Photography gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
Music on our iPod: Deerhoof - "+81"
Sneakers of the Day: Adidas "Marun"

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On our iPod: Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Sneakers on our feet: Adidas "Gazelle"

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On our iPod: Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Sneakers on our feet: Adidas "Gazelle"

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On our iPod: Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Sneakers on our feet: Adidas "Gazelle"

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On our iPod: Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Sneakers on our feet: Adidas "Gazelle"

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: Keane - "Nothing in the Way"
Kicks on our feet: Nike High-Tops

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: Keane - "Nothing in the Way"
Kicks on our feet: Nike High-Tops

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: Keane - "Nothing in the Way"
Kicks on our feet: Nike High-Tops

Ivan Corsa Photo

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: LCD Soundsystem - "Yeah (Pretentious Mix)"
Kicks on our feet: Puma "Easy Rider" Sneakers

Ivan Corsa Photo

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: LCD Soundsystem - "Yeah (Pretentious Mix)"
Kicks on our feet: Puma "Easy Rider" Sneakers

Massive ad-mural of Madonna for H&M is being painted on the side of a cast-iron lofts building in SoHo, New York City.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: LCD Soundsystem - "Yeah (Pretentious Mix)"
Kicks on our feet: Puma "Easy Rider" Sneakers

Ivan Corsa Photo

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: Beck - "Hell Yes"
Kicks on our feet: Puma "Easy Rider" Sneakers

Ivan Corsa Photo

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: Beck - "Hell Yes"
Kicks on our feet: Puma "Easy Rider" Sneakers

Ivan Corsa Photo

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: Kaiser Chiefs - "I Predict a Riot"
Kicks on our feet: Converse "John Varvatos" Laceless Sneakers

Ivan Corsa Photo

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: Kaiser Chiefs - "I Predict a Riot"
Kicks on our feet: Converse "John Varvatos" Laceless Sneakers

Ivan Corsa Photo

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: Tosca - "Orozco"
Kicks on our feet: Converse "John Varvatos" Laceless Sneakers

Ivan Corsa Photo

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: Tosca - "Orozco"
Kicks on our feet: Converse "John Varvatos" Laceless Sneakers

Ivan Corsa Photo

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: Tosca - "Orozco"
Kicks on our feet: Converse "John Varvatos" Laceless Sneakers

Ivan Corsa Photo

Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: Deerhoof - "Koneko"
Kicks on our feet: Converse "John Varvatos" Laceless Sneakers

"A. Charles" is a New York City graffiti artist whose work can be found all over the metro area, but mostly in lower Manahattan. The artist has produced graffiti artwork on commision, as in this example, a massive garage-door mural at the Abetta auto-repair shop on East 1st Street in the East Village.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Here's a closer-in shot of the Abetta graf-mural by NYC street artist "A. Charles."

Background Note
"A. Charles" is a New York City graffiti artist whose work can be found all over the metro area, but mostly in lower Manahattan. The artist has produced graffiti artwork on commision, as in this example, a massive garage-door mural at the Abetta auto-repair shop on East 1st Street in the East Village.

Ivan Corsa Photo

And here's a detail shot of the graf-mural by street artist "A. Charles" at the Abettta garage in the East Village, in New York City.

Background Note
"A. Charles" is a New York City graffiti artist whose work can be found all over the metro area, but mostly in lower Manahattan. The artist has produced graffiti artwork on commision, as in this example, a massive garage-door mural at the Abetta auto-repair shop on East 1st Street in the East Village.

Ivan Corsa Photo

And here is yet another photo of the Sony PSP "street art" ads in downtown New York City. Like how these are usually in pairs. The doe-eyed kids look partly inspired by Japanese manga comic books.

