Expedition Street Art

Sometimes, you have to get out of the park (Central Park that is) and on to the streets of NYC.  Last Saturday, I did just that -- starting my walk in Little Italy and ending up just north of Washington Square Park.  I was hoping to see some new street art and also working on getting my steps in (AKA feeding my Fitbit).  There are two organized street art projects in this area (three if you count the Bowery Houston Wall) -- the Little Italy Street Art (LISA) project and the Centre-fuge Public Art Project.

LISA is a bit like a scavenger hunt in terms of finding the art and since I did not venture far off of Mulberry Street, I likely missed a lot.  The art here has a feeling of permanence -- at least the major pieces by street art giants such as Ron Eaton and Tristan Eaton.  It's kind of like visiting Starry Night (van Gogh) at MoMA -- you just expect to find these murals intact.  LISA has expanded out beyond the confines of Little Italy and so new art is appearing all the time.

Centre-fuge, on the other hand, is all very concentrated.  It is centered around the construction site that seems to be a permanent fixture on Houston near 2nd avenue.  The First Street Green Park which serves as a permanent gallery of sorts is also in this area and home to some awesome street art.  Both these outdoor galleries rotate art so there is a good chance that the pieces that I saw on Saturday will be painted over by the next time I go.

And then there is the piece above -- an independent project by Os Gêmeos, the twins who posted a photo of their homage to old school hip hop upon completing this painting.  There's a construction site behind that fence so no telling how long before a 10-story building hides this gem.  

The Series
Mother of Exiles
Frightened