I dream of Biggie

A mural for legendary late rapper Notorious B.I.G. just went up in Maspeth. Actually an ad for Amazon commemorating his 50th birthday just went up which depicts Biggie as a spirit emitting from a bunch of flowers. Or maybe that's insecticide. Curious why he would be depicted this way.

  

But I think I know where this gentrifier artist got her inspiration from...

Dangerfield widow upset over mural appearance

From NY1:

Before he became famous, comedian Rodney Dangerfield grew up in Kew Gardens, Queens. He graduated from Richmond Hill High School.

His link to this community is celebrated with a mural, painted last year, around the corner from Lefferts Blvd.

Italian artist Francesca Robicci painted the mural for free, working from a photo provided by Dangerfield's widow, Joan.

But Joan Dangerfield, who donated $1,000 toward the project, is unhappy how it turned out.

She says her late husband still gets no respect.

Her lawyer wrote Robicci and the community group that commissioned the mural to complain. The lawyer called the painting "an entirely unaccptable image" and a "less-than-flattering portrayal of Rodney, who deserves nothing but the highest respect."

The lawyer demanded that it be painted over.

Robicci says she'll wililng to make any necessary changes, which would mean flying in from Italy.

Joan Dangerfield's lawyer now tells NY1 she is happy to hear of the artist's offer. The two sides, the lawyer tells us, will talk privately to see if a compromise is possible.

What the...?

I'm not sure what this is about, but it's exceedingly weird. Perfect for an April Fool post. Found in fabulous Flushing.

New artwork along 7 line

From Sunnyside Post:

The rooftop sign above Sunnyside Community Services is in for a makeover.

The sign, which is currently covered by graffiti, will be replaced with a 7-color mural that will feature a steam engine train and the word Sunnyside in large letters.

The new mural will help revitalize the rooftop at SCS and will be visible to 7 train riders going between the 33rd and 40th Street stations.

The mural has been designed by Mark Salinas, a local artist, who did the Rise N Shine painting on the corner of 42nd Street and 48th Avenue last year.

Salinas formed an organization last year, called 7Train Murals, that is dedicated to beautifying the neighborhoods along the 7 train line in Queens.

Mural upgrade in Jackson Heights

From DNA Info:

A neighborhood mural was redone last month and now features the borough's most famous superhero.

The "Queens Is The Future" mural on a handball court at I.S. 145 at Northern Boulevard and 80th Street was redone as part of a visit from the cast and crew of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," students said.

The mural now shows Spider-Man lifting a subway car, filled with students, as it rides next to the Statue of Liberty. There's also a bright orange and yellow sun, all within the original frame of the mural.

You can see what we thought of the original here.

Greenpoint boat club building a "park" in Maspeth

When I first read this, I thought it had come from the Onion, or at least was a piece of satire. The North Brooklyn Boat Club and Newtown Creek Alliance will be "creating a park" at the end of 58th Road in Maspeth, along Newtown Creek in an area that is 100% heavy industry.

Let me take this opportunity to remind you, dear readers, that the boat club has been holding up the distribution of $7M in environmental funding for the past few years, some of which could have been used to get the ball rolling on the St. Saviour's ULURP. Their unwillingness to shit or get off the pot (along with the assistance of City Parks Foundation) led to Maspeth losing the opportunity to have a new park. However, Maspeth residents can take comfort in the fact that this phony environmental group is building itself a "destination public space" (aka kayak landing) on the Queens side of the Creek.

Oh, and one of the boathouse regulars got a $20,000 grant to paint a mural there... Yes, $20,000. For a mural. In industrial Maspeth. On Newtown Creek.

I wonder when the outreach portion of this project is going to happen considering that no one I have spoken with in Maspeth knows anything about this or asked for this project.

Art or graffiti? You decide.

From Sunnyside Post:

Local resident George Burles has produced a YouTube video that uncovers much of the street art that can be found in Sunnyside and Woodside.

Do you consider this street art or graffiti?

The way I look at it, if it was done with permission, it's art. Otherwise, it's vandalism.

True beautification or lipstick on a pig?

"An heroic effort to beautify one of the town's seediest back alleys.



But it didn't take long for delivery scooters to crap up the view." - The Flushing Phantom

5 Pointz unveils 9/11 mural, is inundated by sewage

"Ladder 115 of LIC was checking out a call the other day at 5 Pointz. It turned out to be nothing but the curator Meres invited the firefighters to check out the new 12th anniversary 9-11 mural dedicated to their company and Engine 258 and take a few photos in front of it. I got some shots of that and put them together in this video." - George


"The Local Project art venue had to cancel a major event this past weekend. We need to cease operation at 45-10 Davis St.

We had to cancel an event, because we respect all of our guests and artists. Saturday September 14, 2013, the conditions were not what art deserves. The “Dust Art Collective” event has been canceled due to a flood of sewage water at our gallery located at the 5Pointz building in Long Island City, Queens. Dust turned to mud! A fetid mud!

The building is falling apart. The plan for building a pair of luxury towers at the Court Square 5Pointz location has taken the attention of the building owner who is not doing maintenance to the facility. An eviction notice is displacing us from our headquarters, where we have provided free art programming for 5 years. Regardless of this condition that could sound a death knell for our operations, we have found a new space in the same neighborhood where we started our organization 10 years ago.

