Street Art

It wasn’t all that long ago that the neighborhood of Manhattan above 23rd street on the West Side, west of 10th Avenue that is, was known primarily for transvestite hookers, cheap warehouse space and some of the scariest bottom end dive bars in New York. On some of the neighborhood’s better blocks you could find all three. Then came the Great Art Gallery migration of the 90’s, trendy restaurants followed and, well………. You can figure.

 Anyway, last week I was on my way home after spending the afternoon photographing our annual neighborhood S&M Street Fair. It was Sunday and the galleries were closed. Leather guys filled the sidewalk cafes and pizzerias and everybody pretended not to notice. It was a typical afternoon. Then I passed this wall. It is the work of a Brazilian “street artist” who goes by the name of Kobra. He didn’t speak much English, but he didn’t have to. The piece is huge and it is spectacular. It is better than anything you will find in most of the galleries. You can see it at the intersection of 26th Street and 10th Avenue. It is a reminder – should you need one - of what makes New York City the coolest place in the world. Kobra was still working on it.

   A bit more about Kobra: Brazil’s One & Only Kobra » Gozamos