By Andrea Caccese
New York City is one of the street art capitals of the world. The diverse, colorful and unique range of graffiti, murals and massive wall paintings covering entire buildings often reference the eclectic cultural background of every neighborhood. From Chelsea to Harlem; from the Lower East Side to Brooklyn’s Bushwick, local artists make an effort to capture the community and the way they shape their neighborhood through a modern, lively and vibrant set of artwork.
Music is often the subject of these artworks: take the above recent homage to David Bowie: you can hardly call this an example of fine street art, but in a very simple way, this image captures the spirit of the East Side and its long history of music legacy which was very dear to the artist.
New York artists use the streets and their works as a way to keep the memories of defunct concert venues alive: this mural of the historic CBGB clubs, a venue that put New York’s music on the global map with performances from acts such as Blondie, Television, Patti Smith or The Ramones, is a great example.
In Brooklyn, on the other hand, the influence of local rapper Jay Z is present through neighborhoods such as Bushwick (the rapper actually took his name from the J / Z subway line that serves part of the neighborhood)
The beauty of street art is that it is actually not meant to last: “graffiti real estate” is fairly limited. Areas such as The Lower East side, for example, are quickly losing some of their best street arts to the unstoppable machine of gentrification in the city. It’s incredible to think that notable artists such as Basquiat used to sell their early work on the streets when they were struggling, and now the very same streets are littered with sellers offering unofficial versions of their designs.
You might walk down a street one day, only to notice that one of the murals you were often looking at passing by has been replaced with something new. There is also a really big connection between street art and music: these are the two most popular creative expressions in the city, and we love how they bring people together and make New York a little bit more special every day.
You might not be able to draw on our walls, but you can definitely have fun learning to create electronic music with The Foxgrove. Join us for an intro class to electronic music production: total beginners welcome.
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This gem is brought to you by The Hunt, The Foxgrove's blog that looks into the electronic music and DJ world in the lenses of fashion, lifestyle, art and culture. If you'd like to contribute, find us at info@thefoxgrove.com.