On Christmas, artist Sam Bassett, who is known for using tape outdoors in interesting ways, put up a lengthy piece high above Houston Street at the Bowery and it has some serious significance behind it. He explained its surprisingly deep meaning to EV Grieve:

I placed it there because its a central point in Manhattan, the poles line up to form the triangle…The triangle points East which represents the direction the world rotates. When we meditate in silence we face East in honor of this fact. The triangle in the sky is meant to calm, protect and inspire. To do more with less. To translate the power of reinvention and stillness. To showcase the hidden space in between, when utilized, open great possibilities of life. This ribbon sculpture is my interpretation of a Tibetan Prayer Flag. For unity and wisdom.

(Photo: EV Grieve)

Whereas most vandals are content sidebusting or going over noteworthy pieces, Sam Bassett tries to top them. The recently arrested street artist taped his signature symbol high above the Os Gêmeos mural painted this summer on the corner of Houston Street and Bowery. Lest you wonder how he reached such great heights, an accomplice filmed Bassett scooting back and forth along the wall, suspended by a rope.

Photo via Unurth

What with all the artists working in tape, it’s no surprise that the medium and method continues being used for commercial purposes. A new video for Vampire Weekend’s “Cousins” features what appears to be the work of Aakash Nihilani, but is not according to the Village Voice.

Some street art enthusiasts are chagrined that the production didn’t pay, or get permission from, the tape-laying artist to mask off Cortlandt Alley in similarly simple fluorescent designs. Other anonymous commenters are debating which permutation of artists Aakash Nihilani, Sam Bassett and Vampire Weekend, ripped off whom.

Meanwhile, 3M is sponsoring a competition for sculptors working with Scotch-brand tape, giving everyone a chance to cash in. Plastic polar bear-making artist Mark Jenkins has even been brought on to judge the winner of the $5k prize in the “Off the Roll Tape Sculpture Contest.”

But the night was still a success: Bassett spent a street-cred bolstering 20-hours in jail before a judge dropped trespassing charges and the Post wrote up his installation effort. |NYP|

Photos by Sam Bassett

While Aaskash Nihalani is off getting unstuck internationally, there’s still another tape-laying street artist in town. A photographer by day, Sam Bassett masks off Manhattan by night, hitting billboards and walls with his geometric designs. Basset has also gone aerial: on 23rd Street between 7th and 8th Avenue, he strung the light posts with fluorescent tape, an installation he quixotically describes as “zig zagging back and forth like life. Or civilization. Or the universe.” |Unurth|

Photos by Sam Bassett