October 2 - Public Narrative

Location: 14th St. down to Houston, between Broadway & 2nd Ave.

I walked from 14th St, down 4th Avenue until it became Bowery, noting the Public Art installations I found. I first came across Astor Place and noticed "The Cube."

I'd seen it a million times, but never knew much about it. From looking at it more closely and researching later, I learned “The Cube” is properly titled “Alamo." It was designed by Bernard Rosenthal in 1967, and it 8ft x 8ft x 8ft. The sculpture's name, Alamo, is designated on a small plaque on the base and was selected by the artist's wife because its scale and mass reminded her of the Alamo Mission. It was initially installed in as part of the "Sculpture and the Environment" organized by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs as one of 25 temporary art installations that were intended to remain for a six-month period. However, local residents successfully petitioned the city to keep the Alamo, so it was never removed.

Located very closely to "The Cube" in Astor Place, is a sculpture made of glass tiles and concrete entitled, "Mosaic Trail."

 
Minimal information about the sculpture is present onsite, but after researching online, I learned the sculpture was created by Jim Power, and his mosaic work is made up of a wide variety of materials: tiles, crockery, colored glass, mirrors, and seashells, some purchased, some donated, some found. Jim's "Mosaic Trail" was erected in 2016 in response to Astor Place's renovation, which was distressing to him, as he'd had around 8 art pieces made on lampposts present there. He personally tore many of them down in protest, but ultimately struck a deal with the city and his lampposts were stored by the Department of Transportation during the renovation, then reinstalled in Astor Place upon completion of the renovation.

Across the Street in Cooper Triangle, sits the statue named after Peter Cooper (1791–1883), a philanthropist, industrialist, inventor, and one of America's most successful businessmen of his time. 

Following Cooper’s death in 1883, Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907), the preeminent 19th century sculptor and one of the earliest alumni of Cooper Union (class of 1864), was commissioned to design a monument in honor of the great visionary. Saint-Gaudens collaborated with the renowned architect Stanford White (1853–1906) who created the piece’s marble and granite canopy.

Walking down Bowery, I encountered a lot of street art as a headed closer to Houston. My one of my favorites is the mural outside of Saxon & Parole, the current site of the former historic CBGB nightclub. 

As I walked by, someone was dressed up as Blondie lipsyncing to a Blondie song, as two men filmed her. The mural was painted by Shepard Fairey, courtesy of the Little Italy Street Art Project, a grassroots street art charity that organized and funded the project in 2017.

Another piece is the recent mural on the North side of Houston, on the Houston Bowery Wall.

After researching, I learned the wall is owned by Goldman Global Arts, and the wall was painted in June 2018 by visual artist Tristan Eaton entirely by hand with freehand spray paint. He created this piece in response to all of the devastating news generated all around the world, in hopes that people would view it and become reminded to stop, take a breather, then begin moving forward again.

I also encountered a few "Love Spray" cans, which I recognized to belong to Con$umer Art, a Banksy knock off, essentially. 

Con$umer Art wanted to own a Banksy when he was younger, so he decided to create a stencil and make his own, and he's been creating street art ever since.

I also found a handful of pieces I've seen all over the East Village, but I still don't know anything about their background.

Another thing I noticed was a lot of street art that revolves around being kind or doing good in someway. It felt like someone's anonymous attempt to leave small pieces of kindness wherever they go.