Ken Brown

"THE WALLS SPEAK" NYC POLITICAL GRAFFITI

2012-01-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

Political graffiti has always been an important part of street culture and as we slide into what will be an undoubtably rancorous election year, here are a few clips of what the walls have to say...

all photos ©Ken Brown

"SURREAL SANDWICHES"

2012-01-16T10:41:00.000-08:00

A great bonus feature of urban photography is the plenitude of windows and the wide variety of bizarre image combinations that are possible because of them. Of the many categories in my photo taking rambles about town, a favorite is still, the surreal sandwich.

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

all photos ©Ken Brown

"NEW YORK NEON"

2012-01-09T08:30:00.000-08:00

There is a long history of neon signage in NYC dating from the 20's through the 1960's, and for many, the electrical glow

was synonymous with the night time soul of the city. Times Square and the "Great White Way" have long since passed

over neon in favor of the big screen approach in promotional real estate, but there are still quite a few small gems that

have survived and are worthy of celebration.

all photos ©Ken Brown

DENTIST SIGNS NYC

2012-01-02T17:04:00.000-08:00

Of the many ways that city signage uses anthropomorphic figures, the dentist trade has a built in symbol that gets prime time play everywhere. This week I go in for some serious work and hope to leave with some semblance of the spirit of the smiling faces celebrated here. Hope your new year starts off better than mine...

all images ©Ken Brown

"SNAPPY SEASON"

2011-12-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

deck the balls with boughs of folly...

HOLIDAY WINDOWS-NYC.

2011-12-12T10:19:00.000-08:00

a few samples of the still elegant art of holiday window design...

Barney's

Lady Gaga lounges at Barney's

Saks 5th Ave

Agent Provacateur

Bergdorf Goodman

all images ©Ken Brown

WORDS ON WALLS

2011-12-05T14:02:00.000-08:00

As they used to say, if you want to know what's going on, read the walls. Well I've been reading the walls here in the land of the free for many years and I'm not sure if I know any more about what's going on, but the words do catch my eye with aphorisms, advice, poetry, politics, love, humor and the occasional surreal rant...

all photos ©Ken Brown

STREET SNAPS NYC

2011-11-28T09:20:00.000-08:00

enjoy these excerpts from some recent rambles ...

all photos © Ken Brown

"JOYOUS MOMENTS"

2011-11-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

In the daily drama of the street, it's nice to take note of the sweet ...

all photos ©Ken Brown

DEAD HORSE BAY "BOTTLE BEACH"

2011-11-07T15:09:00.000-08:00

As a life long beachcomber, I have wandered on more than a few, but I have never experienced anything comparable to New York's own, Dead Horse Bay, and the beach area known locally as "Bottle Beach". Yesterday was a gorgeous early Fall day with a low tide around noon and the flotsam trail beckoned...

A brief history: It was once a small island (Barren Island) near Brooklyn's south coast bordering Dead Horse Bay, whose name came from the large number of rendering facilities located nearby during the 1800's and into the early 1900's. As automobiles became the primary mode of transportation, the island became a landfill for NYC trash until the 1950's when it was capped and transformed into what is now part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. The top-ography has changed and as parts of the beach succumbed to the shifting tides, parts of the underlying (non organic) trash have been exposed, leaving a vast array of artifacts and oddities from earlier generations. As an amateur archeologist, this is what is most fascinating and though I admit, my treasures have been few (ceramic shards and photographs), I have met folks there who mentioned finding objects as disparate as a carved ivory elephant with jade inlays, vintage toys, a pocket watch, and of course, a wide range of bottles.

all photos ©Ken Brown

HALLOWEEN ART

2011-10-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

everyone's favorite national holiday where the cute and the macabre commingle in an amazing outpouring of public art making ...

