Skip to content

Misunderstanding Art

There’s a lot of great art in New York City.
Much of it is in the Subway. I generally am unable to comprehend exactly the message that most of it wants to convey (especially in the Lorimer station, WTF?)

In the category of art I marginally understand, I don’t have to venture far from my yuppie spaceship. Consider the following two pieces on the northwest corner of Myrtle and Nostrand.

New York Will Overcome!

New York Will Overcome!

Underground Murders

Underground Murders

From Bedstuybanana, I gather the second is a memorial.

The first to me is more interesting. What will New York overcome? A friend of mine suggested terrorism, but then I pointed out that the World Trade Center isn’t featured.

This particular phrase reminds me of one you see periodically in Texas. That of, “The South will Rise Again.” This phrase has also bewildered me throughout my youth. Rise to what? For what purpose? To reinstitute slavery? To diplomatically isolate ourselves from the United States? It just doesn’t make any sense to me.

Whatever its message, this art is certainly a less aggressive and more uplifting one. It’s nice to see when you walk out the door.

Now, from Beyond Bed Stuy, more crazy art!

A Japanese Racoon
Kenka, the Japanese raccoon on St. Marks. Can you conquer the Curry Challenge*?This is art from Matt Siren. Some of his work was mentioned in New York magazine recently. I think it’s cool how the girl is featured on the helmets of the robot pharaohs.

Matt Siren door

*Possible? Yes, I have seen it done. Believable? No.

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *
*
*