Tag: USA

Thursday doors – 30 April 2020

Doors 104 – New York City paste up and sticker doors

Lock down continues and the weather has become a little unsettled, which adds up to a failure to find some new fresh doors for you this week, so it is a return to my archives and some doors from a family trip we took to New York in October 2017.

Each morning I would rise early and wander around the East Village area where out holiday appartment was and snap up some street art before the rest of the family got up – I combined shopping for breakfast with getting my street art fix, a win-win situation.

Many of the doors in the area were peppered from top to toe with wheatpastes and stickers. Here are a few of them to give you a flavour of the district:

Wheatpaste door, East Village, New York, October 2017
Wheatpaste door, East Village, New York, October 2017
Painted door, East Village, New York, October 2017
Painted door, East Village, New York, October 2017
Wheatpaste door, East Village, New York, October 2017
Wheatpaste door, East Village, New York, October 2017
Wheatpaste door, East Village, New York, October 2017
Wheatpaste door, East Village, New York, October 2017

You can spot a paste up by Phoebe New York to the right of the door buzzer.

Wheatpaste door, East Village, New York, October 2017
Wheatpaste door, East Village, New York, October 2017

There are two more Phoebe New York paste ups here, one above the boxer on the left and one at the bottom right of the door.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour, brief I know and I am sorry about that.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.

by Scooj

2012. Allen Street, New York (4)

Allen Street in East Village is a bit of a mecca for street art, but it is not concentrated like some of the spots in Bristol, but rather it is dotted about along the entire length of the Street. This exceptional piece by Joe Miller was rather new when I photographed it in October 2017.

Joe Miller, Allen Street, New York, October 2017
Joe Miller, Allen Street, New York, October 2017

The piece is a tribute to Charles Bradley a well known soul singer originally from Florida, but who had lived in New York for more than 20 years, and had died the month before from cancer. The mural has such incredible energy and movement and captures the singer doing what he loved and did best. It is an amazing piece.

2011. Ludlow Street, New York

On my walks around New York, I somehow ended up near this piece on several occasions, I guess it was easy to recognise and see from a distance, so it had imprinted on my mind. It is an interesting designed writing piece by Felipe Pantone.

Felipe Pantone, Ludlow Street, New York, October 2017
Felipe Pantone, Ludlow Street, New York, October 2017

The whole thing, the bright prism colours, the black and white stripes, the precise straight lines all remind me very much of 1980s design, when there was little or no subtlety and everything was vibrant and ‘in your face’. I guess what I am saying is that I get some strong retro vibes from this piece. A nicely thought out and painted piece.

2010. East Village, New York (3)

Have a beautiful day! Wandering around East Village early in the morning before the rest of the family got up pretty much guaranteed that I would have a beautiful day, and that was before we’d even thought about sightseeing. Finding wheatpastes by Phoebe New York simply added to my state of happiness.

Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017
Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017

It is difficult to have regrets when you manage to see so much street art, but I know that there was a whole bunch more that I missed. Perhaps we’ll just have to go back again some day. Some of the Phoebe New York paste ups were really faded and looked rather less sophisticated than her more recent work, so I am guessing that some were already quite old.

Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017
Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017

Her modus operandi seems to be relatively straightforward…a PNY head stuck onto a cut-out of a model from a magazine and a message of some sort. It is a great idea, but the equally clever bit is in finding a great place to paste the piece up. Various doorways seemed to be favourite, although competition for space can be ferocious at times.

Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017
Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017

The first time I came across Phoebe New York was at Upfest 2016, but I have a feeling that she might not have travelled all the way over to Bristol but could have had an accomplice who pasted her pieces up…only a hunch. It matters not, I love her work to pieces.

2009. Rivington Street, New York (2)

I find it hard to believe that it was October 2017 when I went to NYC with my family. In many ways it feels so recent in others it feels like a lifetime ago. One of the great things about being there was staying in Rivington Street, which was at the heart of a whole bunch of great street art spots, and it wasn’t even me who chose the hotel!

