You Are Already Free - East Village, NYC

Spotted this phrase sharpied on a storefront gate in the East Village last night, on my birthday. (Would actually make a good tag...)

"You Are Already Free"

Update on Words and Threading, aes.50 - Relocation from Brooklyn to Belfast (ME)

Showed Omma the tag during a stroll around Dumbo one Sunday.

A few days later, I let my friend Erica, who was visiting from Maine, steal the tag. She makes work involving thread and fiber, so it seemed fitting that she'd steal this particular one. 

 Erica sent me this photo of the tag tied up in her studio. I like imagining it fluttering in front of the window there.

Erica also wrote a haiku inspired by the tag. It's in the comments of the original post:

http://aes-tags.blogspot.com/2012/09/words-and-threading-water-st-dumbo-aes50.html#comment-form 

I love knowing the story of this tag. Usually they disappear and I don't know where they end up.

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Words and Threading - Water St. Dumbo, aes.50

Picking up the

prettiest words and

threading them all

together.

aes.50
Empire Stores building on Water St. in Dumbo, Brooklyn
September 22, 2012, 10:20am

I love this block-long stretch which has evolved into a veritable street art gallery. The hulkingly huge building, now closed up, was a warehouse built in the 19th century.

The sentence on the tag appeared fully-formed in my head after a nap one day.

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Treated to Molecular - Bridge St., aes.51

Tomorrow night she
would be treated
to molecular gastronomy.

aes. 51
Water St. near Bridge St., Dumbo, Brooklyn
September 20, 2012, 11:50pm

This tag was written the day before I was treated to a wonderful dinner at WD-50 by P & K. Fascinatingly yum. 


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What It Was - Manhattan Bridge Archway, aes.55

"When they asked me 
what it was for, 
I said it was 
for them."

aes.55
Manhattan Bridge Archway, Dumbo, Brooklyn
September 16, 2012, 8:00pm

This tag quotes from Jane Kaufmann's new book. It's in reference to the "city in sand" she built with participation from other artists and passers-by on Hampton Beach in the '70s. The spirit of that public project resonates with me. I feel the same way about my tags.

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Tags 50-55

A fresh batch for late summer.

Appearing soon on a railing or standpipe near you (maybe)! 

When People Die - York St. Station, aes. 41

I hate it

when people

die.

aes.41

York St. F Train station

July 4, 2012, 1:35am

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She is Looking - 55 Washington Dumbo, aes.48+49

Was she looking 

at me, 

or looking at 

that guy? 

She is looking 

at you 

every time.

aes.48 + aes.49

Ramp outside 55 Washington in Dumbo

June 24, 2012, 2:15pm

This is the first intentional PAIR of tags, like a diptych. I hung them a few feet apart, from left to right.

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Houses in the Sidewalk

Spotted today this row of little houses inlaid into the gooey grout between two tiles of sidewalk. 

Outside 55 Washington in Dumbo.

An Anklet Of - 9th Street, aes.44

Wading into the 

brook, an

anklet of ice.

aes.44

Tree planted on East 9th St. btw 1st and 2nd Ave., outside of Decibel

June 15, 2012, 8:20pm

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Was Pouring There - Superfine, aes.30

Outside the rain
was pouring.
There would be
puddles tomorrow.

aes. 30
Dumbo, outside Superfine on Front St.
June 7, 2012, 11:00pm 


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Their Ideas Were - Water St. Dumbo, aes.47

Was there any other

way to tell 'em

their ideas were

crap?

aes.47

Dumbo, Water Street between Main and Dock

April 21, 2012, 4:00pm

This is one of those out-of-the-blue phrases that are more about a mood or character (Mad Men?) than a specific target. It is not, for example, a commentary on the surrounding street tags, which I love.

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She Just Loved - Brooklyn Bridge Park Rosebush, aes.45

Or maybe,

like me,

she just

loved flowers.

aes.45

Brooklyn Bridge Park, rosebush 

April 21, 2012, 3:30pm

A nod to my great aunt and great grandmother today.

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Way He Wrote - Henry St., aes.46

The tortured curves

of the "S"s

in the way he

wrote her name.

 

aes.46

April 20, 2012, 9:05pm

Chair outside Hibino on Henry and Pacific, Brooklyn

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What Does Writing - Main St., aes. 26

"What
does
writing
fix?"

aes.26

April 13, 2012, 12:55am

Standpipe outside Powerhouse Books, Main St., Dumbo.