Background:
During the past few months, we've seen dozens of these street art pieces of kids engaged with various handheld toys and other objects that, upon closer inspection, are actually Sony PlayStation Portable devices, that is, the PSP. This image was taken in Soho. Most of the ads are confined to downtown Manhattan. This "graf" is really a clever attempt by Sony to appropriate the street art vernacular for advertising purposes as part of its guerilla marketing efforts for the PSP. We have to admit that the ads are cool; we like 'em. Unfortunately, when we spotted this one, the batteries on our Nikon digital camera were out of juice, so we had to shoot these images with the lower resolution of the camera embedded in our Palm Treo 650 Smartphone.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Here are some more shots of the Sony PSP "street art" ads in downtown New York City.

Background:
During the past few months, we've seen dozens of these street art pieces of kids engaged with various handheld toys and other objects that, upon closer inspection, are actually Sony PlayStation Portable devices, that is, the PSP. This image was taken in Soho. Most of the ads are confined to downtown Manhattan. This "graf" is really a clever attempt by Sony to appropriate the street art vernacular for advertising purposes as part of its guerilla marketing efforts for the PSP. We have to admit that the ads are cool; we like 'em. Unfortunately, when we spotted this one, the batteries on our Nikon digital camera were out of juice, so we had to shoot these images with the lower resolution of the camera embedded in our Palm Treo 650 Smartphone.

Ivan Corsa Photo

During the past few months, we've seen dozens of these street art pieces of kids engaged with various handheld toys and other objects that, upon closer inspection, are actually Sony PlayStation Portable devices, that is, the PSP. This image was taken in Soho. Most of the ads are confined to downtown Manhattan. This "graf" is really a clever attempt by Sony to appropriate the street art vernacular for advertising purposes as part of its guerilla marketing efforts for the PSP. We have to admit that the ads are cool; we like 'em. Unfortunately, when we spotted this one, the batteries on our Nikon digital camera were out of juice, so we had to shoot these images with the lower resolution of the camera embedded in our Palm Treo 650 Smartphone.

Ivan Corsa Photo

While we're on the subject of spaces and places in downtown Manhattan that are no more, here's a shot of the recently torn down Gaseteria gas station at the corner of Houston and Lafayette streets in Soho, New York City. More precisely, it's a picture of a billboard advertisement of the station at the station. We've always loved this sign because it's so obviously from a different stylistic era of advertising and retail signage. Even the messaging is quaint: "Thank you for making us #1" and "New York's 'House Brand'" are presented in an almost laughable, but endearing, way. Most of all, we love the design aesthetic and the illustration of the station itself, with bright yellow NYC taxis sitting at all the pumps. It's a big surprise that Gaseteria wasn't demolished to make room for new luxury apartments and condos (given the location, the land and air-rights alone are worth potentially tens of millions of dollars.) No, what replaced this old petrol stop was a new, shiny, modern service station of a well-known brand franchise.

Ivan Corsa Photo

It seems like there's clever billboard advertising everywhere in New York City, so when we see a billboard that actually stops us in our tracks and makes us pause and smile (and snap a bunch of pictures while we're at it, too), well, that's something. That's what happened when we saw this massive ad-screen for CourtTV. The ad has been designed as the side of the Soho tenement apartment building upon which it's hung. In the windows, shadows suggest tenants engaged in criminal intrigue. The apartment buildng is at the corner of King St. and 6th Avenue, a block south of Houston St., in a neighborhood that is home to some of the hottest, most acclaimed advertising agencies in the world.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Here's the context shot of the CourtTV billboard apartment building.

It seems like there's clever billboard advertising everywhere in New York City, so when we see a billboard that actually stops us in our tracks and makes us pause and smile (and snap a bunch of pictures while we're at it, too), well, that's something. That's what happened when we saw this massive ad-screen for CourtTV. The ad has been designed as the side of the Soho tenement apartment building upon which it's hung. In the windows, shadows suggest tenants engaged in criminal intrigue. The apartment buildng is at the corner of King St. and 6th Avenue, a block south of Houston St., in a neighborhood that is home to some of the hottest, most acclaimed advertising agencies in the world.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Here's a closer view of the windows on the Court TV billboard in Soho, New York City.

