Photo courtesy of yoyolabellut

 Photo courtesy of jcipriano

Dumbo is known for its street art, installations, and galleries. But not everyone knows that Space Invader has visited Dumbo (he lives in Paris) and has at least two street installations in the near vicinity. Space Invader is not a conventional graffiti artist. He’s been creating high quality mosaic tiles of video game icons, mostly Toshiro Nishikado’s Space Invader (1978) since 1998. But the tiles are hidden around the world, often in places with famous views. He’s invaded several areas in NYC, including Dumbo, Williamsburg, and SoHo. According to a LA Weekly article, 80 to 90 percent of his outdoor pieces are still intact.:

“He has been arrested many times, but skirts trouble for the most part by playing it cool. His philosophy is that he’s “leaving a gift to the city,” and who’s to say he’s not? Each piece is as meticulously recorded and planned as it is created…”

There’s no doubt that he’s planning several more New York invasions in the near future (according to his newsletters), but he won’t say when or where it will happen. He wants people to discover them and send in photos or post them on the flickr pool. Some of them have been posted on his website. He’s made space invader so popular that there are even space invader baby t-shirts. On my trips to Tokyo and Paris this year, I’ve found one or two space invaders by chance. Have you seen any others in NYC?

  Taken on 4/29/07, Photo by DumboNYC (Click for larger version)

  Brooklyn Bridge Space Invaders, Photo courtesy of insky
  (Click for larger version)

{Invader (artist), Wikipedia}
{www.space-invaders.com, SI’s official website}
{Flickr Pool of Space-Invaders}
{Invader – Biography, LAZinc.com}
{Outsideleft article, 6/9/05}

  ”I Have a Thing for Street Vendors”, Photo courtesy of mashyguy

During the Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival, the streets of Dumbo were lined with artists displaying their art or selling artwork. Also during events throughout the year, there are local art and craft sellers on the street. Despite discussions of expensive rentals and million dollar condos in the area (which are pricing many artists out of the area), Dumbo still has local artists doing great work. Come support them at events such as the festival or DUMBO First Thursday Gallery Walk.

From the flickr photo above, the photographer writes:

Overall, that was my general sentiments when discussing it with Roberta last night. The building were oozing with the smell of terps [and toner/ink cartridges]… Lots of earnest stuff; a lot less “anti-_____” stuff than I was dreading.

Unfortunately, the neighborhood is changing; BUT interestingly enough the larger of the devlopers here seems to be preserving pockets… They know the area cannot become the retail mecca SoHo became, so they kinda want to hold onto the Artist/resident cache as long as possible.

They moved Roberta from her studio with the trillion dollar view of the Brookly Bridge and lower Manhattan; BUT they did provide here with 1000 square feet at under $2,000/month. Which, is honestly unbeatable in this ‘hood.

  ”SoHo circa 1980 Revisited”, courtesy of mashyguy

{“I Have a Thing for Street Vendors”, Flickr.com}

Image from NY Times

{Tulips and Two-By-Fours, NY Times}