Gary Leib's window at Desert Island, Brooklyn

Cowgirl Hall of Fame, Manhattan

Howard Beach, Queens

all photos ©Ken Brown

"HAND PAINTED" SIGNAGE-LOS ANGELES

2011-10-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

from the "golden" state of oranges, autos, and fabulous hand painted signage, here is a small sampling from a trip to Los Angeles last week ...

all photos ©Ken Brown

"PEOPLE PIX" NYC

2011-10-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

culled from a cast of millions ...

all photos © Ken Brown

"NUIT BLANCHE" BRING TO LIGHT NEW YORK

2011-10-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

One of the things I really love about this city is the constant cavalcade of visual surprises. Usually they are things I come across in the course of daily rambles, but there are also numerous events concocted by various cultural agencies to enlighten and amuse.This past weekend we went to a nighttime contemporary art festival on the waterfront in Greenpoint

Brooklyn, called Bring to Light or Nuit Blanche New York. It was billed as an "immersive spectacle of site-specific light, sound, performance and projection by over 50 artists".

a small sampling ...

BIG BROTHER

AN ANIMATED AND ILLUMINATED BICYCLE

WAREHOUSE CLIMBING

A LIGHT CONCERT

NEON BENCH SLEEPER

SHADOW PLAY

STREET ART "OTHERNESS"

2011-09-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

I've been documenting NYC and its street art and culture for over 25 years. As the files grow and new categories have emerged with their respective titles, there is still one file called "other".

Here's to "otherness" ...

SOHO

BUSHWICK

WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE

SOHO-BROADWAY AND PRINCE

LOWER EAST SIDE

WILLIAMSBURG (FROM THE BRIDGE)

CHELSEA

HUDSON RIVER PARK

CHELSEA

all photos ©Ken Brown

YARD ART EXTRAVAGANZA

2011-09-19T09:03:00.000-07:00

There is a yard on the corner of Bedford and 1st in Williamsburg Brooklyn that has amused me, and I'm sure many others, for years.

The lot is fenced off, and at first viewing, it appears to be the remnants of a particularly boisterous yard sale. On subsequent visits, I noticed that the cast of characters was changing and new figures were being added. Also, I noticed that they would often be relocated and costume changes were not infrequent. This modest corner lot had become an ongoing installation space created largely from cast off items and curated with artful theatricality by an elderly local woman named Carmen.

Thank you, Carmen.

OCTOBER 2009

MAY 2010 Coco the gorilla is introduced

JULY 2010 Coco at work with a new menagerie keeping him company

OCTOBER 2010 a tender moment as George/Spiderman comforts a cow

FEBRUARY 2011 waiting out the Winter

APRIL 2011 George and his lizard buddy

MAY 2011 Springtime

JUNE 2011 a mini monster truck

JULY 2011 a family moment

JULY 29th 2011 a note from Carmen to friends and photographers

all photos ©Ken Brown

FLAG CITY

2011-09-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

Flag City is a short documentary on the phenomenal outpouring of flag-abilia that seemed to crop up almost overnight in New York City in the weeks following 9/11.

Special thanks to Brian Dewan for his amazing soundtrack.

Flag City from Ken Brown on Vimeo.

TWIN TOWERS MEMORIAL WALLS

2011-09-06T07:09:00.000-07:00

On 9/11 we were home a handful of blocks north of the World Trade Towers when we heard the dull thud of something that might have been a loud truck accident. Of course that was not the case and moments later we were on Greenwich Street looking at the North tower with a smoking hole that resembled a bad cartoon version of Daffy Duck exiting through a wall. First thoughts: some air traffic controller is going to lose their job. Fifteen minutes later on that pristine September morning, we stood, completely stunned as a second explosion tore trough the 2nd tower.

The World Trade Center was a huge presence in our neighborhood and in our lives. When they went down there was of course, a huge vacuum and what struck me most in the moments following that insanely destructive act, was the incredible coalescing of the local community and the outpouring of compassion from the national and international community. Much of this got confused during the ensuing political response.