It seems like there's clever billboard advertising everywhere in New York City, so when we see a billboard that actually stops us in our tracks and makes us pause and smile (and snap a bunch of pictures while we're at it, too), well, that's something. That's what happened when we saw this massive ad-screen for CourtTV. The ad has been designed as the side of the Soho tenement apartment building upon which it's hung. In the windows, shadows suggest tenants engaged in criminal intrigue. The apartment buildng is at the corner of King St. and 6th Avenue, a block south of Houston St., in a neighborhood that is home to some of the hottest, most acclaimed advertising agencies in the world.

Ivan Corsa Photo

This image doesn't really need explanation ... well .. okay, maybe it does ... a little. Whenever a building undergoes some sort of renovation work in New York City, scaffolding is placed on all sides of the building adjacent to the sidewalk. The scaffolding covers the sidewalk, and the sides of the structure is often repurposed as billboard space and as a placeholder for signs of those street-level retail businesses whose front signage is blocked by the scaffolding. Pictured here and below is a cheeky use of scaffolding space as signage by Digital Ink, an electronic printing company on Varick Street in Soho.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Another shot of the clever use of scaffolding space by Digital Ink to advertise its business in New York.

This image doesn't really need explanation ... well .. okay, maybe it does ... a little. Whenever a building undergoes some sort of renovation work in New York City, scaffolding is placed on all sides of the building adjacent to the sidewalk. The scaffolding covers the sidewalk, and the sides of the structure is often repurposed as billboard space and as a placeholder for signs of those street-level retail businesses whose front signage is blocked by the scaffolding. Pictured here and below is a cheeky use of scaffolding space as signage by Digital Ink, an electronic printing company on Varick Street in Soho.

Ivan Corsa Photo

One more shot of the clever use of scaffolding space by Digital Ink to advertise its business in New York.

This image doesn't really need explanation ... well .. okay, maybe it does ... a little. Whenever a building undergoes some sort of renovation work in New York City, scaffolding is placed on all sides of the building adjacent to the sidewalk. The scaffolding covers the sidewalk, and the sides of the structure is often repurposed as billboard space and as a placeholder for signs of those street-level retail businesses whose front signage is blocked by the scaffolding. Pictured here and below is a cheeky use of scaffolding space as signage by Digital Ink, an electronic printing company on Varick Street in Soho.

Ivan Corsa Photo

A full-frontal shot of a green mailbox that his been bombed.

Fourth image in a series of four. Original text below.

Snapped this image of one of those nondescript green mailboxes covered with wheat-pastes, stickers and assorted graf. This side of the box has a couple of black-and-white artworks and a promotional sheet for a local band called New York City Smoke. You can find this mailbox on Prince St., between Crosby St. and Broadway in Soho, across the street from Dean & Deluca and surrounded by those downtown mega loft apartments.

Ivan Corsa Photos

Snapped this image of one of those nondescript green mailboxes covered with wheat-pastes, stickers and assorted graf. This side of the box has a couple of black-and-white artworks and a promotional sheet for a local band called New York City Smoke. You can find this mailbox on Prince St., between Crosby St. and Broadway in Soho, across the street from Dean & Deluca and surrounded by mega loft apartments.

