"POSE-A-PALOOZA" NYC

I can’t seem to shake my fascination with the

ongoing NYC pose-a-palooza ...

aliens in Willyburg...

Nolita

kicking out the jams on the Brooklyn Bridge

Mom get's the shot of friendly technicolor rats in Times Square

first selfie stick observed

and later on Coney Island

also at Coney Island

except in pix

at the Met

getting intimate with the art at Coney Island Art Walls

and lastly, a souvenir selfie portrait with a NYC turd

all photos ©Ken Brown

HALLOWEEN NYC

          I sometimes wonder what travelers to NYC who were unaware

          of the transformational national holiday of Halloween, might 

          make of it.

sugared out kid takes a break

blue sharks cruise the East Village

God bless the kid with a home made costume

checking the loot with little bro

all photos ©Ken Brown

"BIGGEST SELFIE"

Over the past few years, when passing through Times Square, I always pause to watch the worlds biggest selfie in action.  A huge billboard screen (with various commercial enticements) also contains a lens focused on a modest plot of space at the "crossroads of the world”. As groups of tourists anxiously await their moment to see and be seen, the big screen interrupts the commercial to present a wide view of the audience below. They immediately explode into smiles, laughter, waves and the ubiquitous snapping of photos.  I love watching this small ritual of unadulterated joy.

the anticipation...

the joy...

the huge, 40x60ft. interactive billboard

all photos ©Ken Brown

"VERTICAL PIE"

                              some recent selections from the vertical pie...

Staten Island

Chelsea flea

Bushwick

Bed Stuy

Amtrak

Evolution Chinatown

"Uni-colonel" on Broadway

and a lazy Sunday in Columbus Circle

all photos ©Ken Brown

"PAINT-PAK"

A little paint-pak amusement to study and enjoy...

animation ©Ken Brown

HAND PAINTED SIGNS NYC

Last week, a friend, gave me  a tip on a great old sign she had seen out on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn. Of course, this fed into my ongoing obsession with hand painted signs and I went out right away. The "right away" part is the result of too many instances of arriving after something has been torn down,painted over, or just disappeared. Unfortunately, this is all too 
familiar with old painted signs as well as the many small businesses affected by the churning gentrification everywhere. 

All of this does make me appreciate even more the idiosyncratic humor and artistry of so much in the urban landscape that has survived.

Here's a small batch from the past year …

all photos ©Ken Brown

"LOOP DE LOOP"

          "Loop de loop"

                                                  animation ©Ken Brown

ARE YOU GOLDSWORTHY?

Recently, we had the good fortune of attending a weekend event in upstate NY called, ARE YOU GOLDSWORTHY?

The exercises involved the creation of artwork that used living and natural materials, (fieldstone, leaves, thorns, flowers,water etc.) much in the spirit of Andy Goldsworthy, the noted British artist who uses much of the same in his wondrous, and often extremely ephemeral productions.

The weekend was a project of Franklin Chthonics, <franklinchtonics.com>, an organization in upstate NY. that creates events and spaces to improve our understanding and appreciation of how the natural and social history of woods, waters, fields and structures can work in a particular location.

all photos ©Ken Brown

              and a bonus animation of a house devoured by hydrangeas by Lisa Crafts at https://vimeo.com/138469320