Waves may be small, but it’s the weekend!! Enjoy.
nyc urchin
Daily news for all sea creatures in the city
Tagged with art …
Digenger in DUMBO
Stop by Aegir Boardworks tonight for this art show, but really to come check out the NYC Urchin merchandise on sale! Free PBR!
Balancing City / Sea since 2011 / NYC Urchin
Heightened Perspective
On the streets of Brooklyn there is always something beautifully creative to see – lifelike painted advertisements, renegade street art, live music by Zach Orion and co, the intricate facial tattoos of the perpetually drunk tranny on that corner, the little urchins someone paints in discreet nooks (who? not me. keep an eye out), and the thoughtfully decorated visitors that come to soak it all in.
So much is going on at ground level that we often forget to look up, check out the detailed rooflines, remember that there’s a sky, a breeze, another viewpoint. NY-based artist Tom Fruin reminds us that there’s more to see beyond eye level with the Watertower, perched in DUMBO – it catches the sunlight and directs our attention skyward. NYC Urchin caught up with Tom to learn a little more about the mindset behind the plexiglass menagerie…
Where is the water tower piece located and where is the ideal spot to view it from?
The Watertower is on the roof of 20 Jay on Pearl Street side of the building. the best view during the day is from the waterfront park in dumbo. At night, the best vantage is from the Manhattan Bridge. It looks especially good at twilight and there is a special light show at midnight.
The mission of the piece?
This is a continuation of a series in which I am celebrating cities and their inhabitants. It sprung from work with discarded refuse like drugbags and strives to find beauty in the everyday
Is this all recycled plexiglass? Have a favorite area to collect material?
The plexiglas was collected as off-cuts from sign shops and surplus depots. Chinatown is always interesting for sign material because the sheer volume of shops.
One thing you love/respect about NY?
The people.
One thing you would change about NY?
The pigeons in my air shaft are a bit annoying….
We see you’re from LA. What lead you to the east coast?
NY is an obvious art mecca. I moved here to be involved in the arts.
What gets you up every morning?
The bike ride over the Manhattan Bridge to my studio.
Do you have a dream spot in NY that you’d like to nestle your next installation?
So many, I couldn’t list them here. I have ideas for many parts of every borough…
Any NY events/exhibits coming up?
The next installation is in Elsinore, Denmark in August.
Check out more of Tom’s work, including his quilts sewn from found Brooklyn drug bags!
Balancing City / Surf since 2011 / NYC Urchin
Go With The Flow
Here’s some blissfully bright art by Matthew Korbel-Bowers to accompany this summertime weather. We got some insider info from the artist…
Where are you based?
The North Coast of California.
What mediums do you work in?
The finished products are typically digital prints. However, the process that leads up to a piece involves all kinds of materials. I build from experiments and studies that might have me floating graphics in water, swinging mobiles from my studio’s ceiling or walking the coast drawing maps.
Common theme that runs through your work?
Landscapes and simplicity.
Favorite color?
RGB (255, 127, 80) / Coral.
Favorite beach?
My first surf spot—Big River in Mendocino, California.
How big are your prints in real life?
2′x3′.
Can we see your work in person anywhere in ny?
Not unless you stop by the living rooms of some friends.
Armory Art Week Kicks Off
We just heard that this week was dubbed National Play Hookie and Ski Week! Unfortunately (or fortunately?), the forecast is spring in NY, so we suggest staying at sea-level and enjoying NY Armory Arts Week instead. The Armory Show and Volta NY are the headliners, but there is an extensive lineup of other fairs, museums, new galleries, and public art to scope out all around the city.
The Armory Show will host 220 exhibitors, March 8 – 11. Piers 92 and 94, 12th Avenue at 55th Street.Tickets: $30 per day and $60 for 4-day Run of Show Pass. Then shuttle uptown to Volta NY, March 8 – 11. 7 West 34th Street. This will be a slightly smaller venue, focusing on singular contemporary projects, rather than the artist as a whole. Tickets: $15, The Armory Show + VOLTA NY Dual Pass $4o.
Where the City Meets the Sea
NYC Urchin wanders Brooklyn and finds the sea.
“Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody draw whatever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like that and stop leaning against the wall – it’s wet.” Banksy.
Cruise on Over to BAM
We headed to BAM to check out Kymia Nawabi‘s exhibit – she won the show Work of Art – and strolled past this low-lying installation and felt oddly compelled, for the first time, to steal a piece of art (though we of course did not, or did we?). Mounir Fatmi (Moroccan, born in 1970) carpeting the floor of a BAM gallery space with fifty skateboards covered in patches of Islamic prayer rugs. Maximum Sensation “examines cultural hybridity and the collision of cultures in a globalized world.”
Aesthetically reminds us of the Celine skateboards, but with cultural implications that extend beyond merely looking cool. If you haven’t been to BAM, it’s worth a look and is easily accessible by public transit (directions). Wander for free on the first Saturday of every month, 5-11pm, provided by Target.
Caught in a Moment
Tagged acrylic, art, artist, diego gravinese, NYC Urchin, on the fly, painting, slideshow
Refreshed Perspective at The Met
Good friend of NYC Urchin, journalist Meghan Keneally, scouts out a new wing at The Met…
Amid this chilly January weather, museum-hopping is a great way to transport yourself to warm and far off lands. With the opening of the New American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, you can mentally take a step back to earlier tides of our country’s history and get away momentarily.
Works by American greats like Thomas Eatkins, John Singer Sargent and Gilbert Stuart help viewers see the evolution of the colonial style of painting and how it contrasts to their European predecessors.
While many of the works are portraits, the inclusion of landscapes by painters in the Hudson Valley School and Maine’s rough waters as seen by Winslow Homer certainly provide enough nautical amusement for the sea-loving art enthusiasts.
The massive exhibit, which includes painting, sculptures, decorative arts and silver collections, opens its doors to the public on Monday January 16 and is well worth a visit.
-Thanks Meghan!