Been carrying this one around a while. It's a phrase that has obsessed me since my first (and only) creative writing class (at NYU) taught by the wonderful writer Chuck Wachtel. Great class. Maybe never quite got over it...

Chose location yesterday afternoon, but too many folks around. Pics taken by my cousin, whose hand is in the first shot. Thanks, cuz!!

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Tags 44-49

Made these tonight:

I have a PAIR in mind for the first time with this set. The last two tags (48 and 49) can be taken separately or read as sort of vague (and intentionally atonal) dialogue: "Was she looking at me, or looking at that guy?" "She is looking at you every time."

Used the Royal again to "stamp" the backs. Really funny to type a URL with a machine you don't have to switch off! Also, I got a new gold paint pen, and some new tags from an old-school stationers near Columbia University. The tags are only so-so -- they all have a narrow roller mark or something in the middle. Oh well, they'll do. 

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Mosaic Benches in Harlem

Wandering around Riverside Church earlier this spring, I came upon this wondrous mosaic bench ringing Grant's Tomb.

The vision of Cuban-American artist Pedro Silva, the benches were commissioned in 1972 by CITYarts and the National Park Service. They were handmade by artists and community volunteers. Read more here.

They could use some care and repair, yet nevertheless these benches inspire me. There is so much love and fun and playfulness in them. At the same time, they radiate an important, rich significance, representing a city's efforts decades ago to mend and unite its diverse communities. 

Me So Hard - Washington St., aes.39

"Why does your

company make me

so hard?!" he

angrily misspoke.

 

aes.39

March 12, 2012, 7:02pm

Outside of Rice on Washington St. between York and Front. 

The phrase is one yelled into the phone by my uncle-in-law, a non-native speaker of English, who was having trouble with a vendor for his business. It was hilarious.

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A Good Wednesday - Lafayette St., aes.40

Make it a good

Wednesday

for yourself and others.

 

aes.40

Feb. 28, 2012, 7:15pm

Petrosino Square, Lafayette btw Spring and Kenmare

The phrase on this tag was repeated several times by a subway conductor on the morning shift along the 2/3 line one Wednesday a few weeks back.

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Change What You - Moore St. near Bogart, aes.38

You cannot change

what you love.

aes.38

Feb. 26, 2012, 11:30am

Left end of gate lock bar, outside of Roberta's in Bushwick 

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Hat Tip to Gothamist!

Many thanks to Garth Johnston at Gothamist for posting about aes-tags yesterday!

Clever Artist is Literally Tagging New York

 I greatly appreciate how accurately he represented the project, and that he called me "clever" (*blushing!!*)

I'm also amused by some of the comments. (Watch out Sistine Chapel, I might tag you next... while on my way back to Ohio, naturally...!)

 

Super flattering and exciting to be recognized -- thank you again!

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Moveness, Stillment - Manhattan Bridge Archway, aes.42

Movement and stillness.

Moveness, stillment.

Movestill. 

(For M.K.M.)

aes.42

Feb. 20, 2012, 4:04pm

Bench in Manhattan Bridge Archway.

A Real Letter - Front and Adams, aes.43

A real letter in the

mail, with a

handsome Ronald

Reagan stamp. 

aes.43

Feb. 20, 2012, 4:00pm

Railing outside of Forager's, corner of Front and Adams

Tags 38-43 (& Introducing Royal)

Made these tonight:

 

Gold paint pen went dry midway. Need to get a new one. Good reason to go to Stevedan on 6th, my favorite stationary store. I need more blank tags too and they usually have them there.

Changed up the format a little tonight. My old Royal recently made its way back onto my desk, so I took it for a spin. Used it to print the blog url on the backs of the tags. I like how it looks better than the pencil writing I've been using:

I found it vicerally delightful and weird to type the word "blog" on a typewriter -- try it if you have one.

Unlike most of the groups of tags I've written before, this group is sort of also a set unto itself because 5 of the 6 relate directly to things I've overheard or read or thought in the last week or two. And they almost connect to each other, as well as to another tag that I've been carrying around but have not "published" yet. It feels a little bit like a story could be forming, but I'm not sure I want that. Maybe will explain more as they are published.

(Maybe I'm just reading too much Murakami... I'm 60% of the way through 1Q84...)