation series titled "Suncast" that maps "memory and daylight moments" along St Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

Here's more via the EVG inbox: 

Six artists from the Collective responded to the challenge of creating works that 1) transform our perception of the street; 2) "catch" light rather than produce light and 3) use minimal material to allow the light effect to take center stage. 

The experimental format was devised as an inversion of the electric light art festivals common to other major cities. In contrast to the spectacle of the typical light festivals that extend the night culture, the daylight interventions presented an opportunity to celebrate small moments in our Everyday and contribute to the character of streets before sundown.

The opening festivities start tomorrow at 11 a.m. at 97 St. Mark's Place... followed by an artist walk at noon. 

The work will be up through Sept. 29. This link details the different installations and timing on events.

Sunday's opening shot

Audrey Hepburn art on Avenue A and Seventh Street by Free Humanity ... who has a solo show now at CLLCTV.NYC on Third Street (No. 209 just east of Avenue B) through Sept. 26. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• A visit to CLLCTV.NYC

Sunday's opening shots

As seen on the NW corner of Houston at Second Avenue...

The art, which arrived here late last month, is by fuck.with.love. (H/T @catscoffeecreativity)

A quartet of murals for 2nd and A

Photo by Stacie Joy

This quartet of murals went up over the weekend on Second Street at Avenue A (NE corner)... a collaboration with (on the top) @outersource and @cramcept and, below, @scrambledeggsit and @ratchinyc ... a nice use for a blank wall that gets tagged after every fresh coat of paint.

Sunday's opening shot

There is a new mural for August by Rx Skulls outside the 2nd Avenue F stop.

Now people are stealing Invader's mosaics in the East Village and elsewhere

Art and plaque theft season continues in the East Village. (See here and here.) 

In recent weeks, two men have been removing Invader's mosaic tile art from around walls in NYC. 

The French street artist addressed it in an Instagram post on Monday:

For the past few weeks, some guys in New York have been destroying my work by trying to rip it off the walls, probably to resell it. Shame on them! Street art belongs to the street, and in my case, once ripped from the walls, it is nothing more than broken, unsigned tiles that you could find in any tile store. They will never be authenticated. 

Buyers should think twice of what they buy, not only are they being duped but they are also depriving other people of enjoying free art on the street. 

He followed up yesterday with a photo of a theft someone took, showing two men removing a classic invader above the signage at Ralph's Famous Italian Ices on the NW corner of Avenue A and Ninth Street...

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Invader (@invaderwashere)

We asked the folks at Ralph's about it. Unfortunately, they didn't see it happening, as the theft occurred after store hours. 

As Invader noted, the mosaics likely have little resale value. Plus, when he installed these, he reportedly used larger, thinner tiles that would chip apart upon contact with a tool. 

An array of mosaics arrived in NYC and the East Village, some in collaboration with the LISA Project, in 2015. A few were immediately vandalized, though there are still several around if you know where to look.

Saturday's parting shot

A Pride Month mural outside the Second Avenue F stop... art by David Puck. This is the seventh Pride mural curated by photographer-filmmaker Daniel "Dusty" Albanese.

Storefront renovations commence on the SW corner of the Bowery and Houston

Renovations are underway on the SW corner of the Bowery and Houston. Plywood arrived last week outside the long-vacant spaces at a building with multiple addresses (282-284 Bowery plus 87-91 E. Houston St.).

We don't know anything at the moment about what might be next here.

The last tenant at 284 Bowery was Cherche Midi, Keith McNally's French brasserie that closed in June 2018. (Before this, McNaly had unleased Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria.)

A for-lease sign arrived on the building in March 2023, only the second time we recall this space on the market in the past six years.  

This corner has also been a hot spot for street art these past six years. The construction plywood now covers the storefronts, obscuring murals that include the George Floyd tribute by @fumeroism that arrived in early June 2020.

There was also the recent arrival of this Marvin Gaye wheatpaste by @stikki_peaches...

Sunday's opening shot

Knicks legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier as seen in First Street Green Art Park ... mural by @mcmaniphes. 

And the ol' do-or-die game 7 between the Knicks-Pacers is at 3:30 p.m. at MSG.

Thursday's parting shot

This week, a new mural arrived outside 50 Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street. It was created by L.A.-based artist Corie Mattie and curated by the Lisa Project NYC.

Some Cool pizza street art

As seen along St. Mark's Place.

Revisit our Cool archives here. 

Thanks to Eden for the photo!

Frank Ape's bright ideas on Houston

Local artist Frank Ape (aka Brandon Sines) created a new mural this week outside the Ridge Hotel on Houston at Eldridge. 

As he wrote on Instagram, "This mural is all about bringing your ideas to life. Each colorful ape represents a new idea trying to break out." 

Previously on EV Grieve:

Planet of the Frank Ape: Q-and-A with artist Brandon Sines

King Flaco outside the 2nd Avenue F stop

Here's the final Flaco tribute mural outside the Second Avenue F stop on Houston.

Nite Owl, an Oakland, Calif.-based artist known for his expressive murals of owls, created this King Flaco memorial mural. (Check out his work on Instagram.)

Flaco, the Eurasian Eagle-Owl, was found dead on Feb. 23 after apparently colliding with a building on the Upper West Side. As the Associated Press put it, "Flaco ... escaped from New York City's Central Park Zoo and became one of the city's most beloved celebrities as he flew around Manhattan." 

Flaco also spent eight days in the East Village and Lower East Side this past November. 

An East Village tribute to Flaco

Photos by Laura "Lulu" Reich 

Here's an in-progress look at a Flaco tribute mural going up outside the Second Avenue F stop on Houston.

The work is, appropriately enough, by Nite Owl, an Oakland, Calif.-based artist known for his expressive murals of owls. (Check out his work on Instagram.)

Flaco, the Eurasian Eagle-Owl, was found dead on Feb. 23 after apparently colliding with a building on the Upper West Side. As the Associated Press put it, "Flaco ... escaped from New York City's Central Park Zoo and became one of the city's most beloved celebrities as he flew around Manhattan." 

Flaco spent eight days in the East Village and Lower East Side this past November. Flaco was first spotted in the East Village on Nov. 6 at the Kenkeleba House Garden off Avenue B and Third Street. He was seen repeatedly over the next few days here and on the Lower East Side.

Updated 6/8: See the final mural here.

Sunday's opening shot

A new arrival this past week outside the Second Avenue F stop at Houston ... a Knicks tribute by Jappy Agoncillo. 

Apparently this will only be up through the weekend... and ahead of Game 1 between the Knicks and Pacers tomorrow evening. 

Check back later for our analysis on how the Knicks contain Tyrese Haliburton.

Saturday's opening shot

Fresh Flowers arrived this past week outside the Second Avenue F stop. 

Mural by Mort and Paolo Tolentino.

Monday's parting shots

A look at the recently completed mural on the NE corner of Avenue A and Sixth Street (alongside Offside)... the work is by LeCrue Eyebrows...