Well known and regarded photographer and documentarian of the graffiti and Street Art scene, Luna Park has a voracious appetite for combing the bushy overgrown abandoned areas in the margins of our urban landscape in search of a perfect tag, throwie, burner. An enthusiastic and knowledgeable expert on the graffiti scene, her thousands of images made her a lot of Internet friends and fans when Flickr blew up and she now authors The Street Spot with Becki Fuller. Today Luna tells us about a spring ’13 adventure she had that included a trip to the rail yards in New Orleans.
Read. New Orleans 2013. (photo © Luna Park)
READ in New Orleans
~Luna ParkIn early spring of 2013, I made a pilgrimage to New Orleans. The trip marked the end of a year of personal hardship and it was important to celebrate this milestone by escaping from New York. New Orleans had been on my mind since my last visit in 1993.
I was eager to reconnect with this special place in American history, to finally meet in person kindred spirits I’d previously only known online, and to hunt down as much graffiti as possible within a short timeframe. New Orleans was eye opening, a contradiction in terms, at once deeply ravaged and depressed, yet at the same time vibrant and full of life.
The rail lines which make up the backbone of the city are visually and also very much audibly omnipresent. Standing on an overpass overlooking this massive freight yard was a strangely euphoric experience. There were unfettered sight lines to several (!) entirely new-to-me Read pieces. And as a student of graffiti history and a closet rail nerd, the proximity to so many freight trains – the modern day successors to the painted NYC subways – filled me with tremendous awe and respect. Watching these steel behemoths come and go was a beautiful and for me very necessary reminder that life carries on – cherish it and embrace the beauty around you.
The rail lines which make up the backbone of the city are visually and also very much audibly omnipresent. Standing on an overpass overlooking this massive freight yard was a strangely euphoric experience. There were unfettered sight lines to several (!) entirely new-to-me Read pieces. And as a student of graffiti history and a closet rail nerd, the proximity to so many freight trains – the modern day successors to the painted NYC subways – filled me with tremendous awe and respect. Watching these steel behemoths come and go was a beautiful and for me very necessary reminder that life carries on – cherish it and embrace the beauty around you.
A very heartfelt thank you to Steve and Jaime for their ongoing friendship and support!
Artist: Read
Location: New Orleans, 2013.
#13from2013
Check out our Brooklyn Street Art 2013 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo here.
<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA
Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
Talking With Crash About Popeye and The Houston Wall
He first wrote “Crash” on New York streets and trains in 1974 but he still finds ways to entertain and challenge himself artistically. Now managing a successful gallery career that has him globe trott...
He first wrote “Crash” on New York streets and trains in 1974 but he still finds ways to entertain and challenge himself artistically. Now managing a successful gallery career that has him globe trott...
Jeice2 Brings 2 Wild Wolves in Gerena, Spain
Jeice 2 checks in the with the animal kingdom as he starts a new series he'll call "Savage Planet". The street artist has experimented with a variety of styles on the street over the last year includ...
Jeice 2 checks in the with the animal kingdom as he starts a new series he'll call "Savage Planet". The street artist has experimented with a variety of styles on the street over the last year includ...
Pop Culture at Citric Festival in Torreblanca, Spain
Celebrity, photorealism, illustration, fantasy, spectacle. These have always been part of popular art culture and have had an increasingly strong representation in Street Art culture, particularly in ...
Celebrity, photorealism, illustration, fantasy, spectacle. These have always been part of popular art culture and have had an increasingly strong representation in Street Art culture, particularly in ...
BSA & Beyond The Streets: A Conversation with Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
You are invited Thursday to join BSA Founders Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo for a very special BSA TALKS program with the conscience-raising and conscious Street Artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh as ...
You are invited Thursday to join BSA Founders Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo for a very special BSA TALKS program with the conscience-raising and conscious Street Artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh as ...
New Video for Project M/3 at UN Site in Berlin
Here's a fresh video (below) completed yesterday that shows a little of the excitement and machinations behind the scenes of the Project M/3 in Berlin, as well as dramatic foreshadowing of the UN. Dir...
Here's a fresh video (below) completed yesterday that shows a little of the excitement and machinations behind the scenes of the Project M/3 in Berlin, as well as dramatic foreshadowing of the UN. Dir...