Art
Thirty Years on, Mercer Street Books is Crowdfunding to Keep Afloat
Last modified August 14, 2020 at 3:14 pm
The last of the old guard is facing an uncertain future. Beloved used book store in Greenwich Village, Mercer Street Books, could be the latest victim of the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. The neighborhood fixture is in its 30th year of selling used and out-of-print books, as well as records, and currently staring […]
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Outside-In: SoHo’s Plywood Art Goes from Street to Gallery in New Bowery Union Exhibit
Last modified August 12, 2020 at 9:34 pm
When the Bowery Union began its Street Art Project on May 10, the local art collective was reacting to artists’ need to share their work, buoyed by the public desire to engage on a physical level. The group envisioned a visceral experience that museums and galleries couldn’t provide amidst the shutdown, when only virtual tours […]
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Shepard Fairey’s Blondie on the Bowery is Defaced
Posted August 10, 2020 at 5:03 am
Debbie has been defaced. The large-scale mural of Debbie Harry – painted by Shepard Fairey in August 2017 – is now compromised. Taggers recently targeted the image of the Blondie front woman, which sits across the Bowery from the former home of CBGB. The Little Italy Street Art Project commissioned Shepard Fairey for the job […]
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Bluestockings Bookstore Announces New Suffolk Street Location
Posted August 10, 2020 at 5:00 am
That was quick. Forced from its longtime Allen Street shop – due to coronavirus troubles and purported rent hikes – Bluestockings is ready for the next chapter. And it remains on the Lower East Side. The so-called feminist bookstore found a larger space on Suffolk Street just a few blocks southeast. It’ll take the store previously occupied […]
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Chinatown Mural Project Brings ‘Noodles’ to Mosco Street
Posted August 6, 2020 at 5:02 am
After tossing around the idea of a neighborhood street art program the last few years, I can finally say the Chinatown Mural Project is live. In the face of gentrification I had wanted for years to put up culturally appropriate murals around Chinatown depicting Chinese culture and the everyday life of Chinatown residents. (The “88 Gates” […]
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Missed Paradise: Street Art Gets Buffed as Billboard Rises on Prince Street
Last modified August 4, 2020 at 10:26 am
Those anti-looting plywood barriers are coming down as stores are finally reopening. For street artists, though, it’s a mad scramble to reclaim the work they created to beautify the blight. Many artists continue to petition management of buildings, store owners, or simply salvaging them from the trash. Others are still producing work on the storefronts that […]
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Uncapped: GREED’s Journey from Graffiti to Holistic Doctor
Posted July 27, 2020 at 5:04 am
Hello, my precious Uncapped fam. Freddy Alva is back with us, offering up an exclusive interview with GREED to celebrate the launch of his new book Heal Profoundly: A Graffiti Thug’s Transformation to Holistic Doctor. You can cop that on Amazon, but for now check out the story behind the autobiography. FREDDY ALVA: Queens writer GREED has undergone a […]
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Bluestockings Shutters Allen Street Bookstore Amidst Pandemic Rent Hike
Posted July 23, 2020 at 5:05 am
Bluestockings, the long-running feminist bookstore on Allen Street, is closing down for good. Leaving the space it’s called home for two decades. Apparently the shutter is a double-whammy – due to both pandemic times and a landlord demanding more money. “Due to so many unforeseen circumstances both pandemic-related and otherwise, we must leave our current […]
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City Suspends Graffiti Removal Program Amidst Budget Cuts
Posted July 22, 2020 at 5:00 am
The illicit output of taggers and street artists will likely remain uncleansed, as the city suspended its graffiti-removal program. The $3 million Graffiti-Free NYC program, which power washes paint from the streets, had been suspended since March. However, as the de Blasio administration finds ways to bridge a $9 billion budget deficit, it’s now on […]
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The Brewing Turf War over Plywood Protest Art in SoHo [PHOTOS]
Last modified June 29, 2020 at 2:39 pm
A turf war is brewing in the SoHo art world. To wit, who owns the art of rebellion that ensconced the commercial plywood in the aftermath of protests and looting? SoHo looked like a toy town in pristine condition during most of the Covid-19 shutdown. For many residents, the minimalist sense of calm harkened back […]
