Prince Street People

I really like wall art.  Murals, graffiti, mosaics, frescos... you name it. If it's on a wall, I probably like it.  Why is this?  Because I appreciate public art in general.  I really enjoy how adding art to a public space, like a bridge, a park, or even a subway station can brighten up everyone's day.  Suddenly that commute on the train turns into a mini museum trip every morning, and that run through the park turns into a private viewing of a statue gallery.  I love it.  And, lucky for me, New York is smothered in public art- it's just everywhere.  It doesn't hurt that I live near one of the largest and prettiest parks in the city, Prospect Park.  That kind of just fuels my adoration.

In any case, the subway art in New York City is pretty great compared to other cities I have visited.  Many stations have intricate mosaic work, some have statues, like the 14th Street 8th Ave Station in Manhattan, and some, like many stops along the J, M, and Z trains, and a few stops along the Q line, have stained glass designs in the platform or station.  Some of the stations are rather decrepit, and almost rotting, but some of the ones I would have currently put on that list are currently under renovation by the MTA, the Metropolitan Transport Authority, which is the governmental department that runs all of New York City's transportation.  As annoying as it is when they close down stations for a weekend, or even months at a time, the results can be rather impressive.  For example, the relatively new mosaic work in the Bay Ridge 86th St Station on the R line in Brooklyn is quite nice.  However, some of the station mosaic art is just simply exquisite.

One station that I would say falls into the exquisite category, is the Prince Street Station in Manhattan on the N and R lines.  There are mosaics of... silhouettes of people.  People who look like they'd be in New York City.  There are rich women with heels and fancy bags, men with construction hats and beer guts pushing carts full of who knows what, children, people with backpacks and hats, nuns, pregnant women.  Of course, not everyone is represented, but it's  a pretty nice cross section of the people you might see actually standing in the station.  I get to see this most every day- I generally ride the express train that passes through this station without stopping, and as I look out the window, I see the actual people and their shadow counterparts side by side, captured in a moment, frozen.  The people mix with the art on the wall, and it really is beautiful.  My New York.

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Funky Town

I'm scheduling this to post in late morning, but as I sit down to write this post, the clock is about to hit 2:45am.  I'm sighing.  And yawning.  New York City doesn't sleep, and apparently, tonight, neither do I.  Trust me, it's not that I'm not tired, it's just that I can't sleep!

Maybe there is just too much excitement in the world.  Yesterday was really warm, and I spent basically the entire day walking around the city with Danny taking in the sights, flowers, air, and the fact that we could wear summer clothing.  I was in a sundress with no jacket or tights and, wow, it was just heavenly!  If every day could have that kind of weather I would be such a happy lady.

But the other kind of excitement is the city itself.  This place is so insanely vibrant.  Most of the color comes from the people, the fascinating individual people who make up the insane populous.  However, I am way too chicken and self-conscious to take photographs of people most of the time.  I would love to, don't get me wrong, but I don't want to offend anyone, or bug them.  So, I've captured the life of the city from around the people.  The signs, the street art, the plants.  I know I've posted a lot of things like this recently, but it's what happens to be capturing my attention at the moment.  I hope you like it. It's pretty funky.

These were all taken on a walk through Red Hook and Park Slope.

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Zoom In, Feel the Beat

It might be kind of obvious, but I love wall art.  Murals, graffiti, frescos, you name it.  But really, I like urban art.  It makes me feel the beat of the city, in a weird way, like a DJ is spinning an mmphz mmphz into my heart.  You can feel it pounding in your chest sometimes- the subway running beneath you, the cars whizzing by, the street musician down the block, the planes overhead.  The sirens a few streets away.  It all mixes together in a beautiful music that completes itself into an experience with the life and soul of the people.  That might sound totally ridiculous, but that's how it feels to me.  I see people I know nothing about, and take in how they look, how they portray themselves, and put it in context of the place I see them.  Urban art helps with that so much, especially when it's brightly colored and specific.  There's so much life there, so much defiance.

So, for this set of photographs, I zoomed in on some grafitti.  These are details- you probably won't be able to see the words.  I wanted to capture the feeling of the expression, how the spray paint looks on the pavement, not the overall picture.  I'm rather happy with how they turned out.  I know that glorifying street art and urban-ness, and showing colors and lines and such can come off a bit pretentious, but that really isn't what I am going for here. The colours and patterns move me, they really do.  

I hope they move you too...  or that you at least find them kind of nifty. 

...mmphz mmphz...

 

All photographs taken on the Manhattan Bridge

New York City, New York, USA

Inner City Pressure

 

Would you get these cutleries out of my knees... please?

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Sunny Skies and Marvelous Murals

It can be amazing what you find hiding under a bridge!

Pictured:  Daniel Garrison and Emily Grace Buck

Miami, Florida, USA

PS... sorry the title was originally great graffiti.  I really hope I didn't offend anyone!  I know this is a mural... I was just trying to come up with a fun, rhyming title.  Enjoy!