East Village paper and paint

Posted on July 24, 2025 by Mary C

below: Hooligan and Zero Boy with masked Anonymous

below: John Lennon

paste up graffiti on a green pole, portrait of John Lennon

below: “Pee on Hamas”

graffiti sticker on a green pole, text says pee on hamas, with image a dog peeing into a puddle

below: A cute little pink heart

little graffiti sticker on a red surface, white furry creature with a little pink heart

below: Remand

slap graffiti on a grey pole, one says remand in large black letters, the other is a drawing of a small creature with large head, big mouth,

below: “Where is Corky Lee?” Lee was an Asian-American photographer who died in 2021.

graffiti sticker that says where is corky lee, an asian american photographer who died in 2021, black and white drawing of his portrait, holding a large camera

below: Artificial Scarcity on a fire and police call box

red emergency call box in new york city with sticker graffiti on it including one that says artificial scarcity

below: When I tried a google image search, I learned that naked or semi-naked women on rockets is a thing….

two graffiti stickers including one with a woman in thong bikini riding on a rocket

below: Nicole Ruggiero’s “A Moment of Bliss”. According to Ruggiero’s Instagram page, this image is a tribute to, and reimagination of, the original wallpaper, Bliss, from Windows XP way back in 2001. It was part of an exhibit titled, “SCREENSAVERS” in Seoul in 2024.

below: Femarchy multiple times and colors beside Black & Essential

below: Sign on a pole – “You don’t need it but you want to buy it!”

Photos taken July 2024

East Harlem mosaics

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Mary C

I saw mosaics in two places, both close to the same corner – Lexington and East 104th.

The first set can be seen under the windows of what is now Exotic Fragrances Inc. – radiating Be Barrio Love and yo chicken.

mosaic images under a window of a store, be barrio love and a chicken, with word yo

part of a mosaic picture under a window of a store, little medallions with images in them, a woman, a man, a drum, a cactus, a ladder, a palm tree, a frog, a mandolin or guitar, and a water jug.

below: “This our home land here now” with a cheerful and accepting rainbow “everyone welcome”.

below: Shelves of fancy decorated perfume bottles looking lovely in the window, an interesting accompaniment to the “I got you” mosaic below it.

Around the corner, a whole mural made of little tiles. A picture of an elephant, a snail, and a lot of white doves circling the Earth. A row of brightly coloured tenement buildings anchors the picture. It was commissioned by Hope Community Inc. and was constructed by artist Manny Vega., The mural is titled ‘Al Ritmo de La Paz’ (To the Rhythm of Peace) and it is on East 104th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue,

5 four story apartment buildings in bright colours with different coloured windows

Photos taken July 2024

Kobra in East Village

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Mary C

below: Michael Jackson, young and old, by Eduardo Kobra in East Village, NYC.

below: Hanging out on a corner with Run-DMC, a HipHop group originally from Queens. The group was formed in 1983 (40 years ago!!) by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell .There was some controversy over the choice of song for this mural as “Walk the Way” was their cover of an Aerosmith rock ‘n roll hit.

below: Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020). She served on the US Supreme Court from 1993 until 2020. She was born in Brooklyn NY.

Apparently there are many Kobra murals scattered around New York City. In 2018 he painted 18 of them. So far, I only have a few on this blog. First, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat beside him, fighting for street art in Williamsburg

Also, in Chelsea, Warhol and Basquiat re-appear, this time accompanied by two more artists, Frida Kahlo and Keith Haring. This mural is on the same post as Ghandi and Mother Theresa, Kobra on 10th Avenue

Photos taken July 2024

Beastie Boys in NYC

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Mary C

A large mural featuring the Beastie Boys looms over 14th Ave and Avenue A in New York City. The Beastie Boys started rocking in 1981. They recorded and performed their version of hip hop/rock for more than three decades.

The mural was painted by Shepard Fairey (aka Obey) as part of the NYC Hip Hop 50 celebration in October 2023.

Spirit of Harlem

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Mary C

Near 125th subway station (A/B/C) there is a mosaic mural. Original artwork done by Louis Del Sarte and made into a mosaics by Franz Mayer of Munich, 2005. After it was vandalized, it was restored in 2018. It’s a lively scene with musicians and dancers enjoying themselves. Vibrant. Alive.

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, musicians, drummers, bass players, and women dancing

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, brass band, women dancing

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, man in hat watching musicians

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, woman floating above dance floor,

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, black woman dancing and floating

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, woman with a shiny blue necklace

below: The corner of 125th (also Martin Luther King Blvd) and Frederick Douglas Blvd.

child of the East Village

Posted on December 12, 2023 by Mary C

A mural by Joel Artista, aka Joel Bergner in the East Village neighbourhood of New York City. Painted in 2019. Joel is a co-founder of Artolution, a non-profit organization supporting local artists and arts programs with vulnerable children around the world.

close up of child's eyes in a large mural, painted by Joel Artista in 2019, in oranges and purples

part of a larger mural, child with curly black hair holding a crayon and pointing to a bird

full Joel Artista and Artolution mural in East village of Manhattan, New York City, child ith short curly black hair and four arms to represent 4 activities, hand held open, holding crayon, pointing at a bird, with pedestrians walking in front of it

For this mural, Artolution partnered with KIND (Kids in Need of Defense), We Are Royale, Key Food Supermarket, and Education Alliance.