It has been a long decade of recovery and rebuilding and considering the state of downtown NYC at that time, it is truly remarkable that we have come as far as we have.

Here is a small sampling of the many Twin Tower memorial walls that sprang up in the five boroughs after 9/11 ...

all photos ©Ken Brown

CLOUDS

2011-08-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

after surviving somewhat intact after the hurricane of the century, I thought it might be worthwhile
foraging the files for some other weather pix ...

all photos ©Ken Brown

"SEX AND THE CITY"

2011-08-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

"hot time, summer in the city"...

all photos © Ken Brown

"SOMETIMES, YOU GOTTA GO VERTICAL"

2011-08-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

of course there are options in all photography, but sometimes you just gotta go vertical ...

all photos ©Ken Brown

CITY SIGNAGE

2011-08-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

some city signage to study and enjoy...

all photos ©Ken Brown

"HOT TIME, SUMMER IN THE CITY..."

2011-07-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

hot time, summer in the city, and the recent 104 degree temperatures sent many New Yorkers towards a time honored respite ...

all photos ©Ken Brown

'BIG STUFF'

2011-07-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

BIG STUFF! I recently met a young man in Bushwick who was clambering down from a ladder after finishing an almost block long painting of a row of teeth. He is one of many new street artists who work regularly on a scale that was completely unimaginable to almost all artists in the past ...

all photos ©Ken Brown

"JR" IN THE BRONX

2011-07-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

Recently, JR, the inimitable French street artist known for his large scale photo portrait projects around the world made his presence felt in the Bronx. I've admired his work for years and especially appreciate his strong humanitarian instincts. Working in areas of cultural conflict, he uses an approach he refers to as "artivist" to engage communities in the process and the dialogue. Wonderful stuff!

check out his ted talk to learn more...

http://www.ted.com/talks/jr_s_ted_prize_wish_use_art_to_turn_the_world_inside_out.html

all photos ©Ken Brown

BARBER SHOPS OF NYC

2011-07-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

Recently, I found it was time to drag my shaggy self in for a little trim. I had noticed in my files of NYC storefronts that barbershops, beside their idiosyncratic flair, consistently used the red. white and blue barber pole theme. I knew it had something to do with a historical connection to surgery. A little Googling about confirmed that in medieval times, beside haircutting, barbers performed surgery and the red and white colors referred to blood and bandages. Eventually

the surgical services were separated from the tonsorial arts and it is believed that by the late 19th century the addition of blue to the barber pole color scheme (in America) was done as a patriotic homage. Happy 4th.

all photos © Ken Brown

"BUZZ'

2011-06-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

Buzzzz...

CONEY ISLAND MERMAID PARADE

2011-06-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, some flawless early summer weather brought out thousands of mermaids and their free spirited friends for the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade ....

all photos ©Ken Brown

"PEOPLE PIX" NYC

2011-06-14T08:55:00.000-07:00

ah, people ... there are so many of them, and strangely, it has taken me forever to actually focus on the constant cavalcade of photo possibilities included in this daily parade.

all photos © Ken Brown

"BEELZABUG"

2011-06-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

beauty and the beast ...

©Ken Brown

MEAT STREET

2011-06-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

I was down at "the hole" (as in watering hole, or our description for Whole Foods), the other afternoon, and noticed the large lineup of people getting ready for holiday weekend cookouts. Here's a brief homage to "meat street"....

