190 Bowery is the renegade of the neighborhood. It sits perched at the junction of Spring St and The Bowery on New York's Lower East Side and has been a legitimate canvas for street artists for decades. It is a record of urban identity. Tags from 1960 sit side by side with works from today, mingling with soot stains and the markings of age.
There is a respect that street artists have for their environment and their fellow artists. Not only do they consider the aesthetics of the building's facade and it's surroundings when adding their work, they consider the art of the person that has gone before. There is an unspoken law, if it's good it stays, if it's passe' it'll be painted over. These walls are a collaboration between artists, the city and nature.
New York City is an urban jungle and within it, there is an inherent respect for an art culture that is derived from city life. What some of us call vandalism others call art. Real street art works in harmony with it's environment and compliments the beauty of the city that serves as its canvas. New Yorkers embrace 190 Bowery and despite the disneylandification of Manhattan, this building stands strong - an evolving cultural icon and one of those things that makes New York City the city of all cities.
Spot the Tony DePew piece in the third image.
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