« Not A Bad Year At All… | Home | Emergency Landing »
Words On The Sidewalk
January 17th, 2009 | Dean Arrindell
(via Facebook, MySpace, Digg, email and more)
About seven or eight years ago, I began to notice chalk drawings on Upper East Side sidewalks. Those drawings had smart, inspirational statements like "You are your best investment" and "Become Your Dream." I didn't know anything about them, but they were signed "De La Vega."
A couple of months ago, I found one of De La Vega's fliers with the address of his museum on the sidewalk near my apartment. I had no idea De La Vega (his first name is James) had a museum, but I knew I had to see it.
Watch De La Vega in action here:
I can appreciate art as much as the average person, but I am not an art aficionado. I don't usually go to galleries and I don't know any other current artists. So, why would I be so excited to see an artist that I only knew from chalk drawings on the sidewalk? First, the work is very accessible. The drawings are simple enough where you can understand them with hardly breaking a stride, but they stick with you as you continue down the block. I always enjoy seeing them when walking around that part of the Upper East Side. And as I repeatedly saw De La Vega's work in my neighborhood, it became a part of the neighborhood. And he became a presence in the neighborhood. So I wanted to see more of the art and meet the man behind it.
Visiting the De La Vega Museum
Last week, Holly and I finally made our way down to the De La Vega Museum in the East Village. It was a treat to go to the gallery and see more of his work (I bought a mug for my grandmother). De La Vega was there, too. It was great to meet and shake hands with the person behind those pieces of art that inspired me or made me smile as I strolled around my neighborhood. I spoke with him only briefly, but it was good to chat with him about the Upper East Side and a little about what inspires him.
I haven't seen any of De La Vega's chalk drawings on the Upper East Side since the trip to his museum, but I've been thinking a lot about the visit over the last week. In particular, the statement that greeted us outside of the museum. It's not only apropos to Stephen, Devin and I as we journey down the road of The Longest Trip, but everyone as the economy gets worse: "The pressure of survival in the big city will make you lose sight of your dream… Hang in there."
You can visit the De La Vega's Museum at 102 St. Marks Place, NYC. To see his work, check out his website. Watch him create his work at his YouTube page.
Related Topics: Art, nyc, travel
 TLT on FacebookBecome a fan and keep up to date with our shenanigans! |
Dean Arrindell | No Comments »
Words On The Sidewalk
(via Facebook, MySpace, Digg, email and more)