OK, this one is from Minneapolis

all photos©Ken Brown

"LAST SNAPS"

2011-05-23T18:27:00.000-07:00

here's a small batch of snaps from my last download before the end of the world ...

all photos ©Ken Brown

PHOTO OP CITY

2011-05-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

As we all know, NYC is one big photo op and warm weather brings out the camera wielding public in droves. As they attempt to record themselves (and occasional glimpses of the surrounding environment), the sheer jaw dropping volume of digital data that goes into this endeavor would have to be astounding. Here are a few small snippets ...

all photos ©Ken Brown

WHEAT PASTE-UPS

2011-05-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

Wheat paste has been a prime ingredient for putting up posters and ad flyers since the 19th

century. It has gained new meaning as a description for a certain style of street art that

uses this technique. Often of considerable size, and incredible intricacy, wheat paste ups are still one of my favorite forms of street art.

all photos ©Ken Brown

"BUSY PEOPLE IN THE BIG CITY"

2011-04-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

dental procedure on west 4th

all photos ©Ken Brown

"LOOKING DOWN"

2011-04-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

Perhaps this batch came about as a byproduct of some Spring cleaning, but I've been maintaining a file for some while, called, "looking down", and it reflects an ongoing fascination with urban detritus. As an amateur archeologist, I'm aware of the established principle of learning about cultures from the things they leave behind. I'm not quite sure what these images might tell future scientists, but they do continue to amuse and amaze as small transitional samplings of our present strange and patently absurd world.

ONE CREAM PIE

2011-04-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

AH, PARIS...

2011-04-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

ah Paris... What a gorgeous city, and there's no surprise that it remains a world class destination. Fantastic art, architecture, culture, cuisine and to lively up my hungry eyes, a prominent spot in the international street art scene...

AH, PARIS...

2011-04-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

5 POINTZ

2011-04-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

5 POINTZ

2011-04-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

Last week I learned that 5 Pointz, the block long icon and mecca of graffiti culture worldwide is slated for demolition and development as high rises. Rumors of its demise had circulated for some time, but now a formal redevelopment plan is being submitted, and (for now), actually includes a wall for artists to continue their craft as well as studio spaces.

The former warehouse space in Long Island City Queens has evolved since 1993 as an informal classroom and gallery for street artists from NY and around the world. It is an active and organic structure with a constantly changing surface. Ironically, it is across the street from PS 1, the MOMA subsidiary and serves as an interesting urban art juxtaposition. It is well worth checking out.

BODY PARTS NYC

2011-03-14T12:26:00.000-07:00

ARCHITECTURAL ODDITIES NYC

2011-03-01T07:45:00.000-08:00

I have always been fascinated by the stone carvings and terra cotta embellishments that decorate many of the 19th and early 20th century buildings of the city. Here is a small sampling of some of my favorites ...

214 W.29th I call it the "fur building"

51 Irving Place, near Gramercy Park

near Gramercy Park

Foliate heads, evolving in many separate and ancient cultures and are found in abundance on side streets of the upper West Side (home to many other amazing embellishments as well).

near Hunter College

City College- Amsterdam and W 138th This is one of the best collections of these architectural oddities in the city.

City College

81 Irving Place, near Gramercy Park

all photos ©Ken Brown

NOTES FROM THE SNOWZONE...

2011-02-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

all photos ©Ken Brown

VINTAGE VALENTINES

2011-02-14T15:22:00.000-08:00

ah, the language of love ...

all images ©Ken Brown

THEATER OF THE STREET

2011-02-07T08:33:00.000-08:00

I love the theater of the street with its ever changing sets and cast of characters ...

all photos ©Ken Brown

ISTANBUL part 2

2011-02-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

a few more snaps from our adventures in Istanbul ...

all photographs ©Ken Brown

ISTANBUL (3 weeks into 2011)

2011-02-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a small selection of snaps from our stay in Istanbul, a beautiful and vibrant city with great street life, art, architecture, history, and an overlay of old world hospitality and charm.... uh oh, beginning to sound like a commercial.

Of course we visited the major sites (the Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia, Topkapi, and the Grand Bazaar), but many favorite moments for my wandering eyes were found along the winding back street neighborhoods and markets off the tourist trail.

city of a million cats ...

   arriving a few days after Christmas, it was interesting to note a mini trend of "commando santas"
   rappelling down walls around the city ...

"let sleeping dogs lie" ....