Nick Walker, Rivington Street, New York, October 2017
Nick Walker, Rivington Street, New York, October 2017

I was surprised and delighted to find quite a few pieces by Bristol’s very own Nick Walker, including this one at the top of a hotel in the street. I think this piece is called ‘Raining Love’. I appreciate it isn’t a very good picture, but it was a long way up and I only had my crappy little camera with me on this particular walk. This is the first of a few more posts from that trip.

Thursday doors

Doors 57

After the fortunate exhibition of doors right next to my work last week, I am left wanting a bit this week. I have gone into my Thursday Doors folder and will share with you three doors from my family trip to New York back in October 2017…is it really that long ago?

So here they are – I don’t quite remember where any of these doors were exactly as I was in my doorscursion infancy and didn’t make a note at the time. In the East Village area I think.

Thursday door, New York, October 2017
Thursday door, New York, October 2017
Thursday door, New York, October 2017
Thursday door, New York, October 2017
Thursday door, New York, October 2017
Thursday door, New York, October 2017

by Scooj.

Look out for some more great doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

 

1387. Allen Street, New York (3)

Perching high above the bustle and noise of Allen Street is this magnificent and regal lion by Sonny. It really is an outstanding piece and one of my favourites from my trip to New York.

Sonny, Allen Street, New York, October 2017
Sonny, Allen Street, New York, October 2017

This is the second piece by Sonny I have featured from this trip, the first was a tiger in SoHo. His work in both these pieces has woven in patterns and colour to a quarter of the portrait that looks so natural and part of the animal itself.

Sonny, Allen Street, New York, October 2017
Sonny, Allen Street, New York, October 2017

This piece, and indeed this street, should be on any street art hunter’s wish list.

1386. Mulberry Street, New York

Oooh, I love New York, and so it seems does Invader. Deep in the heart of Little Italy in SoHo this magnificent pixelated mosaic by the great French artist resides above a clam restaurant. The piece was given a helping hand by the LISA (Little Italy Street Art) project.

Invader, Mulberry Street, New York, October 2017
Invader, Mulberry Street, New York, October 2017

I have only ever seen a handful of Invader pieces in the flesh, and this one is quite the largest. A magnificent present for those who like to keep their eyes open.

Invader, Mulberry Street, New York, October 2017
Invader, Mulberry Street, New York, October 2017

1385. Bowery, New York (2)

Very close to where we were staying in New York was this large and imposing piece by the fabulous Shepard Fairey. The style is austere and seems to bear a resemblance to totalitarian state propaganda branding or dystopian future movie motifs such as in ‘the hunger games. The sentiment though is for the people.

Shepard Fairey, Bowery, New York, October 2018
Shepard Fairey, Bowery, New York, October 2018

I rather like this highly designed corporate look, and it certainly is a striking piece that yells out at passers by.

Thursday doors

Door 24

Door, 161 Essex Street, New York
Door, 161 Essex Street, New York

When I took the picture of this door last October, I was simply capturing an interesting image of street art on a door, nothing more nothing less.

It turns out that there is a lot more to this door that I had thought, which I only found out about when researching for this post. The door is the entrance to Clayton Patterson’s gallery on 161 Essex Street on the lower East Side of NYC.

This is Portal number 7 of an interactive street art experience combining technology, art, urban space and community called ‘13 Portals‘. The project team have created an incredible ‘gamified’ experience that encourages participants to complete tasks and unlock the knowledge of the ancients. The door used to have a QR code in the white space at the bottom that linked up to the experience website.

I’m not sure when all this took place, possibly 2017, but it all looks rather complicated to me. I was just interested in the door.

The artwork itself appears to have ‘borrowed’ a little bit from the Terminator films and combines a skull with features relating to the number seven. This is what the website has to say about this door:

‘The number 7 is Saturn. It is death and transcendence. It is the seven colors of the rainbow, the seven western notes and the seven days of the week. 7. Seven is an exceptionally powerful number and also one of the biggest keys to the mystery. Each color, note or planet, represents a different perspective that we can seek to achieve awareness, clarity and enlightenment. It is the metaphor for the different races and the conflicts before they ultimately find harmony.’

So there you have it, perhaps we shouldn’t simply take things at face value, even a door.

by Scooj

More doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0