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Spraycan Science on 107th Street
New York, NY - Peter - Friday, May 17th, 2002 : goo
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One thing I learned, when I moved to this neighborhood in the southern fringes of Harlem, is that you don't have to venture far to see the bombastic hold that graffiti has on most of the open spaces.
This wall is a private wall on private property; as such, it's imune to the city's ceaseless buffing efforts. Its countless overlayering of spray has created a strata of enamel that, when cracked by vicious winter weather or chipped by an errant pop-fly form the neighboring schoolyard, reveals a rainbow of colors, a treasury of line-qualities and styles that form some sort of vague urban semaphore.
If you look at graffiti for more than a few years, you learn to keep your eyes peeled for those rare and discontinued colors and finishes- the so-called vintage Krylon shades- the provenance of the old-school; the fat lip Empire Blue, the crackly-but-not-faded Hot Raspberry, and the ubiquitous shades of American Beauty, a whole decade of 80's tagging in a single racked pallete.
Crips lines and fades; all from an aerosol can. Perhaps the wall's owner is a fan of this neighborhood spot's ongoing role as the epicenter of South Harlem's frustrated creative urges. More likely, the owner simply doesn't care to pay notice.
But nevertheless, the wall remains; the unknowns getting tagged over constantly by the up-and-comers, the kings' pieces remaining untouched, save but by the hands of time, enamel scenes impervious to even the harshest winters.
This article has been viewed 5328 times in the last 6 years
moebius rex: 17th May 2002 - 18:13 GMT
peter--i like the way you focus on detail and divine a sort of abstract visual poetry out of a larger piece. it's interesting to see the areas where erosion has revealed the brick underneath. the pastel shades are nice, too.
krylon: back in the early '90s my friend marla had a huge chunk of red lucite in the shape of the krylon "K" icon that hung on a chain around her neck. it was fly.
moebius rex: hm, i should've said krylon icon, no "k"
karma: i really wish i had a digital camera.
Peter: 18th May 2002 - 23:19 GMT
a friend gave me a digital camera this past winter; ive discovered that i (rather absentmindedly) have been carrying it around with me almost everywhere i go here in nyc; there are just so many photo-worthy things that, although perhaps not worthy of the time and cost of analog photography- are perfectly suited for snapping with the digicam.
and then you have people like hool who are true artists of the format.
get a digital camera; you wont regret it. ive seen ones for ~49$...
WildBritishStyle: 23rd May 2002 - 17:54 GMT
When youre carrying around a camera all the time you notice things more. Little things. Things that wouldn't ordinarily be of interest suddenly become 'shots'.
A fat woman posting a letter
Two dogs sitting by a pile a old newspapers
The pavement
A puddle
It's all good, and when you've got a digica you can snap away without worrying "is it really worth it?" It's free! YaY!
Peter: 28th May 2002 - 19:19 GMT
digicams help you capture that strange world that, although easy to visualize in your mind's eye at times, doesnt translate well to being captured in a hard-copy medium.
StripesA4: 8th Oct 2005 - 00:57 GMT
my cuz lives across the street from that its pretty run down in tersm of style and color but nonetheless eye pleasing
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