Global Graphica

Another prime example of a “graf-out” on the Lower East Side of New York City. We love these things. The graf-out has its own aesthetic — cloud-shaped blobs and swaths of gray paint on metal shutters look like abstract art.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Graf goes up, graf goes down. Or, rather, graf gets covered with a coat of paint. Often, that coat of paint is in a slightly different hue from the original color of the wall. We call these “graf-outs.” Nevertheless, a mismatching of hues is the price one pays in the effort to cover up the graf. The effect of the graf-out is like that of abstract art. The above photo is a prime example of a graf-out on the Lower East Side of New York City.

Ivan Corsa

The signage is starting to fade atop this paint store on Essex St. off East Broadway in New York City, but its colors still offer a bright touch to an otherwise gray block of Lower East Side lofts, tenements and warehouses.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Another shot of a paint store front-signage on a Lower East Side block of lofts, tenements and warehouses in New York. This second shot has some added color courtesy of the passersby whose clothing seems to match the color palette of the sign.

Ivan Corsa Photo

This huge mural in Williamsburg, in Brooklyn, “rocks the rockingest!” This well-executed work has the look of a magazine illustration writ extra-large. But what really makes this mural pop is the explosive tag painted in the center, which is polished, highly-stylized and pristine. It’s rare to see such a juxtoposition of representative painting and graf integrated into a single, flawless piece of street art. The artist(s) has the skillz.

Ivan Corsa Photo

The East Village in New York City could just as handily be called “Little Tokyo” or “Japan Town” given the extraordinary number of Japanese restaurants, sushi bars and supermarkets, as well as Japanese owned-and-operated hair salons, vintage clothing shops and other establishments (from record stores to toy stores) opened and run by expats from Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya who now call New York City home. With the glut of sushi bars comes specialization, such as this Japanese fast-food chain restaurant, Teriyaki Boy, on East 10th St. The exterior design of the storefront and signage is eye-catching and demonstrates a successful use of logo-graphics and lighting elements to create an alluring storefront.

Ivan Corsa Photo

An up by “Lier” on the Lower East Side. This tag has edgier, geometric lines and less of the curvelinear stylistic touches of most aerosoled monikers.

Ivan Corsa Photo

A clever, “designy” (but not too designy) typographic treatment as logo for local eatery/catering company Snackbar on the side of it’s catering van. A glance at the logo — the brand — itself already makes us think that Snackbar’s food is reliably prepared and delivered. As to the taste of the food … well …

Ivan Corsa Photo

Here we’ve got the work of several street artists and writers, including that of a couple of the underground’s brightest stars – Shepard Fairey and Swoon. Here’s the breakdown: The black-and-white motorcycle cop paste-up holding the Andre the Giant icon is the work of Shephard Fairey (of Obey / Giant Has a Posse, Swindle Magazine, etc.). The wheat-paste paper cut-out of the man on the bicycle is by Brooklyn artist Swoon. Underneath are some wheate-paste cut outs and tags of several other artists and writers. Nice to all this work serendepitously aggregated in one location in downtown Manhattan.

Ivan Corsa Photo

A nice close-up of an up on the side of a truck in Chinatown. Mid-sized freight trucks are everywhere in lower Manhattan, but especially in Chinatown. Most of these vehicles are white and as such are a tempting canvas waiting to be filled by aspiring artists and writers. The mobility of the trucks gives the author’s tag greater exposure to a wider geographic audience as the trucks ferry cargo around the New York City and tri-state area.

Ivan Corsa Photo

We don’t know who the artist is behind this sticker of a dripping paint brush, which can be interpreted as an ironic, cheeky comment on the nature art itself, given that painting is the medium most associated with the idea of art. The person who created this sticker could have been thinking precisely that, or, maybe, they just thought that a sticker of a paint brush would be “like, cool.” Whatever. Sticker art is a whole other medium (or sub-genre, if you will) of illicit street art. Putting up stickers is also a lot easier to do covertly compared the more visible and time-consuming effort required to put up wheat-paste posters and paint graf tags. As the authorities, especially in New York City, become more vigilant in the war on graf, stickers may become a more popular means of expression.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Every time we see an up by Claw, it’s a little different from every one we’ve seen before. The colors are different, the pattern is different and there’s always a different number, word or phrase embdeed within the claw itself. It is that three-toe claw that is the only constant in his body of work. Pictured above is one of our favorites, the Gucci Claw, which you can find on the west side of Clinton St. between Houston and Stanton streets in the Lower East Side of New York City.