Photos taken August 2023

More Manhattan murals were featured previously in this blog – Kobra on 10th Ave (from 2022)

hedd space and his kin

Posted on October 11, 2023 by Mary C

This is a mural in Bushwick with the title “Hedd Space” painted by Mr. Hydde aka Darren DeGenova – when sitting around in your underwear binge watching TV has become normal.

TV heads, or Screen heads, are a popular meme/trope/motif. Sometimes it is a comment about the role of technology in our lives… how the media takes over our brains because it can so easily shape our thoughts and beliefs if we let it. Sometimes it’s a comment on how much time we spend looking at a screen of one kind or another.

Other “TV heads” were also seen around New York City such as thus downcast and dejected one by Sinth Node (aka Spencer). An old test pattern is on the screen. Once upon a time this is what you’d see on your analogue TV if there was no programming on a given channel (such as in the middle of the night). Now with 24 hour programming these patterns are rarely seen. Also, with technological advances in television, test patterns are rarely needed. When was the last time you adjusted the picture quality of your TV? Perhaps this poor guy just needs an adjustment?

below: Still with an orange hoodie, but now with a beige box that looks more like an older version of a computer monitor. Beside him is a heartfelt not from RendaWriter who leaves positive love messages wherever he goes.

little men on paper

Posted on October 9, 2023 by Mary C

In a few places around New York City there are stickers and paste-ups featuring stikman in his various forms.

stickers and graffiti on a red metal box on a sidewalk, including a multi coloured stickman in oinkm bklue, green, and brown and a round sticker with blue square on black and a reddish stikman like shape, also a small square sticker with a face on it, also a sticker in red and white with word yerrrrr

This little piece has a combination of the more traditional flat stikman in blue and yellow, along with a more three dimensional version.

sticker with a 3 D stikman walking on a yellow and blue sphere with stikman shapes on it

A three mannequin salute using photos of posed little wood mannequins

photo of group of three little wood mannequins posed in a salute, looking down from above

And last, a little mannequin down on one knee and with feathery white angel wings.

graffiti featuring little wood mannequin on one knee, with white feathered angel wings

Williamsburg murals

Posted on October 3, 2023 by Mary C

Most of these murals can be seen on, or close to, Bedford Avenue.

below: A large snail by Australian artist Mike Makatron, but not just an ordinary snail – this one has stairs leading up to a fire hydrant on top of its spiral shell.

close up of snail mural, fire hydrant on top of shell

below: “Song to the Siren” by Naveen Shakil Khan, 2021

mual in black and white of 5 women's faces, long hair, composite of 3 portraits, by Naveen Shariz

Where Bedford Avenue meets Broadway and South 6th Street is a large mural of a young woman with her hands under her chin. The title of the painting is “Lost Time” but it has become known as the Williamsburg Mona Lisa. The mural (by Colossal Media) is from a photograph by Steven Paul (of his friend Nina Attal). Paul was a high school senior from Brooklyn in 2014 when he submitted the photo to a contest sponsored by Scholastic … and won.

large mural in greyish blue tones of a young woman in a striped long sleeved shirt, short hairr, resting with hands on chin,

below: Eduardo Kobra boxers but not really boxers, Andy Warhol is on the left and Jean-Michel Basquiat is beside him.

kobra multicoloured mural of andy warhol and jean michel basquiat in boxing shorts and boxing gloves, with arms crossed in front of themselves, mural at bedford and ninth in williamsburg new york city

Jean-Michel Basquiat and # Fight for street art

below: This anti-war Elvis Presely mural was also painted by Kobra. Unfortunately it has been defaced, almost literally as it is mostly Presley’s face that has been painted over.

below: The Moxy Hotel Williamsburg recently opened on Bedford Avenue. On the upper level, south side, of the hotel is a mural by DFace. It can be seen from the Williamsburg bridge, and is near the pedestrian entrance to the bridge. DFace’s style is reminiscent of paintings by Roy Lichtenstein.

mural by d face on upper storey of moxy hotel in williamsburg, a woman passenger in a car, man driving, woman is thinking, just get me to the moxy

On a black wall, a Chris Tuorto hand with clenched fist beside a very simple donut

mural of a clenched fist in pastel colours, with black outline, on a black wall

Williamsburg street sccene, mid rise buildings, traffic, water tower on roof,

street art on upper levels of building exterior

Photos taken August 2023

a trail of broken pieces

Posted on September 20, 2023 by Mary C

…rearranged into mosaics.

Starting back in 1985, “Mosaic Man” Jim Power began covering street poles in East Village (New York City) with mosaics of broken pieces of ceramics, coloured glass, bits of mirror, and other little treasures. The trail follows E. 8th – St Marks Place between Broadway and Tompkins Square Park.

below: Over the years, some of the poles were removed by the city and others were damaged. Back in 2017 a Go Fund Me page was set up to help Power restore the poles.