Category: Featured

Helping Animals With Yarn Bombing

Yarn bombing is a form of graffiti which uses knitting to dress architectural features like lampposts, bins, statues and even vehicles to make a social comment or to improve a dull and miserable area or feature. The practice is becoming a worldwide phenomenon and unlike painted graffiti the artwork can be removed at any time if necessary. Knitting is experiencing a significant resurgence amongst young people and so it should be little surprise that the hobbyists have strayed into the realm of social comment. Being socially aware, yarn bombers are now also showing concern for the origins of their materials and their ultimate fate.

New York

A group of Yarn Bombers in New York who call themselves the “knitting entourage” are tackling projects outside businesses in the city. There will be one attack each month and the bombers started with the York Harbour Inn. The group hope to draw attention to the businesses and give the workers and the local community something to look forward to and art to brighten their environment. Some members of the group work at the knitting shop The Yarn Seller and so there is definitely an element of self-promotion in the activity but it is clear that these knitters do genuinely love their craft and wish to spread the word about the benefits o

f the hobby.

Benefits of Knitting

Indeed there are many positives to the art of knitting. Beyond the obvious fact that it is both an artistic and practical craft which enables you to produce your own unique garments, knitting is highly portable, can be practised almost anywhere and picked up and out down at will. It is, therefore, the perfect hobby for those with busy lives. Knitting has also been shown to be therapeutic and the establishment of knitting groups, collectives and charity projects have made it a social activity and force for good into the bargain.

The Art

The colourful output of Yarn bombers brightens a neighbourhood and has life and texture. The “Knitting Entourage” encourages passers-by to touch and feel the knitting in order to heighten their experience of the work. The hope is to both promote knitting and to inspire creativity in those who see the

work.

Conscience

The group are conscious of the amount of material they are using and the potential for waste. They use only donated or recycled yarn and after the projects have served their purpose the knitting will be taken down, unravelled and re-knitted into squares which will be fashioned into kitty beds for use in a local animal shelter.

Win Win

It is hard to fault with what the “knitting entourage” are doing in giving a second and third life to yarns whilst helping local businesses and brightening the community. They are also promoting their own commercial enterprise but this is a very socially and environmentally friendly form of advertising!

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Guest article by blogger Sally Stacey, a great lover of arts and crafts and a frequent writer for knitting blogs and websites including Pack Lane Wool, where you can shop for wonderful Patons yarn.

Marry Me Hope

New York is a popular place to propose. Walking through Central Park, it’s not uncommon to see a man down on one knee, especially nearby the Strawberry Fields memorial. Fitting I guess as the word imagine imprinted into the mosaic is there to remind us of the possibility of a better world.

Central Park isn’t the only place to propose. You could – if your skills are up to it – produce a ring at the ice rink at the Rockefeller Center. That’s a popular one. Or if you’re a Yankees fan for $100 you can get your message on the big screen. The historic rollercoaster otherwise known as the Coney Island Cyclone is another popular location.

marrymehopeClichéd perhaps, but not the most Clichéd. You could do it at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, whilst in a horse and buggy riding through Central Park. Or at the top of the Empire State Building, or at the love statue in mid-town.

There are countless clichéd ways to do it, but New York is also home to an imaginative few who’ve found some unique and creative ways to get their message across. Recently on a housesit in New York I was walking through the Tribeca district on a sunny Sunday morning when I came across this message, spray-painted onto the wall.

“Marry Me Hope”.

It’s been done before, yes, but it makes for a much better photo than a message on the scoreboard at a football stadium. So I took a photo and vowed to look it up when I got home. Of course, as soon as I got home I completely forgot about it. Until now that is.

I don’t know who Hope is but seeing as I’ve had this photo sitting on my camera for a few months I’d be curious to know if she said yes. I’ve searched high and low online and although I can find one or two people who’ve taken the same picture as me, I can’t find any information about Hope or her suitor. If anyone has any information, or even if they’ve just taken the same picture as me, I would love to hear more.

The Outtakes From Style Wars

http://vimeo.com/941073
1983 was a hell of a year for New York streets. That was the year RUN DMC released their first single. The New York City Breakers also formed that year. 1983 is also the year that two of the most iconic films came out about the art, color and style of  the New York City streets; Wild Style and Style Wars. These two films are some of the best documents of the birth of Hip Hop culture that we have and if you haven’t seen them, you’re already lost.

Now they’re trying to sift through 30 hours of outtakes from Style Wars and supplement the original hour-long documentary. They started a fundraising drive to get some help with the project. Please support the cause and donate to the Style Wars Documentary Outtakes Project. You will be a better person for helping out, plus you can pick up some really cool, collectible stuff.

Please help Henry Chalfant fund the Style Wars Documentary Outtakes Project

Refuse to be Smart

Gated Community: The Incarceration of a Graffiti Writer

My friend Mickael Broth was arrested for graffiti when we were both living in Richmond, VA. I remember the day his place happened and we were all crushed. There was a movie screening for a film by our friends Day By Day that night and there was a 5 minute segment in the movie with nothing but footage of Mike getting up. Everyone just watched it silently. It was a perfect memorial for Refuse To Be Smart.  All of a sudden the night switched from a movie premiere to a fund raiser for Mike’s legal fund.

Mickael Broth is now a well established fine artist still living in Richmond and he is working on a book that is a collection of the art and letters he wrote over the 10 months he served in jail. The book will also be a discusion of grafitti art and the other side of what happens to vandals when they don’t make it into art galleries like Bansky and Shepard Fairey.

He has a kickstarter like fundraiser up on United States Artists and he is more than half way there with 19 more days to go. I hope you can donate and help make his book a reality.

