Fashionably Fierce Street Divas - The Art of Bradley Theodore

As I was driving to work earlier this week, I heard the shocking news that Karl Lagerfeld, the creative genius behind Chanel, had suddenly passed away. I always thought of Karl as an immortal, vampire type; someone who just might live forever.

I immediately recalled the work of street artist, Bradley Theodore. A doppelganger in many ways for Basquiat,  and walking the same NYC streets; only the subjects have changed from jazz legends to fashion insiders and royalty. Over the years, I had seen and documented many of Bradley's neon, patchy, skeletal renderings of familiar "faces" such as columnist Diana Vreeland and Karl Lagerfeld. The image of Grace Coddington with blazing red hair and outstretched arms (below), is my favorite. His use of the existing basement door is quite clever.

Tom Ford - style icon for Gucci and YSL

Grace Coddington, Chinatown, NYC - April 2015

With his own iconic style (that distinctive white ponytail, the oversize sunglasses, and the perfectly-pressed Edwardian shirt/ suit jacket/ black denim combo), Karl had been lovingly given homage throughout the walls of New York City numerous times. Not meant to read as morbid renderings, these paintings represent the interior of all human beings. The skeleton, colorfully painted in these wall murals has become the great equalizer- an ever-familiar reminder or iconic base that applies to us all. How ironic. In the end, it would appear that we actually do all put our pants on one leg at a time. They just may not come with an extravagant price tag! Looking forward, I anticipate that the House of Chanel will continue to endure through spectacular runway shows as the brand transitions to a new creative heiress. For now, as we recall over-the-top never being quite enough, and through designs coveted and cherished by devotees, Karl is indeed eternal.

Mr. and Mrs. Pineapple, Union Square; Queen Elizabeth I, Lower East Side

Fashion photographer Terry Richardson (2014); a life-sized Karl Lagerfeld lingers in a doorway

Cara Delevingne and Kate Moss (originally mistaken for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen)

Karl Lagerfeld in profile; Diana Vreeland (2013); and a Christie's emblem

Scrawls of Love - The Writing on the Wall

Trolling the streets of Lower Manhattan with my trusty camera, sometimes I find themes start to emerge. Often they are political or general human emotion. Here, the wall scrawls, scratchings, writings, and doodles all point to a similar place; the heart.💗

Street Heart Textures

Little Italy/Chinatown, New York - April 2015

Lower East Side, New York - April 2015

Brooklyn Visit

Earlier this summer, I went back to my old neighborhood in Brooklyn to check out the enormously popular exhibit by Kara Walker at the soon-to-be-demolished Domino Sugar Factory (new photo-filled post about that coming soon). I saw how much the area has changed in the last couple of years. Even when I lived there, the development was rapid, and hot spots were popping up where an empty lot had been just a week ago. On my way to the art show by the Brooklyn Waterfront, I discovered these two colorful murals by Phetus (top) and R. Robots (bottom).

Merry Christmas from New York

(Noel Graffiti, Lower Manhattan - 2002)

Street Art - Gaia's Harbingers of Doom

Judging by the billboards and posters plastered all over New York City lately, the world is slated to end on Saturday by someone's calculation. Personally, I am skeptical- they've been wrong many times before. Other signs are much more subtle.  I often say here that the streets of New York can be like taking in an unplanned visit to an art museum. As I walk through these alleys of concrete, I wonder what's on the mind of the people who create unsolicited artwork and put them out there for the world to see without formality. What prompts artists to display their work in this way or create it at all? What are they reacting to? What are they trying to say? It's a message of sorts crafted by a visual courier- you just have to be aware to pick up on the signals.

 St. John, Williamsburg Warehouse, Brooklyn (February 6, 2011)

This larger-than-life sized paste-up by Gaia confronts its viewers suddenly and unapologetically. A giant rooster head is morphed with a robed human body as the figure cradles the severed head of St. John the Baptist, known as the messenger of his time. This piece is a variation of another by the artist called, "Deny Me Three Times" (below). Gaia is known well for renderings of animal and human figures that pop up on the sides of buildings and throughout the streets of Baltimore, New York, San Francisco, and Korea but here, the artist is looking towards the museum-like work of the old masters like Caravaggio, Guido Reni, Bosch, and Bruegel. Rich with meaning, the rooster is known in symbology as an instrument that promotes watchfulness and foretells the end of the world. Combined with the imagery of the prophet, it is a powerful work of art.

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In a time consumed by war and environmental concerns, there is obviously an omen being conveyed in these works. Is it some sort of prophecy for the modern age? Or a call to action concerning some tragedy before it occurs? Whether your opinion of art found in the streets is lowbrow or highbrow, Gaia cleverly entwines elements from both worlds here- a timely reminder for us to listen and watch for the signs of possible things to come.

 Deny Me Three Times, SoHo Neighborhood of Manhattan (May 30, 2010)

Your Mom

February 2, 2001 (McCarren Park, Brooklyn)

Don't forget to give her a call today!

Before and After - The Blue Wall in Chelsea

There is a certain blue wall outside of the Eyebeam Art and Technology Center in Chelsea that gets some special treatment when it comes to street art, and passers-by get treated to an eyeful. The mural featuring two children wearing bird helmets below were on the walls last summer. It was done by Herakut, a collaboration by two artists, Hera and Akut, from Germany. The text reads: “If this was graffiti, we were the chicken.” I don't exactly get what that means- hmmmmm, maybe something was lost in translation. You can see more of their fantastic collaborative art here.  

This summer, the new mural is by Jeff Soto. The blue figure's beard spills out in 3-D onto the sidewalk. The text from the previous piece is still there, as the layers build up. Check out more of Jeff's whimsical artwork here.  

A Walk Around the Neighborhood - SoHo

After a particularly long week, I went to catch a matinee of the newly released Sex and the City 2 with a girlfriend to mindlessly drool over some clothes. I won't go into Samantha's gratuitous one-liners or the fact that there will be no Oscar for the screenplay, but we certainly did enjoy the fashion. After the movie, I still needed to go for a walk to get my mind off of some things and headed to the SoHo area of downtown to take some photos.

This is one of my favorite ever-changing walls in the city. There's something new here just about everyday. I haven't been here in a while and enjoyed taking in what's on the mind of the city's street artists.

As the sun started to dip in the sky, and was walking down Crosby Street in search of some interesting wall pieces, when I ran into an interesting character instead- graff writer, Jaes. He was just coming from a job, and wondered if I just saw common friends of ours, the Plaztik duo. Coincidentally, they were right around the corner.

Mimi's shoes and Jaes's colorful cans.

We all decided to convene and relax at Plaztik's secondary space, affectionately called "the Lab" where we sipped strawberry-flavored vodka with lemon, ordered up some of the best pizza I've ever had (with truffle oil!), and watched stupidly funny movies. What better way to welcome in summer and the holiday weekend than an unplanned soiree with friends?