Graffiti Mashups?

Today's Polaroid comes from Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It can be found on North 3rd Street, between Berry Street and Wythe Avenue. I didn't want to do Polaroids from the same neighborhood so close together, but this particular piece of graffiti struck me for multiple reasons, and as such I felt compelled to write about it.

What is so interesting about this particular tag is that it is a combination of two different forms of graffiti. It is somewhat difficult to see in the picture, and for that you have my sincerest apologies, but on the wooden panel there is a picture of a monstrous creature opening its jaws in a rather threatening way. It is made of paper and pasted to the wood. Right below on the window frame, someone has tagged the words "I DREAM OF LOVE". The violent image and the sentimental words shouldn't work together, but they do.

Due to the nature of the pasted image (it is rather weathered and parts of it are peeling away from the wood) and the fresh look of the paint, I feel that these two parts of the work were not done at the same time. I am inclined to think that they were not even done by the same person. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this was "Oh wow, a graffiti mash up!" Mash ups, or the creation of something whole (such as a song, video, or website) made up entirely of parts of other things, have become quite popular over the past few months in popular culture, particularly in the world of music, with rap artists collaborating with rock musicians, as well as DJs cutting and pasting samples from songs to make new songs (I suggest checking out Girl Talk - he particularly likes to juxtapose hip-hop with indie rock) - why not apply this to graffiti as well? Both parts of the whole - the image and the words could stand alone on their own, but are made so much more powerful when combined. The monstrous image makes me wonder what kind of dreams of love the artist has. What do you think?

If you go visit this particular piece of art, you must, must, MUST stop at The Bagel Store, located on North 3rd Street and Bedford Avenue. I have never had a bagel as good as theirs, and the sundried tomato tofu spread is to die for. It can get very crowded and busy in there (the bagels are so good that they have a regular following) but the service is very efficient, and the bagels are so worth it. Their hot chocolate is also quite excellent.

And now: a short diversion. It has come to my attention (thank you, Ahmed!) that the intentions of this blog may not be completely clear, and I want to take a moment to lay them out a little bit more clearly. If you feel unclear about what it is I'm trying to do with this blog, please go to the first post. I've edited it to make my intentions a little more clear.

That's all for today. Also: if you know of any particular tags you think I should go visit/want me to blog about here, please leave me a comment with the location of the tag and I'll try to make my way over there.

5 Pointz

This week I visited Five Pointz, a communal art space located in Long Island City, Queens. Five Pointz is a warehouse that has been converted into art studios and a public canvas for graffiti. Nearly every single part of 5 Pointz is covered in graffiti - from the walls to the roof, even the staircases. Even some of the vehicles parked outside of 5 Pointz are tagged. The work at 5 Pointz varies, from simple word tags, to elaborate murals and portraits.

5 Pointz is a safe space for graffiti artists to come and showcase their work. It gets its name from its open invitation to graffiti artists from all five boroughs to come and add to this ever evolving canvas, though artists now come from all over the world to make their mark at 5 Pointz.

While 5Pointz is an open canvas for graffiti artists, there are some rules. 5 Pointz is run by graffiti artist Meres, and those wishing to add to Five Pointz must first notify Meres and obtain a permit to paint there.

5 Pointz is not just a safe place to paint. The community of artists that are involved with 5 Pointz are working hard to change the city's view of graffiti. Many of the artists prefer to call their work "aerosol arts", and Meres even offers graffiti workshops on the weekends to young people, to teach them the basic fundamentals of street art. While this raises concerns among the anti-graffiti community, William Green, the head photographer for 5 Pointz, whose graffiti pseudonym is Nic, argues, "When I was a kid, I could have been robbing the liquor store and selling drugs, but I didn't. I was doing art. We are not here to save the world, but every day those kids are at 5 Pointz is another day they are off the streets." (From the article "All Roads Lead to 5 Pointz")


If you would like to visit 5 Pointz, you can take the E or V to 23 Street/Ely Avenue, the 7 to 45 Road/Court House Square or the G Court House Square. 5 Pointz is located at Jackson Avenue between Crane and Davis Streets.

Waiting for Godard?

For my first post, I chose a graffiti tag in my neighborhood that catches my eye every time I pass it. This tag can be found in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on the corner of North 6th Street and Driggs Avenue.

I like this particular tag for its cheeky sense of humor. The artist is playing off of Samuel Beckett's famous play Waiting for Godot. The artist, unlike the main characters in Waiting for Godot, Vladimir and Estragon, is not waiting for Godot (who, in the end, never comes), but instead is waiting for Jean-Luc Godard, one of the most influential directors of the Nouvelle Vague, or "French New Wave" film movement. One must wonder if the artist was trying to draw a parallel between Waiting for Godot and the Nouvelle Vague movement, as both went against tradition. Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play in which it can be argued that nothing actually happens, while the Nouvelle Vague movement rebelled against the traditional French literary film structure through use of non-linear plot lines. Whatever the artist's intention, this is certainly a fun tag.

What is also interesting about this tag is that it has been added to. What appears to be the head of a rooster has been spray painted over the original "waiting for godard" tag. Is this the work of the original artist, or did someone else feel like it needed to be spruced up a bit?

This tag is located in the heart of Williamsburg. There are plenty of restaurants, shops, and galleries to visit in this area. A few blocks up on Bedford Avenue between South 3rd and South 4th Streets is the delicious Mexican restaurant Bonita. The guacamole is very spicy and flavorful, and the veggie quesadillas are delightful. You can choose to eat at the counter and watch the chefs prepare your food before your very eyes, or you can choose to get cozy at one of their tables or booths. It can get pretty busy, but usually the wait is not that long, and the food is definetly worth it.

After eating your fill of Mexican food, you might want to head over to Earwax Records at 218 Bedford Avenue. Here you can find an excellent selection of cds and vinyl. They carry both used and new vinyl, so if you're into records, you should definetly check this cozy record store out.

Well, that's all for this time. Next stop: Queens!

Testing, one, two...

Welcome to Grafaroid NYC. This blog was started in February 2007 for a course at Marymount Manhattan College entitled Sharing 101: Survival Skills for the Digital Citizen, taught by Morgan Schwartz.

The premise of Grafaroid NYC is fairly simple. I will travel around New York City and take Polaroids of different graffiti tags or forms of street art. I will post these Polaroids to the blog, discuss them, and also let you know about interesting restaurants, shops, etc. in the same area as the graffiti/street art pictured.

So why am I doing this? Well, graffiti and street art have always interested me, as have Polaroids. I feel that both graffiti/street art and Polaroid photographs can be legitimate forms of art, but far too often they are written off as crime (graffiti/street art) or amateur (Polaroids) by the art world. I feel like part of the reason they are written off so often is because of their accessibility. Street art can be seen by anyone - you don't need to pay to get into a museum or go to a gallery opening to see one of these works of art, and anyone can take a Polaroid, you need no special training. I view Polaroids as instant art - you take a picture of something and almost immediately have it in your hand - I find that fascinating. I want to open up a conversation about what art is and how we define it, so please, please, please comment with your feedback, your ideas, your arguments - whatever you feel! I also want this blog to show New York City as a walkable art gallery. Instead of paying $20 to see the latest exhibit at the MoMA, why not walk around NYC and see some amazing art for free?

First post will be up within a day or two, so please keep checking back.

Over and out.