04.10.06
Posted in art, crack, graffiti, keith haring, murals, new york, new york city, procrasturbation, whitney houston at 12:40 am by admin
In terms of turning graffiti into a respected art form, I can’t think of any well-known artist that had more of an impact than Keith Haring (1958-1990). Haring’s “Barking Dog” is hanging over my bed, and one of his famous untitled “crowd” prints is the main piece of focus in my living room. I find myself drawn to the simplicity, the day-glo colors, and the cultural significance of the pieces.
While I lived in the New York metro area, I never got a chance to go and see any of Haring’s famous murals, but during my random web-surfing procrasturbation yesterday, I came across one that I had never even seen photos of before, titled crack is wack. This double-sided mural was painted in 1986 on a handball court at 128th St. and 2nd Avenue, and is still there today.
Besides the obvious Whitney Houston images that the mural’s catchphrase evokes, there was something about this public project that amused and inspired me. In an unrelated yet convenient crossing of coincidences, I was playing with Adobe Illustrator CS2, which has new features called Live Trace and Live Paint, which allow for the easy transposing of bitmap images into vector paths.
With some contrast adjustment, an hour or two of tweaking, I ended up coming up with an interpretation of crack is wack for my desktop that pleases me. I decided to use Live Paint to fill in some of the bright day-glo colors that Haring is known for, and added some reflection and depth to make it a little more interesting and eye-catching.
Tags: art, crack, graffiti, keith haring, murals, new york, new york city, procrasturbation, whitney houston
Permalink
03.20.06
Posted in shopping, new york, gadgets, iPod, rant, subway at 11:24 pm by admin
One habit I brought with me from the East Coast involves walking around in public places with my iPod, Shure E3c earbuds inserted deep into my ears, listening to music or podcasts while I go about my business.
In New York City, this was really nothing strange. One out of every three people on the bus, subway, or street would be plugged into an entertainment device of some sort. I think it may be a side effect of New Yorkers’ notorious anti-social mentality. It is a city, after all, where you’re advised not to look anyone in the eye on the subway.
I discovered early in my iPod-listening days that walking around constantly plugged in also can have its dangers. For instance, you can’t hear someone approaching you from behind, or (in my case) the subway zooming up along the track beside the platform that you’re walking dangerously close to. Feeling the train graze my elbow when I didn’t even hear it coming woke me up to the danger very quickly.
Now that I’m in California, the iPod-walk takes on a whole new meaning. I now plug myself into music even while I’m shopping at Target. While everyone else is listening to screaming children, arguing couples, and other generally annoying people, I’m enjoying the Pet Shop Boys.
People seem quite puzzled by my behavior, though. They walk up to me and start asking if I need help, or asking me other various questions, and I have to slowly remove my earbuds and ask them to repeat the question. Usually it’s something completely irrelevant, boring, or obnoxious, and I just go back to listening to my music.
For those of you who haven’t experienced this yet, try it! You’ll be shocked at how much more tolerable a trip to Fry’s is when you can’t hear it.
Tags: iPod, new york, rant, shopping, subway
Permalink