GammaBlog - NYC Street Art, Architecture from the East Village

Random Walk Around the Neighborhood

Sunday, November 25th, 2012

Vacant lot on Attorney Street.
It was a gray Sunday afternoon here in NYC. I had no inspiration for a photo destination. So I flipped a coin: heads, I go out, tails I watch Netflix. It was heads. I grabbed my gear and a die. Jiggled it in my pocket a couple of times then looked at it to see which side was up. 1: I go north, 2: go south, 3: go east, 4: go west, 5&6 continue in the direction I was heading. At every intersection I repeated the process. If I was unable to proceed I rolled the die until I could. The process is weighted so that it will take me further afield, by going in the same direction more often. But you can change the rules to suit your taste. For example 5 could be stay in that spot and try to find something interesting to shoot for five minutes. And 6 could be pick your own direction. The idea is to take me to places in my neighborhood that I don’t normally go. These particular rules are ideal for a city street grid, but they can be modified for suburban strolls by substituting: left, right, forward, backwards, etc. If the roll takes you back the direction you came, walk on the other side of the street.
The result today was, the sun came out, and I got a bunch of photos that I would never have found if I didn’t go on a random neighborhood walk.

Looks like this location on Avenue C for the New York City Housing Authority is for rent.

Not sure what to make of this paste-up piece off Avenue C, but maybe it makes cents to you.

I interpret this sidewalk piece on Stanton Street to say I kill you.

Filed under: East Village, Lower East Side, Photos, Street Art- , Murals, Sidewalk Art - by gamma
No Comments »

Con Edison Street Art

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

An edgy arrangement of shapes, colors and textures on display for the past couple of days on Avenue A.

Filed under: East Village, Manhattan, Street Art- , Avenue A, Sidewalk Art - by gamma
No Comments »

Meandering Path

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

I’ve always liked this meandering path, inlaid on the sidewalk in front of Red Square on East Houston Street in 1989. Kids love it, parents in a rush are often not as thrilled. This section will soon be torn-up in the ongoing replacement of water, gas, electric and electronic infrastructure all along East Houston Street. The red spray paint is instruction to the diggers. You can see that the concrete has already been cut. Who knows, they may preserve the slab.

Filed under: East Village, Manhattan, Photos, Street Art- , Red Square, Sidewalk Art - by gamma
No Comments »

I M Pi

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

Stenciled at the entrance to the Second Avenue subway station. I’ve been telling friends for years, that something like this should be made of bronze and embedded in the sidewalk outside every subway exit in the city.

Filed under: Lower East Side- , Sidewalk Art, Stencils, Subway - by gamma
8 Comments »

Sidewalk Splats

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

My guess is intentional not accidental. I’ve seen one other in the neighborhood. Reminds me of the MOMO giant orange dribble tag of a couple years back.

Filed under: East Village, Photos- , Sidewalk Art - by gamma
4 Comments »

House of Hades

Monday, September 28th, 2009

A toynbee tile laid down on a busy East Village intersection. I’ll be curious to see how it holds up to the wear.

House of Hades

One man against shitocrat and neocon news agenda in ’2009

Update Oct. 3, 09:
It’s held up fine. When I passed it today there was no sign of wear. I found this one today:

On St. Mark’s Place, another busy intersection, and the tile is holding up to the traffic. Seems to be a Toynbee Tile. Mosaic Man Jim Power’s work is most prominent on St. Mark’s Place and environs. I’m not sure what justice is sought for Powers, a Viet Nam vet. I know he was evicted from his East Village residence awhile back and has had some health problems. His blog is here, he is seeking donations to restore his Mosaic Trail in the neighborhood.