Ivan Corsa Photos

Here's the latest superlarge Calvin Klein billboard at Houston and Lafayette streets in Soho, New York. What more can we say? This ad is as sexed-up as all the other Calvin Klein ads that fill this space in lower Manhattan. Whether the advert is touting underwear, jeans or just the Calvin Klein brand, the titilation factor is always turned up to 11. The tenement building upon which this billboard screen hangs is probably a very valuable piece of Soho real estate given both its location and the adspace.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Went to Nolita on Sunday to get our hair trimmed and came across this recently posted wheatpaste by Matt Siren. Love the high-contrast black-and-white illustrative style. Reminds us of that character "Emily." Or a character you might find in a indie graphic novel. This piece of street art (or guerrilla marketing) is on Elizabeth Street near Prince Street. On the west side of the block are three or four small buildings that have yet to see the effects of the larger gentrification of the neighborhood, which is is now one of downtown Manhattan's most desirable and trendy (and expensive) nabes. The buildings are mostly unused, decrepit and bombed with graf, street art and ad bills, and stand out like a sore thumb in an area filled with fashionable real estate, luxury apartments, and gut-rennovated condos and lofts.

Kicks on our feet: Adidas "Gerd Muller" - Beige w/ Green
Muzik on our iPod: Royksopp "Melody AM"

Ivan Corsa Photo

Here's a beter view of the interior (as well as the collection of sneakers and other merch) through the front window of the Adidas sneaker concept store in Soho, in New York City. Note the way the interior space is lit.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Another shot of the front of the Adidas sneaker concept store in Soho, in New York City.

Ivna Corsa Photo

German shoemaker Adidas has a fashion-forward concept store for its designer sneakers on cobblestoned Wooster Street in Soho, in New York City. The shop is a well-designed groundfloor and cavernous space surrounded by loft apartment buildings and shops like Stussy and Head Porter. Here we see the front of the space, which boasts large windows and a minimalist, garage-door facade.The iconic Adidas brand of three stripes and lift-blue can be found echoed on the collection of garbage and the upturned pallet resting curbside in front of the sneaker emporium.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Previously we reported on the Time magazine billboard at Houston and Wooster streets in Soho, NYC, where large colorful tags have appeared by NYC graf writer Cope2 ("CopeII"). The idea is that each week, more aerosol art will go up on the billboard screen, which hangs from the north face of a loft apartment building, until eventually the Time magazine logo and trademark red-border will go up in the space and frame the Krylon work. In this second installment of photos from Week 2, you can seen the updated billboard with new, additional layers of graf. Week 3 images to be uploaded here soon.

Notes:
Sneakers on our feet: Puma 5000M
Tunes in ours ears: M.I.A. "Galang"

Ivan Corsa Photo

A detail shot of the Time magazine "graf" billboard that hangs on a lofts apartment building at the corner of Houston and Wooster streets in Soho, NYC.

Notes:
Sneakers on our feet: Puma 5000M
Tunes in ours ears: M.I.A. "Galang"

Ivan Corsa Photo

Another (slightly wider) detail shot of the Time magazine Cope2 graffiti billboard at Houston and Wooster streets in Soho, New York City.

Notes:
Sneakers on our feet: Puma 5000M
Tunes in ours ears: M.I.A. "Galang"

Ivan Corsa Photo

Another wider, zoom shot of the Time magazine Cope2 graffiti billboard in Soho, New York City.

Notes:
Sneakers on our feet: Puma 5000M
Tunes in ours ears: M.I.A. "Galang"

Ivan Corsa Photo

Another distant zoom of the Time magazine Cope2 graffiti billboard in Soho, New York City.

Notes:
Sneakers on our feet: Puma 5000M
Tunes in ours ears: M.I.A. "Galang"

Ivan Corsa Photo

Another contextual shot of the Time magazine Cope2 graffiti billboard in Soho, New York City.

Notes:
Sneakers on our feet: Puma 5000M
Tunes in ours ears: M.I.A. "Galang"

Ivan Corsa Photo

Here's a more contextual skyline shot of the Time magazine Cope2 graffiti billboard in Soho, New York City.

Notes:
Sneakers on our feet: Puma 5000M
Tunes in ours ears: M.I.A. "Galang"

Ivan Corsa Photo

More of the clever Time Magazine adspace with graffiti by Cope2 (CopeII)in downtown Manhattan, at Houston and Wooster streets in Soho. We're trying to remember what was being pushed on this billboard previously -- it was either Altoids or Addidas sneakers. Or maybe it was ...