HOMEGROWN GREETS

2010-12-20T19:10:00.000-08:00

The golden age of DIY Christmas cards was in the 40's, 50's and 60's, well before photoshop or animated greets and they reflect an ingenious home made spirit.
The top card was made by my parents circa the mid 40's and is joined by other examples of this great tradition.

have a Murray Xmas and a snappy holiday season ...

"SURREAL SANDWICH" department

2010-12-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

city windows and their reflections become the instant surreal sandwich department...

WINDOW SHOPPING

2010-12-06T07:31:00.000-08:00

As a country kid I've always been captivated by the bright lights and dazzle of the big burg. I include in that category the art of the window dresser. I came across these last week at Fishs Eddy, a favorite dinnerware store on lower Broadway. The owner, Julie Gaines has a first rate collection of of vintage thrift portraiture and it was put to good use for these seasonal windows.

"PORTRAITURE" from the streets

2010-11-29T06:53:00.000-08:00

Portraiture is, as always, a classic motif. Here is a small sampling from New York's always
abundant, gallery of the streets ...

"LET'S EAT" food art signage

2010-11-26T08:29:00.002-08:00

As we approach our national food centric holiday, enjoy these favorite samples of
hand rendered signage.

...and a Happy Thanksgiving to all! ...

2010-11-26T08:29:00.001-08:00

"AUNT GERT GETS DOWN"

2010-11-15T17:52:00.000-08:00

a little follow up to last weeks celebration of NYC's aerosol artistry ...

AEROSOL GRAFF IN NYC.

2010-11-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

Traditional aerosol graffiti began in NYC during the 70's, spreading out from the Bronx, across the five boroughs and eventually transforming into the global phenomena it has become today. Some of the finest examples of this art can still be found in pockets around the city, especially in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.. Last week I watched a small crew working a long factory wall in the Bronx. Kids would pull up on bikes and skateboards to watch the masters (and local heros) as they balanced on stepladders with little more than a rough sketch, creating intricate freehand pieces that would often stretch 15 to 20 feet in width and height. Hats off to them!

"OPEN MIKE NIGHT" AT THE COMEDY SHACK

2010-11-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

"TRICK OR TREAT"- Vintage Halloween Snapshots

2010-10-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

Halloween, the favorite national holiday of dentists, kids, pagans and party goers is sliding up quickly.
Here is a small snapshot selection of kids in treat seeking missile mode ...

HALLOWEEN POSTCARDS

2010-10-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

during the golden epoch of postcard history (roughly 1900-1920) millions of holiday greetings were sent . As a lover of all things Halloween, here are few samples of some of the fantastical illustrations that emerged during that era.

Harvest time...

2010-10-11T18:42:00.000-07:00

the "Flying Zambini's" Yard Sale

2010-10-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

two of my favorite things are "found" snapshots and street photos. Here, they collide in a recent series of recombinant absurdity...

"QUIRKBALL PIX"

2010-09-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

from the "quirkball" file of things observed in recent months ...

SAN GENNARO FESTIVAL, LITTLE ITALY

2010-09-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

can't help it, but I've always been drawn to the sights, smells and sheer hoopla and weirdness of carnivals. In NYC, the closest we come is the annual "fried dough" festival better known as San Gennaro in Little Italy, now in it's 84th year. I stumbled across the opening ceremony this past week, and after briefly watching six grown men grapple with the intestinal challenges of a cannoli eating contest, and being mesmerized by some stellar signage, I got swept up in the spirit ...

QUIET MOMENTS IN A BUSY CITY ...

2010-09-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

LABOR DAY

2010-09-08T06:51:00.000-07:00

in honor of Labor Day, and hard working people everywhere ...

STREET SIGNAGE BY LEONARD, UNION CITY, NJ.

2010-08-31T19:26:00.000-07:00

Last week, I ventured over to Union City NJ. for a friends birthday. I returned the next day to do some bike explorations and came across a whole cache of great work in one of my favorite categories, hand painted signage. All of these were done by a local artist who signed

his work, "Leonard". Hats off to him!

