Freeman alley: the Postman, Sacsix, and pasteups

It’s been nearly a month since the last post, as this year I found myself bogged down between playing catch-up after a short trip to NYC, wrapping up two new university courses, and taking on some extra Cambridge examining. The images from this entry are from just that trip, which has become an annual pre- or post- Memorial day trip to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

These pasteups all come from Freeman alley, a very easy-to-miss hidden gem, just off lower Manhattan’s Bowery.

The pasteups themselves come mostly from well-known artists The Postman (Warhol and Basquiat) and Sacsix (Danny Devito). I’m not sure of the artist of the partially-gone Kurt Cobain, but I’ll be sure to provide an update.

Next time you find yourself in lower Manhattan, I’d recommend you swing by the alley, as it’s always full of some interesting art.

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NYC, a repurposed mailbox

My visit to NYC was very short and the weather about as nasty as I remember it for the end of December. When I ascended from the depths of Penn Station the city was being attacked by that light fluffy snow that Christmas dreams are made of, a Miracle on 34th Street a day late. By the time I reached my destination in the East Village, the fluff had turned to sleet, making every corner an ankle-deep puddle of slush. The wind decided to pick up also, reducing all but the most expensive umbrellas to piles of discarded aluminum-frame skeletons next to almost every trash bin. Not exactly street art safari weather. The next day the weather cleared up and I was able to make a short trip round the Lower East Side, though I didn’t stray too far south of Houston, as an especially stubborn karaoke and bourbon-induced hangover was just starting to kick in. What I did manage to find was this abandoned mailbox, which was painted over in red and white and sprinkled with some random images. I imagine we’ll be seeing more like this as the email revolution continues to spread. I hope to see the same type of conversion for phone booths as well.