The 191st Street Tunnel is Now Filled With Art For Your Commute!

If you live in uptown Manhattan / Washington Heights and use the 191st 1 train your commute just became much better!  

The 191st Street tunnel which connects Saint Nicholas Ave. with Broadway is now home to five dazzling, giant murals that lines the 900 foot walkway with color and style.   The NYC Department of Transportation showed off its latest "street beautification project" although this "street" is actually a tunnel.  I went the second it was open to the public and heard the clapping from walkers before I even hit the tunnel area, kids and plenty of grown ups walking through were actually cheering!

COPE2

Previously this was a dark, grim "cave" however, besides installing new LED lights, the DOT commissioned the murals, selecting four artists and one artist team out of 150 applicants. (Outside art professionals, including Sandra Betancourt from the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance and street artist Alan Ket, were on the committee.) By the way, the DOT is in charge because the tunnel is classified as a street.

Queen Andrea

Artists you will see from the Broadway side are Andrea von Bujdoss "Queen Andrea" with inspiration phrases and affirmations entitled "Prismatic Power Phrases," to cheer up walkers, her brilliant style looks effortless.  And, a piece by WANE also welcomes you.  Next you will find stripes and shapes entitled"Caterpeillar Time Travel," by Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn and Nelseon Rivas "El Cekis," (who I had the pleasure of finally meeting both teams as they were finishing up work on their pieces, photos below.)  His piece is entitled "It's Like A Jungle/Aveces Es Como Una Jungle."   Keep walking to "Warp Zone" by Nick Kuszyk's piece with colorful loops and ending with the master Fernando Carlo "Cope2" who is known throughout the world as one of the first and best graffiti "masters."  His piece is appropriately entitled "Art Is Life." 

The teams put in 21 hour days, for many days to complete the project in which Community Board 12 chair George Fernandez Jr. called the tunnel a "jewel" for Washington Heights.  He adds the hard work the board, DOT and community put into transforming it from being "scary" to its current state of beauty is to be preserved.  . Thinking of defacing this?!  Just don't do it!  Fernandez cautioned, "Please do not deface the tunnel... Do not do your ups or bombings.  If you are caught, you will be arrested and prosecuted. We want this tunnel to stay beautiful."  Rightfully so.  This was tons of work for the artists and needs to be respected.  Enjoy your commute!

COPE2 (above/below)

 

Nick Kuszyk

El Cekis

 Queen Andrea

Above: WANE

Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn 

POW! And there you have it.  Visit the tunnel at 19st Street / 1 train stop.

ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT. 

(If you'd like to use any of these photos, please just ask and credit Leanna Valente 

properly.  If you just take them, it won't be pretty!)

Photoblog: Drug Filled Art! It's Ok Because It's Art Afterall From Ben Frost and Damien Hirst

Drug Photoblog:  It was a wonderful time around the Art Miami / Art New York Fair at the Pier and of course, I enjoyed a ton of art, (as mush as I could walk around to, most will be posted next.)   To hold you off a bit I have some drugs by Damien Hirst which were selling for about a million dollars, you don't need his info as I don't think anyone I know will be buying these.  Well, here's his instagram to follow along with his 45.6k followers, @damienhirst.

You DO need to know about Ben Frost and can see the majority of his work below from his solo exhibit "The End Of Innocence" at Krause Gallery, 149 Orchard Street, Lower East Side.  Many of the beautifully framed pieces are sold out as they were priced for what humans can afford.  

You can see them below and more on his sites here: http://benfrostisdead.com and on his Instagram @benfrostisdead.  

Michael Halsband Exhibits Iconic Portraits at The Nation Arts Club in Gramercy Park

The exhibit may have closed but you can still see the highlights of legendary photographer Michael Halsband solo exhibit (opening night), from the National Arts Club right here.

You will recognize his iconic portraits immediately as he had his hand and eye, on the pulse of American culture since the 1970’s.  His 1985 portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol in boxing gloves became such a staple of popular culture that its appropriation by contemporary visual artists and street artists continues thirty years on. This was an auspicious moment in a career that saw Halsband photographing a canon of 20th century artists, writers and musicians including James Brown, David Byrne, Johnny Depp, Iggy Pop, and many more. Michael Halsband’s work has been featured internationally in publications from GQ to Vogue, ad campaigns for Calvin Klein and cover art for the top talent of his generation.

The exhibition spanned over three decades of Halsband’s work and includes two never before exhibited works: a photograph from the 1985 Warhol/ Basquiat Boxing Gloves series and an up-close 35mm film of The Rolling Stones in live performance.

Michael Halsband with graffiti legend Lee Quinones

For more on Halsband visit: http://www.michaelhalsband.com and on Instagram here: @michaelhalsband.