Every day when I walk home from my yoga practice, I try and take a different route if only to uncover a new find within the labyrinth of streets of my neighbourhood, Williamsburg.
After a trip to Barcelona earlier this year, I became inspired by street art and how it gave the cosmopolitan city its edgy appeal. The Spanish fashion brand: Desigual, headquartered in the city, seems to have been inspired by the street art with its graffiti style apparel. Think T-shirts and sweaters designed in graffiti-esque prints and splashes of colour. Furthermore, their logo and storefronts pay testament to the art form. But, I digress…
Early morning. Street art on show. Ali in front of a pastry shop in La Rambla, Barcelona
Not really having paid much attention to it when I moved to this part of Brooklyn, it was after my Spanish trip that I started to appreciate whatever street art was surrounding me every day. I really started to take notice of it and seek it out on my daily jaunts. Other neighbourhoods may be subjected to some type of “clean up graffiti/street art initiative”, yet Williamsburg feels like an open-art gallery where graffiti, stencil drawings, posters, sidewalk art, stickers and murals are very much a part of its landscape. And here, the street art seems to have inspired the stylistic aethetic of the community in the form of tattoos.
Street art off of Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg
There hasn’t been a day that I haven’t come across a new artwork to admire. Whether the result of an artist trying to make his mark, or a store using a previously bare brick wall for its signage, or new scaffolding simply offering itself up as a blank canvas, the artistry is eye catching, interesting and contributes to Williamsburg’s personality.
My current finds are in the slideshow:
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Great to hear that you’re becoming interested in street art. There are some fascinating pieces that I’ve seen over the years, both stencil and straight up graffiti/DIY stuff. There’s a site that caters to this type of thing that I used to visit a lot; if I can remember it I’ll send it to you.
It’s so cool coming across a new work in the neighbourhood. Have a look at the ‘Saturdays in Williamsburg’ blog -I included more in the slideshow. If there’s any street art in Sydney, let me know. I’d love to include in the blog if you could take some pics xxx
There is some fun art on your slide show. I thought one of the pieces was by Banksy, a British born international street artist, but it isn’t, though when I was checking I did notice that Williamsburg does have some of his art on North 6th between Wythe and Kent. Have you seen it?
I was told that the squirrel image I have on my slideshow is by Banksy – it is on the side of the Blue Coffee Roasters building on Berry St and 5th, just by Wyeth and Kent and 6th. Is this what you are referring to? By the way – Banksy has a current exhibition in Sydney on Cockatoo island. I heard it was fantastic. You can read about it on time Out Sydney. let me know about that Banksy in W’burg. I need to investigate that!
Jenny – I am so glad you drew this to my attention. I just read a comment online that the Squirrel was done by Roa (you can see more of his work here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelzimmer/tags/roa/). I need to find Banksy’s work… I will keep you posted. THANK YOU!