Halloween ghost. I took my camera and tripod out once again on Halloween night. I was hoping to find some people out partying in costumes. I thought I could get cool portraits, if I could get them to stay still for a time exposure. I saw maybe three people in costume during the entire walk through the East Village. And for most of that time the streets were eerily empty. I didn’t feel threatened, but I was a bit spooked.
Halloween moon on Houston Street. The moon provided some lighting but most of the highlights came from car headlights. I was doing exposures ranging from 1 to 10 seconds. The tripod I took was lightweight, which was the only feasible choice for trekking around in the dark. It was fine for the most part but any minor jarring would ruing the crispness of the image.
Bowery, Houston graffiti mural.
The Con Ed building was lit up by a giant generator parked on 14th Street.
Food and light for Astor Place.
Astor Place.
NYU all lit up.
Cop-lit cobblestones.
Broadway eats.
Sixth Avenue and the Jefferson Market Library.
This has been up for awhile but this was the first chance I’ve had to see it. The distortion comes from the photo being an Autostitch panorama, knit from four photos.
You can still see a bit of Kenny Scharf‘s colors on the side of the wall. JR is noted for his politically themed ultra-blowup photos. “Lakota, North Dakota” will highlight the Standing Rock and Pineridge Native Reservations — some of the most important Native American reservations whose impoverished and forgotten communities have suffered unspeakable hardships. – Goldman press release.
You need to be on the south side of Houston Street to really see the image, up-close it is hard to read. I think the vertical white stains are an excess of paste. Bowery Boogie has photos of the transition, links and story..
A few days ago the mural was tagged with huge filled white bubble letters all along the base. The amazing fanciful restoration, completely obliterating the tag, was done very much in the quick dirty style of Scharf’s street paintings of the Eighties. But Animal New York reports that Sharf is in LA and the restoration was done by an anonymous friend of the artist. I love it. I suspect more action to come.
The other day the Houston and Bowery Kenny Scharf mural was tagged with giant bubble letters. This morning I saw an image on EV Grieve showing it restored. From the photo I was thinking that someone was able to remove the tag with some magic solvent. But seeing it up close, it looks like Scharf came back last night and painted over the tag. I’m guessing that it must have been him from the style and imagination of the restoration. It is very much in the quick and dirty style of his old illegal painting of the 80′s. I am amazed, amused and happy. Update: Animal New York reports that ‘Kenny Scharf, who’s currently in LA, tells ANIMAL that an anonymous friend went over the tags with squiggly echoes of the colorful wall underneath.’
The upper photos are from the end of November just after the murals were completed.
I was lucky enough to stumble on this mural the day before Thanksgiving, as Kenny Scharf was just starting his painting. I was also lucky to get there when he said “the puzzle is filled.”
I composed the music.
Kenny Scharf contemplate Sunday’s work.
Dressed to paint.
The spray can tips are designed for fine control and Scharf has amazing skill with them.
Look closely at the lines of the spray strokes, they create a lovely filigree, making the forms light, airy and boldly three dimensional. On Saturday night Scharf had several people helping him, but he is still operating the lift and spraying every ounce of paint himself.
