ANIMAL » Houston Street

Kenny Scharf’s Off the Wall Mural Complete

Marina Galperina — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:47:25 +0000

Here is Kenny Scharf’s finished mural at the “Hole Wall” (You like that?) on Houston Street, with all the psychotic sardined cartoon faces intact and untagged, glistening in the rain. It’s pretty much open season, thought the artist isn’t worried any. Get closer.

(Photos: Marina Galperina/ANIMAL New York)

Artist Doesn’t Expect Vandals to Destroy His Mural

Bucky Turco — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:29:36 +0000

This weekend, I stopped by Houston Street and briefly spoke to Kenny Scharf while he took a quick break from painting his mural, which wasn’t sketched out beforehand. “I started with the red nose, and then just started filling in the spaces,” he said. The whole piece should be finished by no later than Tuesday and when asked if he thought graffiti writers would vandalize it, Scharf didn’t sound too worried.

“No, I’m not Shepard Fairey. Not to knock him or anything, but I’m not putting up wallpaper made safely in a studio.” In the event that someone does tag it, the art world veteran said he would fix it, assuming he’s around as he’ll be traveling over the next few months. “If I’m in town, sure. But I’m not going to fly out special.” (Photo: ANIMALNewYork)

Onlookers Give Artist Mural Support

Bucky Turco — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 20:01:33 +0000

Kenny Scharf’s mural on Houston Street is starting to come to life in the form of trippy faces oozing off the wall like good LSD. Here’s a photo of him working on the wall earlier today. (Photo: @Drew Malcom/twitpic)

Also: check out this hyper-short video offering a fleeting glance of the artist that was uploaded to flickr yesterday.

Vandal Protests BP With Mild Vandalism

Bucky Turco — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:24:48 +0000

The same BP gas station in Soho that was briefly occupied by activists dressed as marine animals last week, was also pranked by someone who smeared paint on their sign, creating a real life entry for Greenpeace’s BP logo redesign contest. Although it would have been cooler if actual oil from the spill was used, it still begs the question: Shouldn’t the owner consider cleaning the sign as opposed to asking BP for a new one? They seem to be a little occupied at the moment. |Photo: johanlammers| UPDATE: Cleaned!

Deitch Wall Prepped (and Already Bombed) for Shepard Fairey

Bucky Turco — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:42:54 +0000

Like Keith Haring before them, Os Gêmeos is no more…on Houston Street. Their colorfully explosive mural was ~~buffed~~ preserved with a fully renovated wall that’s all smoothed out and ready for Shepard Fairey’s upcoming wheatpaste. Until then, graffiti pair MIRF are keeping it company.

Photo: ANIMALNewYork

Keith Haring’s Houston Street Mural Whitewashed

Will Sherman — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:22:15 +0000

The Keith Haring tribute mural at the corner of Bowery and Houston Street is getting whitewashed today, the latest blow to the corridor’s public paintings. Unveiled last May in honor of Haring’s 50th birthday, the recreation of a shortlived 1982 piece at the same corner was commissioned by the Keith Haring Foundation, Deitch Projects and Goldman Properties, the owner of the tiny sliver of wall. It was only planned to last through this past December, which would have still been months longer than the original piece. The only question now is, what’s next for the wall? There are more than a few artists who could take care of sprucing up the blank wall, even in broad daylight. Update: Brazilian artists Os Gemeos are painting the wall next.
Photo by Emahn Ray