Street Art in NYC: Weathering Storms, Fending Off Predators

In New York City, unlike London, Chicago, and San Francisco, the art on the streets has a longer run. Street Artists love to get up in New York and come from all over the world and the rest of the country for the experience of it. The city has plenty of walls and the artists know that if they are lucky to get up their pieces can stay there for weeks or even years without being disturbed. If the piece survives predators or the capricious moods of New York weather, time will add a natural depth to the art. These pieces don’t simply surrender their character, they aggregate it, eventually attaining an aura of invincibility.

Some stencils acquire an ore patina against the rusted metal that is a wonder to behold, a finish that decorative painters strive for years to achieve. Layers of paint begin to peel and give the art a sense of movement and life. Wheat-pastes that survive summer storms and winter Nor’easters are imbued with a new whimsical life as they curl, buckle, shred: starting their transformation and ultimate disappearance.

Street art is ephemeral but it can also be resilient; a metamorphosis that, when underway, is always fascinating and pleasure to see. We present here pieces that have endured many a storm and lived to tell a story.

Gaia (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Gaia. Detail  (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

C215 (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
C215 (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Faile (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Faile (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cake (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Cake (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Elbow Toe (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Elbow Toe . Detail.  (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pink Silhouette (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pink Silhouette (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Con Cojo (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Con Cojo (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gaia (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Gaia. Detail (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

General Howe (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
General Howe (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Swoon. Detail  (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Elbow Toe (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Elbow Toe (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Imminent Disaster (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Imminent Disaster (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Spazmat (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Spazmat (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jef Aerosol (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jef Aerosol (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Faile (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Faile (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Imminent Disaster. Detail (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Imminent Disaster. Detail (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Swoon. Detail  (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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