Please visit this link for more information. Gated Community: The Incarceration of a Graffiti Writer

Vintage Photos of Brooklyn

Vintage Photographs of Brooklyn, New YorkNew York photographer Danny Lyon spent time shooting pictures of the city that he lived in and loved. This collection of  stunning vintage images gives a glimpse of what life was like in the BK nearly 40 years ago. Photo sets like this one are great because you can recognize the streets and buildings. If you can’t identify that street or view directly you still get washes of familiarity because New York City is where you live too.  Throughout the decades, demolition and developments the city will always live on.

If you’ll let us, Unseen NYC would love to hold onto your pictures of the city. Just mosey over to this post about how to add your pictures to the Unseen NYC collection.

New York Neons

It’s easy to take the little things around you for granted. That’s primarily why we are all about documenting all of the unique, temporary things that pop up in our neighborhoods. Naturally vandalism is my favorite, which is why this site is the way it is. Unseen NYC‘s co-genius Igor, from Driven by Boredom, has been sharing photographs like this since before most people knew what a blog was.

Igor’s latest project is a collection of neon signs that he has been photographing like a man obsessed. New York Neons just begun publishing his collection. It’s definitely worth a daily visit.

Pantheon: A History of Art from the Streets of NYC

The Donell Library closed over two and a half years ago and has been all but dark sense. On Saturday, April 12 it will be opening its doors to 35 graffiti writers, street artists and guests to present one of the most comprehensive historical perspectives that vandalism has ever been offered.

Pantheon

New York City’s infamous legacy will be on display in this unique collection focused on documenting graffiti’s roots and its evolution into a phenomenon that is recognized and respected world wide.

For information about this show, the artists involved and more detailed information please visit
www.PantheonNYC.com

Fumero’s Street Art Oasis

NYC is where I was born, NYC is where I went to art school and NYC is the home base for clandestine after dark activities. The epicenter of the modern world is New York, it has a character all it’s own. Especially Lower Manhattan where neighborhoods still retain much of its original 19th and turn of the century architecture, accompanied by narrow winding streets. The older neighborhoods such as The LES or The Lower East Side, Greenwich Village as well as the Williamsburg, Bushwick and Dumbo neighborhoods of Brooklyn have great wall locations, or what I call Street Art Oasis. The Candy Factory in Soho, the 22nd St. Wall in Chelsea, the Bowery Bank Building, Factory Fresh, etc., are  street art oasis spots which add to the distinctive look, feel and the energy that is NYC. These are designated areas where the art saturated walls have layers upon layers of wheat pasted paper art that is constantly changing and evolving, pealing and decaying. I refer to these street art walls as street art oasis. They remind me of little watering holes lush with vegetation that are found in the middle of deserts. But in this case, walking around NYC one can suddenly find him or herself in front of a street art wall fertile with living art in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the hectic city. Onlookers can take a moment to stop and gaze upon the pleasant array of expression produced by a random collaboration of artists contributing to the movement ofStreetartism.

New York is not only relegated to wall shrines but any surface that can be pasted-on or stickered-up is a possible shrine for urban expressionism. NY has an abundance of street art from many different artists, not only from NY or USA but all around the globe. NY is a global city, all roads once led to ancient Rome but in the modern age they lead to New York. Where else would be a more suitable town to get down with getting-up?….New York City, my city.

The Table Series Logo has been on the NYC scene for nearly 5 years. This simple logo representing not only family but how “the table” brings family together. The family that “breaks bread” together stays together, is the concept. The catalyst for expressing this graphic as a personal street art logo evolved from my fine art. I began creating acrylic paintings with the theme of the family around the table combined with my approach to fine art illustration that I developed when I was a BFA student studying at The School of Visual Arts. The combination of theme and my painterly style developed into Fumeroism. I resurrected myself back onto the streets but not as a graffiti writer, as in my former past, but as a contemporary fine artist turned street artist at night. I couldn’t wait on the long lists of galleries to review my portfolio on CD with countless other artists CD portfolios. I frequently was told by galleries that they were booked for the next 2 to 3 years before they were accepting new artists submissions for review. I wanted to show my paintings to the public but I couldn’t, so I created the TSLogo in response and introduced it to the public. Although this logo image was not any of my original paintings, it is a symbol that I wanted to express as a message, or a reminder that a strong family unit fosters and creates strong individuals. Family is important and sharing meals together is the act of unity, love and culture. I grew up around the kitchen table, that’s where the parties were located, meals were eaten, or just sitting out the table listening to the grown-ups speak and laugh as I drew on notebook paper and played with the glass sugar dispenser by pouring sugar onto the table and making designs with my finger. As a contemporary street artist from NY, I feel the sense that I am contributing to the one aspect of New York City’s historical past and am fortunate to have the great city of the Empire State as my city where I share and spread my vision to the public.

Fumero will be participating in the upcoming Art Bazaar. Feb.18th 6-9m, Feb. 19th & 20th 12-7pm | 175 7th Ave & 20th St.
Check out the Fumeroism Facebook Page and follow Fumeroism on Twitter.

New York Hardcore Photos of Yesteryear

Remember the chick in the well in Scilence of the Lambs? The lotion chick… Well her name is Brooke Smith and back in the day she was all about some New York City Hardcore. She sent a bunch of old photos to the decent, clean-cut guys over at www.streetbonersandtvcarnage.com.

Old New York Hardcore Photos
STREET BONERS and TV CARNAGE » OLD NEW YORK HARDCORE PHOTOS

Give a click to the photo of the NYHC family of times gone by and catch a glimpse of what it was like before bands like Limp Bizkit made mosh pits into douche-laden bro-brawls.