Mural By Kenjinyc at the corner of Smith Street and Union Street
This mural is by Edgasrtista at Smith and Butler Street
The mural at Smith and Warren Street is by someone named Nicole
Artist Kenji Takabayashi is responsible for the rather bold mural at the corner of Union Street, which is apparently an homage to Heath Ledger, who lived in Boeurum Hill for a short period of time. Photos of the mural have appeared on Instagram with the hashtag "savesmithstreet" and "makesmaithstreetgraetagain".
More muted and elegant is the intricate mural by artist and designer Edgartista. It is painted on the side of the building housing the restaurant "Chance" at Smith and Butler Street.
Another mural was recently painted on the side wall of the little bodega at Smith and Warren Streets. It was painted by artist "Nicole".
What do you think? Do you have a favorite?
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7 comments:
that first piece, the villain themed one is ATROCIOUS. I wanna paint over it myself.
If they wanted to make Smith Street great again, why not add something from the neighborhood in the past? An if it's a "tribute" to Heath ledger in some form, the artist should have realized that he created Nicholson's Joker from Batman (1989). Also, what does Harley Quinn have to do with smith street? Katia, this looks more like someone is displeased with the neighborhood changing and someone wanting to change it. I would like to ask however, doesn't the neighborhood have a say in what gets displayed on walls? As in, some neighborhoods have to grant permits aside from just getting the ok from someone who owns that part of the building. As I said, if it was something that reflected about Smith St or its history or even that block's history, it would have made common sense to do. But Joker? Harley Quinn?? How does this make smith street great again? I know the Jake walk which is on the opposite side of the block has the stick figured man with he cane and across BGH has its initials on the wall. But those are examples of businesses using images for their business purpose. Not just adding something for the hell of it. Yes it's art. Yes it might look cool. But if you remember how smith street was in the 80's or the early 90's it was nothing like it is today. This art only brings the neighborhood backwards and does not, add to the succession of businesses and the hard working people on that block in moving forward.
Neighborhoods with all these murals look dumpy. People painting them should put their work on canvas not buildings. Looks like graffiti to me!
Edgartista's is absolutely my favorite. It is not just smart,but stunningly beautiful!!!
The last mural was not painted by Nicole: I'm not sure who did it because I can't decipher the letters in the piece from the angles of the photos. The Nicole signature is most likely the name of the artist's girlfriend or a daughter. Often writers will add the names off loved ones in the background as a tribute.
Yeah... I don't get the Joker mural. It actually led to a conversation about legality, e.g. "so could we just paint some random image from pop culture on the front of our house? Vito Corleone, Marmaduke, Keyboard Cat... Freddy Krueger... Ron Jeremy... King Jong Un? Maybe a picture of Henry Cavill as a tribute to Christopher Reeve? (the picture is of the Jack Nicholson Joker, not Heath Ledger, and Harley Quinn wasn't in the movie with Heath Ledger). Love Edgartista's, though.
Looks trashy. Smith St. stop trying to reclaim your cool. Either figure out how to keep the few local merchants there, or concede to the retail giants and banks who are willing to pay $10k a month. Either way, time for Plan B.
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