A Brief Glimpse of Woodstock, New York

Photo by myself, in Woodstock, New York.

The main streets of the lovely little town of Woodstock, New York, are lined with wood guitars, each one with a distinct personality. Some are decorated with childrens' wood blocks, buttons or graphics. I liked the one above the most, with its artistic collage.

We thought that further north would be a good escape from the summer heat for a few days, but NO. It is just as hot and humid, with temperatures hovering around 90F. Fortunately, there are many little streams and lakes in Woodstock, which are perfect for humans and dogs to cool off.

People have been very laid back and friendly. Like typical city slickers, we completely forgot that things close earlier outside the city (!) and were almost stuck on July 4th without dinner.


A photo of one of the main streets, lined with little shops and restaurants.


Outside The Old Forge, one of the many antiques stores, which sells all sorts of music and psychedelic memorabilia.


A cardboard cut out of Jimmi Hendrix standing with his drummer, Mitch Mitchell. The town's main street is in the background, beyond.

The above photos were taken with my iphone. We'll be heading back to Brooklyn on Monday.
Happy weekend, everyone!

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Big Bird, in the Flatiron District

Photo by myself around 23rd Street and Broadway, in the Flatiron District.

A giant bird made of giant nails stood near the Flatiron Building, the other day. He carried a giant flower in his giant mouth.

The bird is 12-feet high, though he looks much taller. He weighs a hefty five tons.

Occasionally there is art in the open area near the Flatiron Building. Most of the time, the space is filled with tables and chairs. The open triangle is formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, which runs on a diagonal.

This photo is from the stash. The bird was removed a couple days ago (!). I think I took this photo from the car.

For more about the sculpture, click here.

Related posts: Giant Bird, on Broadway, Giant Head, in Madison Square Park, and Charging Through Wall Street.

Traveling Art, in NoHo

Photo by myself around Houston and Mercer Streets, in NoHo.

I've seen this truck a couple times before. Sitting on top of it is a sculpture by Sergio Furnare, a New York artist, depicting a well known photograph of iron workers on their lunch break.

The original black and white photo was taken in 1932 of ironworkers working at Rockefeller Center. They were sitting on the 69th floor and you could see the city below them. The truck is Furnare's traveling billboard.

We had a gorgeous day in the city, Saturday. It felt like Spring, on the cool side with sunshine.

In the background left is a sculpture by the minimalist artist Forrest Myers. It's comprised of a grid of beams cantilevering out from a building.

For the original 1932 photo of the iron workers, click here.
For the artist's website, click here.

Related posts: Flaming Cactus, in Astor Place, Giant Head, in Madison Square Park, and Big Wampum Poster, on Houston Street.

Giant Bird, on Broadway

Photo by myself on Broadway and 79th Street, on the Upper West Side.

One of the many whimsical sculptures of animals by artist Peter Woytuk is located on the median strip along Broadway.

A giant raven is balanced on three giant green apples. In front of the sculpture, a typical New Yorker was standing in the pose of the moment, checking his mobile phone. Notice also another fellow in the background checking his phone, while sitting on a bench!

I have to wonder whether sculptures of people will show them in this contemplative pose, just as life-sized Roman emperors were depicted in costume, looking out in the distance at worlds they wish to conquer.

Eighteen of Peter Woytuk's works are displayed along Broadway, from Columbus Circle at 59th Street, all the way up to 168th Street.

For more about the artist and locations where is work can be found, click here. 

--When New Yorkers talk about being 'on Broadway', we are usually referring to Broadway, the street, that is, the very, very long street that runs north-south.

Only rarely do we mean on stage!

Related posts: Atop the Puck Building, on Houston Street, Mural in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and In the Shadow of the Standard Hotel, on the West Side.

Airplane Art, Outside the Plaza Hotel

Photo by myself at 60th Street and Fifth Avenue.

A kinetic sculpture was being installed at the southeast corner of Central Park, the other day.

By the artist Paola Pivi, the sculpture is composed of a real twin engine plane is suspended by its wingtips. When fully installed, the plane will spin around, doing somersaults (!).

The tall white building in the background is the Plaza Hotel. I will have to revisit very soon and take a photo of the plane when upside down!

The sculpture is sponsored by the Public Art Fund. For more about the sculpture and artist, see the Public Art Fund website, here.

