The Other Story in Street Photography - A Walk-by in NYC
When I go to NYC, I have a very definite list of people who I want to see, in very definite places. I like to have breakfast with a friend at Veselka’s. There is just nothing like starting the day with a traditional Ukrainian meal. I meet another friend at The Famous Cozy Soup and Burger. Burgers are my comfort food. And there was always the dinner with a couple at a quiet restaurant on the corner of 1st Avenue and 5th Street, The Three of Cups. I have to use past tense on that restaurant. It closed in 2018. We tried the chain restaurant that opened in its place, Emmy Squared, but that did not work out at all. On my next trip to NYC we are going to have to find a new place to meet for dinner.
I will digress just a moment. I do have a reputation in Birmingham, Alabama as being something of a restaurant killer. I have showed up to closed doors at more than one fine dining establishment that my husband and I had patronized weekly. We valued a quiet atmosphere, meaning no other customers, over quality food. You can imagine how that did not work out for the long haul. That was absolutely the charm of the restaurant on 1st Avenue and 5th Street. We could always get a table, until we couldn’t.
The story of the mural walk-by was launched from Veselka’s in October of 2016. Breakfast was over. My friend was departing for work and I was ready to start walking the streets in pursuit of street photos. Normally, we part ways, but she asked me if I could walk a bit with her. She had something to show me.
What she took me to was the famous Bowery Wall which is located at the intersection of Bowery and Houston Streets. Since 1982 an enormous mural, painted by some of the world’s greatest artists, is displayed on the wall of a building owned by Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs has pretty good credibility as street art curators. They are also responsible for Wynwood Walls project in Miami.
This particular mural was created by stencil artist, Logan Hicks, to depict his first 10 years living in NYC. He gathered family and friends to at the intersection of Greene and Spring Streets and took the photo that became the basis of his Bowery Wall mural called, “My Life Story.” The mural was created from 5 layers of 210 stencils per layer.
I do not know Logan Hicks so I was not part of the photo he took of his friends, but apparently someone in his life is my Doppelgänger. The photographer painted on the mural is what my friend wanted me to see. She said every time she passed this mural, she thought of me. I was incredibly touched. I was also incredibly determined to get a picture of me, well my symbolic self, taking a street photo walk-by. So how did I do? Could you tell my intent before I related this story?
I have to say I was a little disappointed when the mural was changed. I stopped by in 2019 and got this picture. I am look forward to seeing the new mural this September.