University Place, June 2007

Yesterday’s post, and the discussion that followed, has me thinking about my own arbitrary classifications when it comes to graffiti and street art.

I generally put pieces I see on the street into one of three main categories. There are murals, which tend to be large, detailed paintings that are put up legally at the behest of a building owner. There’s street art, which is illegal and can be anything from pasted-up paper to small stickers to painted figures and stencils - always with some kind of pictorial or graphic element. Sometimes it's even sculptural, like the hearts above. And then there’s graffiti, which is basically everything else - tags, big bubbly “fills” and intricate, angular “burns,” scribbles of every kind.

The lines between these categories are blurry and they sometimes overlap. But that's how I think of things.

I tend to go for the illegal stuff - street art and graffiti. A mural is fine now and then, like the Os Gemeos mural I shot in Coney Island a few weeks ago (which you can see on my Flickr account). But I like the stuff that gets slapped up and may stay only a short time until someone else rips it down or covers it up.

(There’s a fascinating world of etiquette in graffiti, which is kind of funny when you think about it. Graffiti and street art people are very sensitive about their space and about “going over” each other - if you paste your work on top of someone else’s, it’s considered pretty rude and it invites retaliation.)

I generally focus my photos on street art. Occasionally I go for graffiti scribbles if they’re amusing, and tags if they’re graphically interesting. (So subjective!)

I’m generally not interested in big bubbly fills and burns, which I often have trouble reading.

So there you have it, a big pie that I have arbitrarily carved into sections just to organize my world and my collection of street art photos. Silly, isn’t it? Especially since Zen teaches us that all the divisions created by our mind aren't really real. Graffiti is all one thing, neither good nor bad - except in my own head.

Lower East Side, June 2007

James asked me yesterday about the so-called Splasher. Here’s the story.

The Splasher - whether a person or group of people - has been destroying street art in New York. They hurl and splatter paint all over the piece and post a sort of collegiate, nonsensical manifesto next to it about the commercialization of art. This has been going on for several months now, with the attacks coming in waves.

The Splasher seems to target big, prominent pieces - like the work of Banksy, which they demolished, and Obey (Shepard Fairey), above.

Needless to say, this pisses people off.

Some have argued that by splattering street art the Splasher is creating his own artistic statement. But I don’t buy it. I’m not sure wanton destruction of someone else’s art can really be called art in itself. Was it art when that crazy guy threw acid on the Mona Lisa years ago?

Lately, the Splasher has been getting media attention - this article in yesterday’s New York Times and a recent piece in New York magazine. As the Times article explains, he may have just been caught. But that won’t stop copycat splashings and other mischief, so no one’s really sure what will happen from this point on.

Still, keep your fingers crossed that the Splasher’s splashing has come to a halt.

Hell's Kitchen, June 2007

I feel a little bit as if I’ve dropped into a black hole for the past week. The office move took up so much of my time and energy that I haven’t been able to do much else. I did get out and take photos on Saturday, and of course there was the parade, but I haven’t been sitting at all. I’ve missed my quiet time to reflect and collect myself.

I did watch a great old film two nights ago: “Forbidden Planet.” Remember the chorus from the song “Science Fiction Double Feature” from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”?

Science Fiction - Double Feature
Dr. X will build a creature
See androids fighting Brad and Janet
Anne Francis stars in "Forbidden Planet"
Oh-oh at the late night, double feature, picture show.

Ever since I first saw “Rocky Horror,” I have wondered about “Forbidden Planet.” So I rented it, and what an awesome old sci-fi movie it is! From 1956, it’s more than just a yarn - it has a message, like a lot of the old “Star Trek” shows. Highly recommended!

I’ve also learned that one of the theaters here in New York has a midnight showing of Rocky Horror on weekends. I haven’t seen it in a theater for 20 years or so. I might just have to go - if I can stay up that late.

Eighth Avenue, June 2007

Some of you asked for a peek at my new office. I took some photos yesterday, but the ones of my actual desk area fail to capture the beauty of the building. Something about cubicles - no matter how nice, and they are really really nice - just isn't very inspiring.

This, however, is the cafeteria. You can see the beautiful light and the shadowy effect of the sunscreens on the outside of the building. Our previous cafeteria had big windows, but having big windows in a solid wall is just not the same as an entire wall of glass.

By now, all you New Yorkers probably know which new building this is. The architect is Renzo Piano, who also recently created a beautiful addition to the Morgan Library. Piano designed this building to be open and transparent, so many of the inner walls are also glass. Everything has a very clean look. I find it an incredible place to work.

Unfortunately, I've been caught in bureaucratic hell trying to get one of my computers hooked up. It's a long, boring story, but fortunately the problem should be solved today. No move is without its glitches!

Hell's Kitchen, June 2007

We’re ensconced in our new office and I’m happy to report that the glass palace is pretty amazing! The light in the office is pleasant and the views are spectacular.

The space is much better than we feared it would be, too - our desks are big enough to accommodate our stuff and not make us feel cramped.

Some of the building’s “smart” features are a little bizarre. The lights sense when they need to come on, and the sunshades move up and down automatically depending on the light’s intensity and direction outside. Consequently, they seem to be moving around a lot, as the sun disappears behind clouds and moves across the sky.

In a way maybe that's good, though, because they remind us to notice the changing light. We're so much more connected to the external world in this building than we were in the prior one.

I’m so happy to be in a new, modern space!

Times Square, June 2007

Well, Hillary was a no-show. See? You never know what to expect from the Pride Parade.

I met up with my friends Rob, Dan and Jimmy to watch yesterday’s festivities. We gathered at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Eighth Street, which put us completely by accident at a strategic spot, where the parade turned to go into Greenwich Village.

Of course, there were all the elements one would expect: The Speedo-clad guys, the corporate floats, the big advertisements for bars, the politicians. (Chuck Schumer did show up, and Hillary’s people were there with signs, which I thought was kind of a cop-out. But I guess she’s probably busy working the crowds in Iowa, or wherever.)

The parade was so long that after watching for a couple of hours, we went to get something to eat. When we came back, the drag queens were still on the march. (My favorite was dressed as Madonna circa 1991, complete with conical brassiere and long I-Dream-of-Jeannie wig.)

There were marchers from churches and synagogues. (No gay Muslims, though - at least not that we saw.) There were floats carrying elaborately dressed Peruvian gays and Brazilian gays and Venezuelan gays and Caribbean gays. There was a float for a Mazda dealership in New Jersey. Apparently, pretty much anyone can have a float in the Pride Parade.

Sure, it’s all a little nutty, and quite a bit over the top, but a little celebratory nuttiness is called for now and then!

Hell's Kitchen, June 2007

Today is the gay pride parade here in New York, which promises to be a spectacle, as always. I'm going to meet some friends in the thick of things, down in Greenwich Village, and watch the weirdness. Where else can you see Hillary Clinton and muscley guys in Speedos - together?