Streetart
Shepard Fairey’s latest work on Dumbo Walls right outside of the York Street F station is done.
Gothamist spoke to Shepard Fairey, and wrote a detailed description of the new mural:
Since he has been coming here in 1990, DUMBO has obviously changed. “I used to come over here and bomb in the late ’90s and it was tumbleweeds. There was nothing going on over here. But everyone always goes ‘I loved SoHo in the ’90s. I loved Bowery when CBGB’s was there.’ There’s always that moment where a place goes from being totally crappy to having a bunch of artists and cool bars and gallery spaces and then it gets too expensive and it gets yuppified.
“I think [DUMBO] is in that transitional phase, but it’s a cool neighborhood. There’s no point in having a sort of romantic attachment to a neighborhood the way it was in a specific moment of time because everything is in flux. Shit’s always changing—if you’re bummed about it go pioneer the next neighborhood.”
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Fairey’s new piece is a large mural with “Peace” on the left and “Justice” on the right, so we couldn’t help but think of Trayvon Martin. Those two words were prominent in rallies in New York and across the country (“No Justice, No Peace,” “Justice for Trayvon”). “I’ve incorporated peace and justice in several of my images over the past few years,” Fairey told us. “Having to do something that the city is going to approve and making it pretty with these floral motifs but incorporating the ‘Peace’ and ‘Justice’ in there was a way to subtly get to people’s conscious and consciousness. ‘Justice’ especially is a very open-ended word, but if you think about it and the Trayvon case and you feel like justice wasn’t really done— which is what I think—it’s just harder to sweep it under the rug.”
The DUMBO Improvement District and Two Trees Management Co in partnership with the New York City Department of Transportation Urban Art Program (NYCDOT) and the Jonathan LeVine Gallery, announce the creation of DUMBO Walls, a series of eight outdoor murals packed within a four-block stretch of DUMBO along the BQE. We posted a preview of them earlier this week, but the news about the street art was released yesterday.
We took a few photos in progress this morning (in this post). This extensive project is being presented through the NYCDOT Arterventions program with funding provided by the DUMBO Improvement District and Two Trees Management Co. Works by CAM, MOMO, Stefan Sagmeister and Yuko Shizimu are presented by the DUMBO Improvement District and Two Trees Management Co. Works by DALeast, Eltono, Shepard Fairey and Faith47 are presented by Jonathan LeVine Gallery and Wooster Collective, in conjunction with 10 Years of Wooster Collective 2003—2013, a group exhibition on view at 525 W 22nd Street from August 7—24, 2013.
The art can be viewed along York Street between Washington Street and Pearl Street in Dumbo Brooklyn.
The press release is after the jump. (more…)
Looks like there are 7 new street murals are coming to Dumbo. One of them, on York Street (between Adams and Washington Street) against the BQE wall started this past weekend and will take about a week to complete, according to the artist. The artist’s name (pictured on the right) is Momo.
Photos by Jane Kratochvil.
More details to come on the others in the next few weeks.
The street mural on Water Street (at Pearl Street) in Dumbo was painted over yesterday. That’s the ephemeral nature of street art, and we’re suprised how long it’s been up. Over the years, we’ve seen various art on that wall. In 2007, Revok, Retna, Saber collaborated for their mural. In May 2008, a group of 15 visual artists called Concrete Alchemy replaced the mural with their colorful imagery. Then in September 2008, a project called The Monster Project painted a piece titled “eel goddess”.
From May 2009 until this week, Dumbo artist Craig Anthony Miller (“CAM”), with a group called 303 Collectives painted the now famous elephant mural. The new temporary paint job will be up until the developers demolish the building for new townhouses.
According to a Brownstoner post today, “Alloy, the firm that will be both designing and developing the townhouses on the site (and is also responsible for 192 Water Street and 182 Plymouth Street), confirms that his firm gave the building its new look.”
They told Brownstoner, “we wanted to put something up that spoke to the impact of CAM’s work over the past few years and also inserted some optimism at that particular spot. We view all our work as a contribution to the built environment, hopefully a positive one, and while certainly a change from the wall, we’re excited about what the townhouses might be able to add in this little pocket of DUMBO.”
CAM sent us a note of thanks to convey to the community:
The 303 Collective mural on Water street has come to the end of an amazing run, enduring almost four years. It was humbling to see so many people use the wall weekly for a backdrop. Videos, weddings, engagements, fashion shoots, Television Ads and hundreds of tourist visiting the neighborhood monthly. A mural with a message for a Brooklyn community and embraced by more. Dumbo is a place where change is expected and inevitable, and to be honest I did not think the wall would survive a year being such a popular canvas. The mural made a name for itself and within its own rights became synonymous with the neighborhood. Thank you to EVERYONE who showed love and support for the mural and most importantly thanks to Tom, Blue Barn Pictures and The 303 Collective… Coby Kennedy, John Breiner, TRON, and the last edition Sky Davison.
Craig Anthony Miller “CAM”
[UPDATE: The CAM mural was just painted over leaving the word “bright” on the wall (via twitter @jattenberg)]
(Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Paper)
No date has been set for the development of 55-57 Pearl Street, but the Craig Anthony Miller’s mural will have to go has already been painted over. Brooklyn Paper reported:
The builders at Alloy want to put up modern housing in place of a low elephant-adorned garage at Pearl and Water streets that, like much of the block, once belonged to the Industrial-era paint company J.W. Masury & Son, according to the Historic Districts Council.
Alloy, the developers unveiled its plans for the site to the Landmarks Preservation Commission last Tuesday (Brownstoner), but the LPC raised a few concerns about how the concrete would fit in with the predominantly brick structures in Dumbo. The proposal is expected to be approved, but one of the best murals in Dumbo will be is gone.
(Photo by Josh Derr)
Related:
{Facade Proposal Revealed for 55-57 Pearl St. Townhouses, 07feb2013, Brownstoner}
{New Building Proposed for Dumbo Graffiti Garage, 22Jan2013, Brownstoner}
{Housing planned for DUMBO’s elephant mural building, 11Feb2013, BK Paper}