Category Archives: New York City

Black and White Bushwick

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I posted a few days ago about my visit to The Bushwick Collective in Brooklyn, NY.

I’m always drawn to the simplicity of black and white art. Here are a few of my favorites, one of which is unattributed so if you recognize the artist, let me know in the comments and I’ll tag them:

Audrey with a selfie stick instead of a cigarette holder. Updated for the millennium but possibly equally as destructive?

Art by Flye Life – The Bushwick Collective, NY

Faces in black and white

Art by ECB – Bushwick, NY

Art in Bushwick, NY

Art by Erin Gregory (EFG) – The Bushwick Collective, NY

This chilling and gorgeous piece of indentured servitude, plus my favorite blue nails

Art by Oji – The Bushwick Collective, NY

The remains of a piece by WRDSMTH and the amusing addition of a Michael Jackson stencil

Art by WRDSMTH and s0th1s – The Bushwick Collective, NY

The marrying of words and images

Art by Sara Erenthal – The Bushwick Collective, NY

Art by David Hollier – The Bushwick Collective, NY

and this ethereal ballerina

Art by Cdre – Bushwick, NY

I’ll do one more post at the end of this week and post other colorful bits and pieces from this great gallery.

The Bushwick Collective, pt 1

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The Bushwick Collective – Brooklyn, NY

In 2012 Joseph Ficalora, heir to the GCM Steel business, grew tired of fighting graffiti artists and white washing their work off his building walls. He googled “street art,” picked some artists he liked and emailed them to ask if they wanted to come paint murals in his neighborhood. International artists from all over the world responded and so began New York’s premiere outdoor street art gallery known as The Bushwick Collective, which Ficalora dedicates to the memory of his parents. Ficalora’s story is heartfelt and pretty great. You can read it here.

I visited the Bushwick Collective this weekend and was blown away by the array of art, from massive gorgeous murals by famous painters to small clever wheatpaste pieces by local artists.

I came around the corner, saw that vibrant purple paint and the glimpse of a skull and I knew it was D*Face

Art by D*Face – The Bushwick Collective, NY

I could wish for a better picture without trees and trucks… but I’ve loved his pop art zombies since I first saw him in Las Vegas

Art by D*face – Las Vegas, NV

Art by D*face – Las Vegas, NV

And in Reykjavik, Iceland

Art by D*face – Reykjavik, Iceland

I also found Pixel Pancho, who paints the most wistful romantic robots

Art by Pixel Pancho – Bushwick Collective, NY

 

I’ve also seen his work in Las Vegas and particularly love these robots in love with the option for 24-hour prime rib

Art by Pixel Pancho – Las Vegas, NV

I love his take on A-I, as something transcendent instead of terrifying

There were a few artists new to me, like Louis Masai who raises awareness of vulnerable and endangered animal species as part of his “Art of Beeing” national street art campaign. This is the New England Cottontail Rabbit

Art by Louis Masai – The Bushwick Collective, NY

And the Bog Turtle

Art by Louis Masai – The Bushwick Collective, NY

Japanese fashionista Lady Aiko is also new to me and I loved this graphic digital-esque mural of hers

Art by Lady Aiko – The Bushwick Collective, NY

I’ve found Stik’s figures other places in New York and I always his enjoy his mural placements.

Art by Stik, Danielle Mastrion and Michel Velt – The Bushwick Collective, NY

Location, location…

Art by Stik – New York, NY

This little pirate warmed my heart, a collaboration between Joe Iurato and Logan Hicks

Art by Joe Iurato and Logan Hicks – The Bushwick Collective, NY

These two guys do a lot of art celebrating kids and their imaginations. I’d love to see more of their work.

And finally, a beautiful tribute to Keith Haring, whose work I wish I’d been able to see on the streets.

Art by Owen Dippie – The Bushwick Collective, NY

These pieces are but a drop in the street art bucket of Brooklyn. I’ll post more pics later this week.

 

 

Wheatpaste Art in Freeman Alley

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Wheatpaste Art in Freeman Alley, NYC

Every now and again people ask me how I find my street art. First off, of course, I do research online. But the problem with street art is that it’s ephemeral and can be very fragile and short-lived. Some pieces last years and others last a day or less. Online research will only point me in a direction.

However, after a couple years of street art hunting I’ve learned that where there is one piece, chances are very good there are others. So once I have a direction, street, neighborhood or what have you, I just wander around and see what there is to see. And no matter what I might have seen online, I always find pieces I’ve never seen documented anywhere else.

Wheatpaste Art by Who is Dirk – Freeman Alley, NYC

Freeman alley is down in the Bowery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It’s a dead end alley off of Rivington Street and it was included in an old list of places to find good street art in New York City. This is a great post about some of the history of the alley and you can see old pictures of previous art pieces. When I went yesterday, there were far fewer murals and many more pieces of wheatpaste art.

Wheatpaste art by Inmmezzure – Freeman Alley, NYC

It’s a particular joy of mine to take pictures of art pieces that may be gone by the time I post the pictures. Of all the street art forms, wheatpaste art is the most fleeting. It’s paper and paste. One good rain storm and it’s history. Perhaps its temporary nature is what makes it a good medium for political statements

Wheatpaste art by Andrea Cook – Freeman Alley, NYC

And serious artistry

Wheatpaste art in Freeman Alley, NYC

 

These pieces won’t last long. All the more reason to appreciate them before they’re gone.