Tag Archives: JR

Houston at Bowery: 5 Years

Posted on 03/05/2012 by Luna Park | 1 Comment

The last five years have seen enormous changes to the face of New York City. It’s been especially noticeable on the once illegal wall on Houston at the Bowery – now home to commissioned public art works by international stars of the graffiti and street art scene (on an increasingly pricey piece of real estate).

Retna/March 2012 (photo by Luna Park)

Faile/October 2011 (photo by Luna Park)

JR/June 2011 (photo by Luna Park)

Kenny Scharf/December 2010 (photo by Luna Park)

Sace RIP/November 2010 (photo by Luna Park)

Barry McGee/August 2010 (photo by Luna Park)

Shepard Fairey/May 2010 (photo by Luna Park)

Os Gemeos/July 2009 (photo by Luna Park) - Last masterpiece to be painted on the actual wall before it was covered in wooden scaffolding!

Keith Haring recreation/April 2008 (photo by Luna Park)

Omni/September 2007 (photo by Luna Park)

Update: The links below offer further insight into the history of this wall.

On the occasion of Os Gemeos painting the wall, Martha Cooper shares photos of past artists at the wall from her archive (including Keith Haring). [12ozProphet]

Jeremiah Moss makes the argument that the Houston mural wall is part of the larger gentrification process of “turning the Bowery into a luxury lifestyle destination”. [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York]

Brian Rose examines the wall’s humble origins as a handball court. [Journal/Brian Rose]

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Tagged 10 pieces, 5 years, barry mcgee, bowery, faile, graffiti, houston, JR, Keith Haring, kenny scharf, legal, lunapark, manhattan, newyork, ny, obey, omni xtc, os gemeos, Retna, sace irak rip, shepard fairey, street art, twist, wall

Bienvenue! to JR on Houston

Posted on 06/24/2011 by Becki Fuller | 1 Comment

(photo by Becki Fuller)

Au revoir, Kenny Scharf! French street artist JR’s Inside Out Project continues to gain momentum, as a group pasted a portrait from the project titled “Lakota, Dakota Nation” at the Houston/Bowery mural wall yesterday afternoon. This group action is intended to shine a light on the rich culture of the Standing Rock and Pineridge Native Reservations and their struggle to hold onto their native way of life, even in the face of impoverishment & unspeakable hardships.

Another of JR’s large scale portraits from Inside Out Project can be seen in SoHo (or here) and I am told that there will be many more popping up around the boroughs in the days to come!

(photo by Becki Fuller)

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Tagged black and white, Bowery Ave, Dakota Nation, Houston St, Inside Out Project, JR, Lakota, portrait, Standing Rock and Pineridge Native Reservations, wheatpaste

JR Turns Park Slope Inside Out

Posted on 05/16/2011 by Becki Fuller | Leave a comment

photo by Becki Fuller

The TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) prize is awarded annually to an “exceptional individual” with “one wish to change the world”. Past winners have included chef Jamie Oliver, author David Eggers, president Bill Clinton and U2′s Bono. Last October it was announced that the street artist/photographer JR would be the 2011 recipient of TED’s $100,000 award. And with this came an opportunity for JR to state and fulfill his wish: “I wish for you to stand up for what you care about by participating in a global art project, and together we’ll turn the world…INSIDE OUT.”

photo by Becki Fuller

Inside Out is a large-scale participatory art project that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work. By going to the Inside Out website, anyone can upload the black and white portrait of their choice, with the challenge to reveal and share the untold stories and images of people around the world. Your portrait will then be made into posters and sent back to you to be exhibited in your own community. Several residences in Park Slope have already kicked things off, with portraits of local business owners and community members pasted along the steep steps to their homes. One woman that I spoke to was excited to see the owner of the nearby deli as well as the owner of the restaurant at the end of the block. She exclaimed “I know them all because I live right here!”. Several other people asked me if I could make the same portraits for them. Clearly, if the project’s goal is to bring people in a community together with pride and happiness through art, JR is well on his way to achieving it.