Introduction
While wandering the streets of Williamsburg I stumbled upon interesting art and even more interesting residents. Here is a recap of my brief encounter with the locals.
Bedford Ave.
The bike is a fairly new piece. It has been present roughly one week. The resident liked it, and thought “it’s fine” but haven’t put much thought into the piece before now. In fact she, “doesn’t think about it that much to consider it art.” Considering Williamsburg is a hipster nation it is common in this neighborhood for art pop up overnight. Since the landscape of art is continually changing she thinks that the piece will only stay a few more weeks.
N. 8th St. and Robeling Ave
The resident couple stated that they “don’t know how long it’s been there,” but she stated “I love Bruce Lee looking into my window.” And that she “loves cat-dragon!” She lives parallel to the infrastructure holding the piece so gets to the full on pleasure of gazing at the work whenever she pleases. I then asked her to interpret the large mural for me. She believes it’s “how Bruce Lee has conceived.” “The birds and animals relate to martial arts.” The couple believes it is art and could be interpreted differently due to your cultural background.
N. 8th St. and Driggs Ave.
The young man I approached to discuss piece three was more than ecstatic. He “love(s) it, its art!” I asked him about the lack of color and many of the graffiti mark just being scribbles. He replied with that it, “maybe dark but its art. People think about it, ideas and attention to detail. They draw it up in books many times before going out on the street. Scribbles are graffiti but it may just as well be the artist’s name or signature” Apparently Noodle Cat is all over the city and the residents are familiar with the figure. Banksy made a stop in the neighborhood not too long ago and it was a big deal at the moment but now the hype has worn off. Not that distant from where we were standing, Shepard Fairey lives. Shepard Fairey is notoriously known for the Barack Obama “Hope” poster in his 2008 election campaign. Before we said our adieus he pointed me into the direction of White Street and stated I must check it out because the area I was studying is no longer the art district.
Metropolitan Ave. and Union St.
“I thought it was attached to El Moderno” (Mexican restaurant) was the first thing the female I interviewed said. It was plain and simple. She “didn’t think it meant anything. No deeper interpretation.” The artwork was just there. She didn’t have much to say about the piece because she was neither for nor against. I asked another resident standing by and she thought the same thing. “It’s just there.”
Metropolitan Ave. and Graham Ave.
Artwork five I considered a tough see beyond its face value. There’s Paris Hilton painted in the top left corner while two indecipherable words are tagged below. I approached a man on his way to work who was also admiring the piece. He liked it but didn’t show any passion towards it. He saw it as “better than looking at plain brick” and considered it art not graffiti because in his perspective it doesn’t stand for anything.
Devoe St. and Bushwick Ave.
The sixth piece I dove into to investigate was located on a corner. One side with the birds and clouds, which is new, stated by a resident, while the longer residing piece located opposing side, was Lady Guadalupe. When I questioned the resident about the pieces she, “thought it looked like wallpaper” or even “pop art”. It was a gloomy neighborhood and she found that the two pieces correlated will with the residents and what they represent and stand for in the community. She then elaborated and discussed her reasoning based on the Lady Guadalupe which she “found appropriate since the neighborhood as you head towards Ainslie Street from Devoe Street become predominately Spanish.”
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Ainslie St. and Bushwick Ave.
Piece seven almost took up an entire street block. The man I question just “adores the piece.” He has been residing in the area roughly four months. He previously lived in China. He thought the artwork “represents peace, religion and friendship.” But can be interpreted as “all kinds of people coming to the United States,” and found it to be “relatable.” He worked right around the corner and likes to watch people stop and admirer it on their daily routes. He believes it has been there for a considerable amount of time and will continue to be.
Photos by Kelsey Dery