Art for the Public

Recently I have been seeing a lot more graffiti around my neighborhood, and while I think tags are generally an aesthetic waste, I do love street art, stencils and graffiti murals. I'm planning on visiting this Os Gemeos and Futura mural on a public school- PS.11 on 21st St in Manhattan- what a lucky school!

On my morning walk to the subway, I happened upon this paste-up on an empty warehouse building, surrounded by new tags.

It made me really happy that someone is out there, thinking, pasting, communicating, provoking. It is nice to know that we are together in creating, even though we don't know each other; an invisible community of sorts. Community has been on my mind lately. I have been trying to meet and talk to more people, as I seem to be a bit of a recluse in my post-school days. I suspect it is my job and this city, but I am trying to make the most of it. It is just such an important part of making work for me- I love working around others: separate, but simultaneously. I need to feel the momentum around me so that I can let myself get caught up in the current. Trying to reconnect with hardworking friends from my past lately, as well as new ones.


These next images were taken at 266 West 37th St in the Garment District in Manhattan. This piece is called "Have A Nice Day" from Johannah Herr. This exhibition is part of chashama, an organization that turns "temporarily vacant properties into spaces where art can flourish." I had been hearing about them recently on blogs and websites devoted to the NYC arts, but I hadn't yet happened upon any of them. It was a fantastic surprise to find this piece tucked away in a tiny storefront, under construction scaffolding, across from a fabric store I was in. The garment district is certainly not known for its beauty, so such a find does not go unappreciated!