Thanks to the reader photos/tips about the southwest corner of First Avenue at 11th Street... where workers started removing the Shepard Fairey mural this past weekend ... these photos are from yesterday...
This work arrived here in October 2016. Titled "Rise Above," the mural featured an image of Fairey's daughter when she was 3 years old. (She is now in her mid-teens.)
In an Instagram post, the L.I.S.A. Project, the public art charity responsible for this wall, said that "an aged building with a NW exposure and a bad pipe burst has taken its toll" on the mural these past four years.
The mural's goal was "to supply some brightness and positivity for the locals wandering below — especially the children coming and going from neighboring P.S. 19."
The L.I.S.A. Project is promising a new mural on this space.
There's a new mural on the Bowery at East Houston... Pure Geniusquoting a recent tweet by President Trump that undermined messages by public health officials and outraged relatives who lost loved ones to COVID-19...
ICYMI: There's a new mural (as of mid-September) on the southwest corner of Avenue C at 12th Street ...Marthalicia Matarrita created this work of Pedro Albizu Campos (1891-1965), father of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement.
The mural helped mark the birthday (Sept. 12) of Campos, after whom Campos Plaza across the street is named.
Thanks to the reader for the above photo... and here's another angle that includes the Puerto Rican flag...
Text and photos by Stacie Joy Over the past few months I’d been watching with interest as artist Urban Russian Doll NYC created her large murals around the neighborhood.
I first noticed her dog portraiture (with one pastel calico kitty in the corner) piece outside Dream Come True K9 on Houston and Attorney, which features a cameo of her own pup. Then I spotted her and Lecrue Eyebrows doing a shared piece on the wall outside of Parkside Lounge, and more recently, a composition as part of East Village Walls on Second Street near First Avenue.
After a day spent painting, I toured the completed works with the artist as she answered some questions about her name, her tag, and why she loves the neighborhood.
You go by the name Urban Russian Doll NYC — why did you choose that as your non de plume?
Though my parents are originally from Ukraine and have multiple ethnicities within them, they moved to Moscow before I was born. At the time, Ukraine and Russia were still considered USSR.
My parents are former musicians, and my sister and I grew up listening to every kind of music, except for rock and metal. When I was about 15, I enjoyed Russian rap and hip hop. Usually their music videos were filmed in an urban setting with old buildings full of graffiti in the background.
Even the word, “urban,” which sounds very similar in Russian, was used frequently by Russian hip hop artists. When I decided to become a street artist, I had to choose a name for myself. I was talking to my friend about it and she said, “Why don’t you name yourself Russian Doll?”
I immediately added “Urban” to Russian Doll and it just felt right and organic. The Russian doll is the most popular souvenir that represents the authentic tradition, femininity and beauty of a Russian woman. It is a kind of nesting doll and can have many different dolls inside. To me, they represent layers of a person. Depth is good. Layers are good. Everything about that souvenir is wonderful, so why not? How did you get involved in the East Village Walls project? Why choose the East Village and Lower East Side as the site of your street art murals?
Right before COVID-19 hit the city, I went to an art show curated by fl00d at 198 Allen St. That day, I met Kristy Calabro, who introduced me to Manny, owner of the Doggy-Sitters Club, Lecrue Eyebrows, Token, who curated the event, and other amazing artists. I became friends with many of them.
Manny and I had a lot of conversations throughout quarantine, and I shared with him that my dream was to paint a wall by myself. When the BLM protests began, I was painting on plywood in Soho. Manny hit me up and asked if @art_by_eyebrows and I wanted to paint for East Village Walls.
He said they were seeking artists immediately and, of course, we said yes. Then, I met Ben, an art lover who curates East Village Walls and started my work on the wall on First Avenue and Second Street, which was also my first solo wall work. After that, I just could not leave the East Village. Because to me it’s like the soul of NYC. And I’m in love with NYC.
What has the experience of working in the neighborhood been like? How do the locals react to your work?
After painting a couple of murals around the neighborhood, I want to say that streets are streets. They teach you where to be careful and where to relax. I had different, but mostly great experiences painting in the neighborhood. I learned not only about the wall painting flow, but also that once the neighbors get to know you, they become your family.
Once, when my mural was defaced, I felt like someone just did me a favor — because I’ve never felt as much support as I felt the day when I was fixing it. The mural is about unity. And it proved my point. Because people care and unite and they were uniting for me. Your tagline is “Why wait? Love now.” How did that come about and how is it reflected in your work?
Through the message “Why Wait? Love Now,” my art represents the transition from vulnerability to strength — a quality that all brave souls possess. As we emotionally evolve, we expose ourselves to diverse levels of emotional transcendence and open up to engagements with others, which is a courageous and an extremely vital thing to do.
This allows us to take risks that lead us to meaningful experiences of love, joy, and happiness through others and ourselves. Having gone through emotionally abusive relationships, I was able to preserve my formula of happiness, and my art is a visual expression of that formula.
“Why Wait? Love Now” is a whole movement I created to support people on their journey towards joy that’s immune to all externalities, in a whole-hearted way. I invite people to rid themselves of fear and let themselves love
It is also about healing invisible pain and soothing hurtful scars through accepting love, strength of soul, and building self-resilience. It’s about every kind of love, just like my art.
Artist Billy Barnacles has been hanging these creative aquatic-themed pieces of art around the city... there are several hanging in the East Village, including here on 13th Street just east of Avenue A...
This map will show you will you can discover other barnacles.
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.
