As you may have heard, the Bushwick neighborhood, in the center of northern Brooklyn, New York City, is a canvas, its building walls, doors, columns and fences all waiting eagerly to wear the artists’ paint. The artists–some better than others–have come and painted, re-painted, and painted some more; some seriously, some not, sometimes with permission, sometimes not. Traveling through Bushwick, even quickly, is intriguing for its cultural diversity, blocks and blocks of ramshackle residential and industrial buildings, mixed with recent renovations, new buildings, interesting shops, and for its street-by-street gallery of street art!
Some Bushwick walls, fences and paintings are large spaces, and the paintings on them are amazing for the planning they must have required, and the sheer amount of paint used to cover them. Some doors, gates, columns and poles are interesting for the subjects painted on them, and often for the clever incorporation of an architectural element into the painting(s). Some of the art is freaky and weird, some powerful and emotional, some just clever or funny.
Over the past year-and-a-half, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Bushwick often to see my son, as he moved into one of those ramshackle residential buildings (I think it was um…illegal, actually!), then out and into a fabulous, gut-rehabbed modern building with amenities and a bunch of roommates. As often as I could–despite the complaints and eye-rolling of my companions–I would stop walking, or stop the car, and photograph the street art and graffiti all around Bushwick. Sometimes I would take two shots of the same place, 1-2 months apart, and the painting was partially or completely changed!
Below, is a gallery of street art and graffiti images–a small sample–seen during roughly 8-10 visits to Bushwick over 18 months. Much of it will be gone or changed by the time you visit, because Bushwick’s street art and artists are dynamic, constantly changing, evolving and devolving, limited only by imagination, and funds to buy paint. So, if you’re into urban, street art and graffiti, visit often, as the Bushwick canvas is painted, modified, vandalized, and re-painted…
Click any image to view full-screen:
russ murray 