ESPO: A love letter to Brooklyn

On my trip to New York this time, I planned to spend time in and get to know more about Brooklyn. I started downtown and some of the first things I see are painted words on an old concrete building. I recognize these words as made by Stephen Powers (ESPO).

Powers said ones that a word says more than thousand pictures, and Powers paint words, words that make you think, associate and relate. Earlier on, I've seen his works "Love letter for you" in Dublin.

To media Powers said that the building is “Really one of the ugliest pieces of architecture I’ve ever had the privilege of decorating. It’s just built for vandalism.” Powers got permission to paint the garage. The irony is that Powers have reversed the idea of graffiti as vandalism and says that: 

A neighborhood in decline has always been an ideal place to work. Generally, you are only improving the situation with a little bit of paint, and the work tends to last longer than in the pricey precincts of the city. Now that I’m getting calls to help revitalize areas, it’s not irony; it’s people seeing my work the way I’ve always seen it: as an improvement.

The parking garage belongs to Macy's and the works in Brooklyn was a following up on his A Love Letter for you in Philadelphia and Syracuse. The black and white letters gives the place a vintage and industrial look.

'A love letter to Brooklyn' was largely inspired by conversations he and his team had with people passing by the parking garage. The result are words and small sentences are 'existential' and gives associations to relational issues which is of concern to all of us. In addition to the car garage Powers painted the wall of a sneaker store front on Bond street and Fulton mall, it reads “All I Need Is You And New Shoes”.

5 pointz is gone, rest in power!

Photo: C.S. Muncy, The Village Voice

5 Pointz street art and graffiti was buffed over by white paint the night of 19 November 2013, without warning to artists and it came as a shock to fans of street art all over the world. The dispute about 5 pointz and the future have been going on for years, but now it seems to be over. The biggest outdoor street art gallery in the world is gone and the huge property and buildings in Long Island City (Queens) is now getting ready for demolition. New stores and luxury condos will be raised. The owner Jerry Wolkoff defended the overnightdestruction in interviews and told that "I know they're upset but it's over with. I can imagine going one piece, one piece, and then going through hell and torture to everybody," He said, and told further: "So I said, 'Let me do it one time, and end this torture one time'" The street art community is upset and called it an act of cruelty. More than 1500 pieces of street art and graffiti works was wiped out over night. I visited 5 pointz in september 2013. I took line 7 from grand central towards Queens and right after crossing east river an amazing view hit my eyes. There it was, the legendary 5 pointz.

5 pointz 19 of september 2013 (photo: o. m. eyra)

Below is how it looked like the the 19th of november 2013. The paintover was really sad news and the media photos showing the white walls were heart breaking.

Photo Wall Street Journal

 I am really happy that I got to see the art works before they dissapeared. Lets go a couple of months back and below is some of my photos from september 2013:

photo o.m.eyra

Work by Toofly photo o.m.eyra

photo o.m.eyra

photo o.m.eyra

 Work by Esteban Del Valle, photo o.m.eyra

photo o.m.eyra

Work by Jimmy C,  photo o.m.eyra

Works by Dis_Satisfied and Adub, photo o.m.eyra

photo o.m.eyra

Work by Dase (morc alvarez) photo o.m.eyra

Work by Onur Dinc, photo o.m.eyra

photo o.m.eyra

Work by Shiro, photo o.m.eyra

And there were so much more........Click on this link to see more of my instagram photos from 5 pointz online.

Artists have been painting on the property since the early 1990s, with permission from the Wolkoffs. In 2010,  the owners decided to demolish the building. Since then, Jonathan Cohen, also known as Meres One, and fellow curator Marie Cecile Flageul have been fighting a battle to save 5 pointz. 5 Pointz launched a lawsuit against the Wolkoffs, but the federal district court ruled in favour of the Wolkoffs and the decision to paint over the murals came just after Banksy held a month-long New York residency in October, which ended with him writing a brief comment on his website to "Save 5 Pointz."

I call him Bansky!

- Hey!! Do you know who did this?
- Eh?
- I met the guy who did this, I own the building!
- It's DOLK!
- Yeah, he is a mystery guy Ah? Just like Bansky.
- Mm... Banksy
-  Whatever! Where u from?
- Norway! Just like DOLK
- And u come all the way from Norway to see this?
- Eh.. yeah! And New York of course!
- Tell Dolk that I keep his work there for at least 50 years, yes forever!
- Well... I probably never meet him....but you have to keep his work, that's a good thing!
- Yeah! And when I meet Banksy, I will call him Bansky
-Ok!

The owner starts up his car and I shoot some more photos. This piece of work outside is just awesome and location is perfect. I'm in East Williamsburg, New York City. I'ts September and the weather is still warm.

The streets of New York are incredibly long and I have walked around for hours and my feets are hurting. But I don't care because it's so much to see, to take in and discover.

Williamsburg is one of Brooklyn's most exciting neighborhoods and straddles old and new, commerce and alternative. It's a lively arts and music scene here and numerous small galleries, cafes and restaurants.

I rest my legs at a gallery/cafe/music venue and soak up the creative energy.

I love Dolk Outside! And finding this piece made my day. As far as I know Its the only Dolk piece left (outside) in Brooklyn and goes back to 2010.