Ivan Corsa Photo

Here's another view of the Time Magazine graf billboard at Houston and Wooster streets in Soho.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Detail of the Time Magazine billboard at Houston and Wooster streets in Soho, New York City. Tag by Cope2.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Another shot of the Time Magazine graffiti billboard by Cope2 (CopeII) at Houston and Wooster streets in Soho, New York City. To think this space could be used to sell Puma sneakers or the new Sony PSP.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Time Magazine is engaged in an unusual billboard advertising stunt. On a white fabric screen hanging from the side of a building at Houston and Wooster streets in Soho, a large colorful tag has been aerosoled. The graffiti is first rate and unhurried (unlike a lot of "ups," which are often written with hasty economy). The artist, or "writer," is Cope2 (or "CopeII"), a well-known veteran of the NYC-graf underground. According to sources, the idea is that each week, more aerosol art will go up on the screen. By the end of a month, Time magazine's branding will go up in the space. Now who said advertising wasn't fun anymore? We'll document the series here on Global Graphica in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

Ivan Corsa Photo

Found this faded massive advertisement on the side of a building in the far West Village, where the hood morphs into the Meatpacking District. This sign is really old. The neighborhood must have been quite different back when this ad pushed parking space and a car dealership. The nabe has changed dramatically since the sign was put up and the car dealership -- despite our best search -- no longer exists. Now the area has the most desirable apartments, brownstones and townhouses in New York City and -- per square footage -- the most expensive residential real estate in all Manhattan. That real estate boom and the local trendiness of the Meatpacking Distirtc has fueled the numerous nearby loft conversions.

Ivan Corsa Photo

This logo is the boss. When you see your local fire department with a logo and name like Chinatown Dragon Fighters, well, damn, if our apartment building was on fire we'd want this fire company to come to our rescue first. Could there be any team of firemen in the world with a cooler name that this? Did you hear us? DRAGON FIGHTERS! You know what Dragons are, right? Hell, those f**ckers breathe fire. Think about it. This is like calling your local police force the "The All-time Best Psychotic-Murderer Ass-Kickers in the World." So when the roof is on fire in downtown New York City, who ya' gonna call? Dragon Fighters, damn straight, dude!

Ivan Corsa Photo

Hey, "All kinds of alterations done," folks! Gotta the love the Chinese boy and girl characters flanking the message on the left and right, which you see on the doors of various Chinese dry-cleaners/tailors/laundromat shops. The imagery is rooted in a tradition, we imagine. The touch that really makes this signage classic DIY are the adhesive letters. Mom-and-pop all the way! But this signage goes the distance -- look closely and you'll see that that wide cellophane packing tape has been placed over the lettering in strips to keep it from falling off (or being ripped off). This signage rules!

Ivan Corsa Photo

We love the store front to the SSURPlus select clothing shop in New York City. Regular visitors to this site may recall an earlier photo of the SSURPlus boutique many months ago. That shot was taken in the day. But this one-of-a-kind store window with it's etched-glass Bruce Lee motif takes on a whole other look at night when it's illuminated. The backlit glass makes the SSURPlus shop in NoLIta an unmissable presence on the stretch of Spring Street between Elizabeth Street and The Bowery. The shop sells hoodies, graphic tees, jeans and downtown-inspired gear with that certain dollop of hip-hop flava that brings kids here from as far as Tokyo and Stockholm looking for fresh, original style.

Ivan Corsa Photo

We spotted this truck on a block in downtown New York City where Chinatown and Little Italy converge, overlapping each over to create a an weird, intermingling sino-italian cultural landscape of dim-sum palaces and trattorias. In any event, we just thought the logo on this truck for "Bally Produce Corp." was a really cool piece of graphic design and brand/identity, especially in the way it incorporates Chinese pictograms.

Ivan Corsa Photo