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