People Pix

2010-08-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

from the series of 8 million stories in the Naked City .... I am fascinated by the seemingly

infinite variety of juxtaposition possibilities that occur with the city as graphic backdrop ...

OUR ANIMAL FRIENDS

2010-08-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

TAT CITY

2010-08-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

There's a heat wave in the city and the tats are out and about. Here are a few
of the more unusual specimens ...

TATTOO-LA-LA

2010-08-09T19:46:00.000-07:00

NYC STREET ART

2010-08-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

This is a brief homage to all the street artists (anonymous and otherwise) who continue to engage, amuse, enliven, and enrich our daily lives with their wonderful work.

2010-08-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

STRIKINGLY STRANGE PIX

2010-07-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

the seance went terribly wrong ...

an internet cafe in Brooklyn

Hillary Clinton resigns from the State Department and starts a

carpet cleaning service in Queens.

NYC PHOTO-OP CAPITAL

2010-07-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

"JUST LIKE I PICTURED IT, SKYSCRAPERS AND EVERYTHING ..."

2010-07-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

Stevie Wonder from "Livin' for the City"

2010-07-07T13:31:00.001-07:00

2010-07-07T13:30:00.001-07:00

2010-07-07T13:29:00.002-07:00

2010-07-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

2010-07-07T13:28:00.001-07:00

2010-07-07T13:27:00.001-07:00

2010-07-07T13:26:00.001-07:00

A GIGA-GLORIOUS FOURTH OF JULY

2010-06-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

As an eleven year old boy growing up in Amherst. Mass., fireworks were the coin of the kingdom and would warrant serious trade chips for even a few fire crackers, pop bottle rockets, or in a rare moment of good fortune, some cherry bombs or M-80's. My good friend Deb, who shares this love,( but more for the display variety), managed to acquire a stock equivalent of

Montezuma's ransom to a country kid of long ago.. Here are a few excerpts from the catalog.... and a very short list of titles: BLING BLING, THE WHOLE SHEBANG, THE NEW HOTNESS,

ONE PERFECT THING, VENGEFUL TEXAN, HICKTOWN HEAVEN, PYRO GYRO, ECSTASY, OSAMA'S TURBAN BOMB, YEAH BABY YEAH, and DA BIG BOX O' BOMBS.

Have a Giga-Gorgeous 4th ...

2010-06-29T07:16:00.001-07:00

2010-06-29T07:15:00.003-07:00

2010-06-29T07:15:00.001-07:00

2010-06-29T07:14:00.001-07:00

2010-06-29T07:13:00.002-07:00

2010-06-29T07:13:00.000-07:00

RANDOMNESS IN NYC.

2010-06-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

My friend, Patty, once wondered if it could be said that randomness is the weird uncle of invention. Well, I have no doubt about that, and in fact am amused and amazed by the constant cavalcade of randomness that seems to present itself during my various ramblings about in NYC.

a few recent samples:

2010-06-10T19:50:00.001-07:00

2010-06-10T19:49:00.001-07:00

2010-06-10T19:48:00.003-07:00

2010-06-10T19:48:00.001-07:00

2010-06-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

SOME SNAPPY STOREFRONTS

2010-05-31T19:34:00.000-07:00

Here are a few slices from a new file on some of the storefronts and businesses that make

NYC. an endlessly entertaining retail romp.

2010-05-31T19:32:00.000-07:00

2010-05-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

the GODFREYS

2010-05-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

Occasionally, when i'm foraging for snapshots at the flea market, I will come across a whole album that will present a poignant portrait of some small part of a life. Recently, I came across just such a treasure with an intact album that described with snapshots and handbills, a family (father and daughter) vaudeville act that travelled through small towns in the American West during the teens and twenties. Many thanks to Larry Baumhor for allowing access to this gem.

the GODFREYS

2010-05-24T18:51:00.001-07:00