"Joan of Arc" 2010 by Slavery



"Hand of Doom" 1980 by Seen

There was a really great article in The Arts section of the New York Times yesterday about graffiti. Living in New York City, graffiti begins to fade into the landscape, but the truth is, it's a huge part of the culture. A few weeks ago, the graffiti collective Slavery created a piece entitled "Joan of Arc" on the side of a warehouse along the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY. This piece pays homage to a 1980 work by artist Seen (known as the "Godfather of Graffiti") entitled to "Hand of Doom," that covered an entire number 6 train car. These "historical revival" pieces have been showing up all over Brooklyn and Manhattan-all by different artists honoring those who paved the way for them.


Here are some of my favorite graffiti artists:




British artist Banksy is probably one of the most infamous names in the graffiti world. His work has a sense of dark humour and satire. The above piece is on the Bristol Museum in England.





A disused road tunnel in South London was transformed into "an oasis of beautiful art" after Banksy got a hold of it.





Artist Victor Gastelum creates pieces like the above "Guy With Pin In His Mouth" using spray-paint and stencils on aluminum





Here's another of Gastelum's mixed-media pieces entitled "Nervous Guy"





Photojournalist Martha Cooper is best known for her photographs documenting the New York graffiti scene.





Cooper befriended many of the street artists in the 1970's and 80's.

Some of you (hopefully most of you!) may remember Volume 1 of Laura Day Making Rooms For Living that featured my Park Avenue apartment. The above image is a sitting area I had off of the Living Room that featured a piece of art from an artist that I LOVE-Patte Loper. As our next volume is all about art, artists, and curating, I've found myself frequenting Artnet.com, 1stDibs.com, and websites from just about every gallery in New York City. Much to my delight, I found out that Miss Loper happens to be showing some of her new pieces at the Lyons Wier Gallery in Chelsea, NY.

Click here to see her pieces as well as the work of other artists that Lyons Wier Gallery represent. Also, if you're in Manhattan, stop by to see these pieces in person!





You Run Through Here With Your Words of Sand Acrylic and oil on paper, 17 x 22 inches





While My Heart Is Still Beating acrylic and oil on paper, 16 x 22 inches





Until I Hear You Sigh Here Acrylic and oil on paper, 17 x 22 inches





The Sky is Burning, the Sea Aflame Acrylic and oil on paper, 16 x 22 inches





We Had Pierced the Veneer of Outside Things and Scattered into a Diaspora of the Amazing Oil on paper, 80.5 x 58 inches





We're the Restless Hearted, Not the Chained and Bound Acrylic and oil on paper, 16 x 22 inches





I Can Hear Your Laughter, See Your Smile Acrylic and oil on paper, 22 x 17 inches





We're Too Young to Reason, Too Grown Up to Dream Acrylic and oil on paper, 16 x 22 inches