The issue is, the economic development plans in Long Island City are skyrocketing real estate prices, and rent is becoming even more expensive.
In fact we seen many of our fellow community members move away, with the gentrification of the community that developed the neighborhood spirit. We ask for a moment of remembrance, as the artists in this NYC community need a space to become economically strong and/or claim a necessary place to innovate in world culture with artistic expressions." - Normandeau Newswire

CUNY mural saved by...Joe Lhota?

FYI... The mosaic mural at City Tech has been saved! The college hired a firm to take the mural down in sections and crate it. Actually Joe Lhota, who is a CUNY trustee, and others, spoke on behalf of saving it at one of the board meetings.

Since 1% of the new building cost must be set aside for art, they're hoping it will be re-installed somewhere in the new building. They're still working on the details. But even if that doesn't work out, at least it wasn't destroyed.

Kew Gardens residents working on Forest Park mural

From DNA Info:

Kew Gardens residents are showing neighborhood pride by making tiny works of art on 4.5-by-4.5-inch tiles. The tiles will be fit into a mural they hope will one day be installed in Forest Park.

The "100 Tile Mural" is the brainchild of The Potter’s Wheel, a local ceramic studio, and residents painted the tiles in the theme of “Parks, people, pets and poetry.”

So far, roughly 70 locals have contributed personal paintings — among them a tile featuring Forest Park's famed “crooked tree,” and others showing birds, cats and even local pizzerias.

One tile shows an intersection with signs pointing to Long Island, the Bronx, Manhattan and the Rockaways.

“People really put a lot of themselves into making the tiles,” said Grace Anker, owner of The Potter's Wheel. “For some people, Kew Gardens is the center of the universe.”

Last year, the studio conducted a similar project around the theme of family and community that was also made into a mural.

The studio, which has received a grant for the project from the Citizens Committee for NYC, a non-profit organization aiming to help New Yorkers improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods, is hoping to install the mural soon after all the tiles are finished.

A spokesman for the NYC Parks Department said in an e-mail that the agency has received the proposal and is evaluating it.

Will vandals strike this mural?

From the Queens Ledger:

When Paola Belotti attended a barbecue that was hosted in the alleyway behind Maspeth Discount Liquors some years back, she was distracted by the graffiti covering the surrounding walls, particularly the atrocities on the back wall of 56-05 69th Street.

After befriending the owner, she volunteered to cover the graffiti and paint a simple picture on the wall, selecting a Tuscan landscape because, as she pointed out, Tuscany is the place that comes to mind when people think of wine.

After painting the landscape, Belotti felt there was too much green in the mural, so she added more details characteristic of the region: cypress trees, vineyards, terracotta pottery, a lemon tree, a little villa in the distance.

“I know Tuscany and I know what looks good in a big space like this,” said the native of Lake Como, Italy. “I have an idea in my mind, but during my work it comes together little by little.”

Belotti, a textile designer by profession, studied fine arts in Italy and paints only as a hobby, but her artistic skill is evident in the detail of her landscape mural. Certain aspects of the picture look almost three-dimensional.

“The colors are like Tuscany and it’s really like this, with the rolling hills,” she said. “Everybody has joked they want to be inside the picture.”

The completion of the mural took Belotti at least two weeks. She realizes all her hard work will have gone to waste if her painting gets defaced, but she remains optimistic.

“Who does graffiti? In some way they are artists too,” said Belotti. “I think when they see something nice, they will respect it…I hope.”

Is Times Square mural racist and sexist?

From Fox 5:

In Times Square, where oversized billboards and flashing lights are routinely ignored, one mural is turning heads.

The mural was recently put up on 42nd Street. It depicts black and Latina women with long fingernails and little clothing. The mural and its creator -- a 26-year-old artist -- are facing fierce criticism.

"Why are they not standing here with briefcases and cell phones or even communicating with people to show the professionalism of black and Latino women?" says Anthony Herbert, a community advocate.

The young artist, Sofia Maldonado, a Latina woman herself, says she's bringing to Times Square a community of women representative of Harlem, Brooklyn, and other boroughs. And with it, a side of New York most tourists don't see.

But critics argue this mural is a step back in time -- back to a day when 42nd Street was overwhelmed by prostitutes and peep shows.

All along the Hell Gate

Forgotten-NY visits the arches of the Hell Gate bridge, which are full of surprises. Click photo for story.

Help with Rego Park space mural

Dear Queens Crap,

The Rego Park Green Alliance, a volunteer based community group (probably best known for the mural we did on 63rd drive), started a mural at P.S. 139 on a paint peeling back wall on August 12th. It is a space mural, basically a robot tending his garden. We are looking for additional volunteers during the week of August 18th to help us finish the mural. If you know of people who may be interested, please contact Yvonne at yvonne@kidstechlabs.com for more information. It is an excellent way for neighbors to help cleanup our neighborhood, have fun, and meet other like-minded people.

Have you ever seen a robot tend his garden, imagine no longer. The future is now!

Thank You,
Yvonne Shortt
Rego Park Green Alliance Co-Founder
www.regoparkgreenalliance.org