If you're looking for street art in Manhattan, New York your first stop should be Little Italy. Since 2012 the L.I.S.A. Project (Little Italy Street Art) has been attracting a diverse group of street artists to paint murals in the neighbourhood. The murals were originally focused along Mulberry Street but have now spread to SoHo, Lower Eastside, East Village, Chinatown and Chelsea. Spotted here was a very new piece by D*Face alongside work from Buffmonster, Shepard Fairey (Obey) and Tristan Eaton.
Just north of Little Italy at the Houston Street and Bowery intersection you will find the Bowery Mural Wall. This is an outdoor exhibition space run by the Goldman Family which showcases murals by top contemporary artists from around the world. The murals are seasonal and will get painted over after a certain amount of time. At the moment the wall has been painted by American graffiti artist, Futura.
Graffiti, although illegal, has always had a strong presence in Manhattan. In the early 1970's the modern graffiti movement shifted from Philadelphia to New York. Writers were obsessed with having their tags written all over the city and the subway cars were their main targets due to the distance their tags could travel and be seen. A war on graffiti was declared but it was still over a decade before there was any impact on the subculture. Today still you can find a lot of graffiti throughout New York, mainly tags and paste ups. If you check out the last couple of images in this post you will notice that a lot of these graffiti artists are not only risking arrest but also their lives by painting over the sides of buildings. It's definitely a dangerous game!
*Please note I have tried to credit the artist wherever possible. If you know who is resposible for any of the art that isn't credited please let me know and I will update the post!
@dface_official | @buffmonster
@asvpart | @hanksynyc | @mrrenaissancestyle
@futuradosmil small section of the Bowery Mural | @obeygiant
@tristaneaton | @invaderwashere
@hanksynyc | @buffmonster
