Legal streetart coordinated by Chashama, Vernon & Borden Ave, LIC

5pointz may have been the first legal walls for streetart in Long Island City, but now they’re not the only ones. Simone Development, the developers behind the Hunters Point Condos double whammy, have collaborated with Chashama, an non-profit arts group, to beautify their construction site walls with streetart created by local artists.

“The creators described the idea »

Under Public Farm One aka P.F.1., at P.S.1., Court Square, Long Island City

Nothing marks the arrival of summer in LIC quite like the PS1 Warm Up parties. If there is any entity that can lay claim to putting LIC on the mainstream radar, it’s PS1. While many complain about the nuisance factor of the Warm Up party attendees’ disruptive passage from PS1 to Water Taxi Beach in their endeavor to continue partying, it’s really a cool event. This year, the courtyard installation kicks up more than a few notches with an urban farmland installation entitled ‘Public Farm One’. Aka P.F.1.

Having checked out the installation sans throngs of swaying hipsters »

Proxy/Fiction by Jonathan Lev opens tonight at Art-O-Mat

From Art-O-Mat gallery:

Just a reminder to ignore those threats of rain & come join us tonight. (Well, maybe bring an umbrella.)

You are invited to an Opening at Art-O-Mat TONIGHT, June 26 from 6 to 9 pm.

Art-O-Mat is pleased to present Proxy / Fiction - Paintings by Jonathan Lev

Our First Summer exhibition will open tonight, Thursday June 26, with a reception from 6 to 9pm.

There will be food, drink, and live music »

From the Queens Council on the Arts:

“Celebrating the rich musical and ethnic tapestries of Queens in boisterous style, Live at the Gantries, LIC’s new summer performance series begins tonight in Gantry Park at 7pm.”

The free, outdoor performances »

Graffiti in the making at 5pointz, Court Sq, Long Island City

Here’s the article about the eventual transformation of 5pointz into a 1.2 million sqft high-rise. Accordingly:

“Wolkoff [the owner] is now waiting for the fortunes of Long Island City to change. For now, 5 Pointz will remain what he calls “the largest aerosol art building in the world,” but he is looking to leave a legacy for his grandchildren.

“Eventually we will build there, but in the meantime, we’ll still let the artists go,” said Jerry Wolkoff. “We have some plans and renderings, but nothing concrete.”“

There’s going to be mixed feelings about this »

Lady Pink aka Pinksmith on 5pointz, Court Sq, Long Island City

I was walking around 5pointz this weekend, and saw some incredible work. The piece in the photo by Lady Pink is a smaller part of the whole.

It’s nice and chill over there on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Since it’s getting warm out, we can only assume they’ll be more to come.

If you don’t know what 5pointz is, let’s remedy that right away. It’s the gigantic yellow building covered in graffiti at the corner of 23rd St & Jackson Ave, that you’ve probably seen on the elevated 7 train. It’s very hard to miss. It’s one of the few places (the only?) in NYC where graffiti is a legal expression of creativity, instead of a punishable crime against material property. So it produces an infinitely rotating supply of art pieces created by some of the most celebrated graffiti and street artists in the world.

If you’re into it, here’s more »

Bjork lovers: Deitch studios in LIC presents a free public screening of Bjork’s new video ‘Wanderlust’ on Thursday, March 13th. First come, first served.

Deitch Studios
4-40 44th Ave, At the East River, Long Island City
Thursday, March 13th, 7pm

• Deitch Studios presents Wanderlust

Landscape sculpture and designs by local artist Nigel Rollings entitled An Unexpected Vistor, showing at Art-o-mat, March 20 - May 11th. The muse: Long Island City.

• Details on The Unexpected Visitor

February is always a good time to start thinking about the summer, and this year PS1 MoMa is bringing the farm to the city - the aptly dubbed “URBAN FARM’ container garden installation in the PS1 MoMa courtyard. More eloquently stated by the Architect’s Newspaper:

[URBAN FARM] calls for a sun shelter constructed as a butterfly roof of linked planters, a container garden in the air. Intended to be a working farm, the structure is an effort “to create a neighborhood-based ecological infrastructure,” said principal Dan Wood. Heavy-duty cardboard tubes, some as wide as yard in diameter, will be bolted together to form the pavilion. Some will be filled with plants, and some will allow light through; others will contain sound equipment or be carved out to create quiet alcoves.

What’s more, »

Subdivsion - 48-41 Vernon Blvd

Subdivision is not new to Vernon, but it’s high time I blogged about them. Brought to us by the owners of City Dog Lounge (the pet store on Vernon) Subdivision is essentially a local designers collective where artists sell their pieces. And people like me buy them.

This is not Kmart. You will not find basic shirts in S,M,L. What you will find, however, is an eclectic collection of unique clothing (gents, ladies and kids), handmade jewelery, supercool bags, and a gallery featuring local artists. Subdivision was really the first place that sold actual clothing on the block, though I’m sure someone will argue with me about that. Maybe other places have come and gone… actually we know they have.

LIC’s been ‘up & coming’ for a lot longer than it actually was. Now people really have arrived, and the chorus of who’s asking ‘Where’s the grocery store?’ is much louder. I would say now we’re up & coming. We haven’t quite arrived yet, but we are graced with a strong community spirit, and the desire to keep our artist colony alive and eating. Thanks in part, to Subdivision.

Currently on exhibit at Subdivision »

Well. The links really tell it all, but looks like LIC’s Flux Factory is getting the boot thanks to the MTA and some Long Islanders that really need to get to Grand Central in a hurry. In a ‘take it or leave it’ deal, the building owner must give up his property for the East Side Access Project linking the LIRR to Grand Central Station. According to the storyline, Flux Factory already fled rising rents in Williamsburg for refuge in LIC/Sunnyside with a 15 year lease. And now, they’re homeless again.

Hopefully they’ll find another home in LIC. If anyone has any updates on where they’re going next, pass along the info. It’s not very surprising that the MTA would callously knock out a beloved artists collective, but it does make one want to wear black all day.

• Flux Factory forced out [curbed.com]
• Flux Factory Website
• East Side Access Project [Wired NY Forum]