Related posts: Giant Head, in Madison Square Park, Zodiac Heads, Outside the Plaza Hotel, and Outside the Elizabeth Street Gallery, in Soho.

Tattooed Man, in Herald Square

Photo by myself in Herald Square, around 34th Street and Sixth Avenue.

A fellow with a lot of tattoos was nice enough to stop and pose for me, the other day.

I was crossing the street in Herald Square, when I noticed a guy with a ton of tattoos walking in front of me. I asked whether I could take his photo, and nicely agreed.

'I have tattoos on 75% of my body', he said, and all of them have personal significance.

I didn't ask about the 25% that wasn't tattooed, haha! He thought I was ridiculous because I wouldn't be able to decide on a tattoo, and so I don't have any. 

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Sharing a Bench with Public Art, on Broadway

Photo by myself on Broadway and 61st Street, on the Upper West Side.

A woman applied lipstick while seated on a bench next to a realistic bronze statue, on the Upper West Side.

The statue depicts Jeremiah Lanphier, a businessman who advocated daily prayer to New Yorkers in the mid-19th Century. The statue was created by Lincoln Fox in 2007 and stands outside the American Bible Society (out of frame, to the left).

For more about the statue and Jeremiah Lanphier, click here.

Related posts: Communing with Public Figures, in Midtown, Painting the Town, in Soho, and Village People, in Sheridan Square.

Portrait of an Artist, in Washington Square Park

Photo by myself, in Washington Square Park.

While walking through Washington Square Park, Sunday, I met a chess player named Dawes. He was sitting with all his chess pieces out near the southeast entrance to the park.

Only Dawes isn't just a chess player. He also salvages pieces of wood from Washington Square Park and carves them into sculptures, giving the wood a new life.

Dawes gave me a history lesson of Washington Square Park, then showed me his work. He scrolled through hundreds of photos, on his phone. Then, after telling me about a book he plans to publish of his carvings, Dawes reached into his bag and generously gave me a carving of my very own. :-)
  The artist named Dawes proudly showed me one of his hand-carved sculptures. 

The Portrait Series is a once-in-a-while installment, featuring New Yorkers encountered on the street.


Related posts: Portrait of a Guy on Sixth Avenue, Portrait of a Skateboard Artist, on Prince Street, and Portrait of a New Yorker in Fashion.

Balancing Act, Near Union Square

Photo by myself at 14th Street and Union Square East.

A giant bronze statue of an elephant standing on its trunk has been located at the corner of Union Square. People lounged in the comfort of its shade, last week.

The statue was installed last September. It will only remain there another couple weeks, until the end of May.  The statue has stood in Madrid and Barcelona.

The statue is the work of Spanish artist Miguel Barcelo. It stands 26-feet tall and weighs a whopping 5-tons. The artist worked with engineers to ensure that when erected, the elephant would not topple over (!)

For a bit more about the statue, click here.

Related posts: Zodiac Heads, Outside the Plaza Hotel, The Sign of the White Rabbit, on Houston Street, and Through the Looking Glass, in Midtown.

Street Art by Russell King, in Park Slope, Brooklyn

Photo by myself, at 9th Street and Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

A piece of street art was hung innocently on a busy corner in Park Slope. Written in a red scribble was the sentence 'My least favorite actor - Russell King.'

Russell King turns out to be the artist behind this and many other evocative images that can be found around Brooklyn and the Lower East Side.

This an other King images seem much too pretty to be classified as traditional 'street art', which is often grungy and much less nicely framed. Not much is known about King, and I must admit that I hadn't noticed his work until Monday night. I'll keep my eyes peeled from now on.

For some interviews with Russell King, which include images of his other work, click here and here.

Related posts: Mural in Red Hook, Brooklyn, Big Wampum Poster, on Houston Street, and Cereal Killers Mural, in Williamsburg.

Larger than Life Mural, in the East Village

Photo by myself, somewhere in the East Village.

A huge mural of kids' portraits adorned a wall of a parking lot, in the East Village. There were slogans describing the personalities of each kid, and references to school.

This is photo is another example of my flakiness - I don't remember where it was taken, only that it was in the East Village.

When I was there, I was just focused on admiring the art, and wishing the parking lot weren't so full. It was nice to see art aimed at kids and trying to get them interested in going to school.

Related posts: Genesis Mural, NoHo, Mural in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and Cereal Killers Mural, in Williamsburg.