Regis - June 5, 2007

My friend Regis now lives in Moscow, but once he lived in New York. We are in touch and I tell him he must come visit to see how much everything has changed. It is always too complicated, he does not have the right passport with the microchip. So many problems. He asked me to hang his picture around the city like the tags as a celebration of the 20th anniversary or his non-return to New York. He chose three places.






The tag wanted to hang vertically which wasn't the best orientation for Regis with his horizontal picture. Here is his point of view.


I do not know if it was the influence of Moscow, but these pictures became strange right away.



I wanted Regis to know that East 23rd Street has resisted the gentrification that has blanketed the city.


There was a lot of other street art around, especially downtown.



I really love the shoe person. I have seen the shoes around and they are so glam. There are inspirational messages on the sole towards the arch. It is a joy to run across them. I do not remember if I noticed the shoe when I hung Regis' tag. There were some stragglers from the Saturday night lounging on the street including a man in platform boots who seemed half-goat. I was distracted. There has been a wealth of the bolted-onto-traffic-pole art recently. Some of it is a bit haphazard, but this crazed face with the red background ties in nicely with the shoe and Regis' picture. I think I like this picture the best. Welcome back man.



I love this bit of traffic pole bolting. It seems to evoke 'Peter and the Wolf' and the Great Bear of Russia at the same time.



I just think this one is pretty.



I also like Regis floating over the Upper West Side.

I wanted to find a place for Regis that he didn't ask to see. I think of anything and then as I was heading home I decided on the spot of the recently departed CBGB's. It was the end of the run, many people were awake and doing the early morning thing. The spot in front of CBGB's had so changed, that there was no pole for me to hang a tag.


Here the 'For Rent' sign is hanging in the CB Gallery store front. There were no more old style traffic signs on Bowery. Every pole was smooth silver metal. I hope the sticker artists zap each one. I found an old style pole a bit into Bleeker, the Ginko tree is blocking the view.



Again there was one of those traffic pole boltings and this one had a depressing message. But I think it would make Regis laugh.

If not... here is a view of Mercer Street near Pearl Paint. It is one of the sweeter images in the world to me.



We will always have Pearl Paint