tantramar

New York Fleas

In New York like most cities, there are a number of flea markets. I really really love flea markets and I have to say the Chelsea market is one of the best I've been to.

I could have spent quite a bit of cash in here. Things aren't massively cheap but the selection is good and of course you can bargain. I'd be in here most weekends if I lived in New York. For some examples of what is on offer, see the treats that I snagged:

You can find the Chelsea one at 112 West 25th Street. 

I hear the Hells Kitchen market is also very good.

Jonathan Levine Gallery

The Jonathan Levine gallery in New York is probably one of my favourites to visit in Chelsea. They always have interesting people showing there. From the Date Farmers to Jim Houser to D*FACE, the roster is pretty solid.

The show on now is pretty damn good with some great work from Souther Salazar (above) and Andy Kehoe below.

It's always worth stopping by, if only to talk with the most friendly gallery staff in the world.

Artful in NYC

Hoofing around NYC recently I visited some of my favourite old art spaces and a few new ones. Somehow I'd never been to the American Folk Art Museum before. This might be because it sits next to Moma which is pretty good at sucking you in.

The museum is quite small (for a museum) but damn it has good stuff. They have most of the Henry Darger portfolio which takes up half of one floor as well as several other great semi-permanent collections. I saw some astoundingly good work and learning about some crazy cats who were new to me. If you like Folk Art you can't not go here.

If you like your lofi art really lofi, then you can't do much better than Printer Matter on the edge of Chelsea which has more zines and odd art books than you can shake a stick at. A great shop.

I has also never previously made it to PS1 (below). This uber contemporary art space is an old converted school in Queens.

It's an amazing building so no matter what the shows are they have on display it's worth a trip out there. They also have a series of pretty hip parties at the weekends throughout the summer.

New York And Beyond

I've just come back from a little jaunt to New York and Philly so I thought I'd mention some of the things I recommend there. Like (my favourite book shop in the world) Housing Works (on Crosby).

It has a great atmosphere and a few years back on world aids day I had the best coffee of my life in there. It also has the best collection (in regards to quality not quantity) of second hands books I've seen.

While I'm on books I also stumbled across the Community Bookstore in Cobble Hill (Brooklyn). It's a pretty crazy place and reminds me a bit of The Thing (in Greenpoint)

I was glad to get to Philly to have a little look around, since the last time I was there was in the 1980s. My main goal was to get to Space 1026 which is an artist run space constructed in the vain of Fort Thunder. The shows they have are awesome and have brought out an almost ridiculous list of young talent.

I was also pleased to make it to The Empire Dinner for breakfast before they close it (if they do), sharing space with the ever so slightly camp crowd in Chelsea.

Another gallery in NYC I was very keen to get to was Cinders, possibly my favourite gallery in the whole world. They always have great artists I love like Mark Todd and Matt Leines. This time I discovered the super great work of Mel Kadel.

Kiosk (interior below) is shop that Luke put me onto. It looks like a tattoo parlour so you wouldn't really venture up the stairs but it's worth it. It's a shop that's curated by a bunch of people who travel around picking up random products made specifically for a certain shop in places like Mexico, Kyoto or Berlin.

Yes, I have no idea how they afford to do this since the products for sale aren't 'that' much. Lots of weird and wonderful things though and it changes frequently.

The City Foundry (on Atlantic Ave) blew my mind. They have bear rugs, robots and the best collection of home wares I have ever seen. It wasn't cheap though and I could have spent about 10 grand on bits of random junk quite easily.

They seem to have some sort election at the minute in America and some people are doing interesting things that promote action.

This was the best I saw. Don't Walk, Vote. Nice.

Getting Supplies

I strolled down to Park Slope in Brooklyn yesterday to check out the superhero supply store. If you're not familiar with this concept store then I should explain.

The shop is a front for a schools project to help children learn to read and write. It was set up by the author, Dave Eggers and you can hear more thinking behind this and the pirate supply store (in San Fransisco) in his Ted talk here.

The shop itself is a bit of a joy. It's run as a non profit and I seriously doubt it makes any money, (although the pirate supply store apparently does).

Due to the nature of comics and superheros everything has been handled in a very playful manner. You can buy a slow burning fuse, top up your X-ray vision or buy a stun gun. You can also of course, buy spare capes, hoods, tights and everything the well equip modern day hero might need. There are many supplements to aid the keen crime fighter or villain such as extra muscles or a replacement for that jar of antimatter that has just run out.

Because the subject is so playful all the signage results in a little smile or chuckle. I think as soon as I walked through the door I was instantly 8 years old again, picking up ray guns and looking for magic dust to charge my sonic distorter.

It occurred to me that while there is a little bit of playful behaviour online in relation to how brands / sites talk to their users, (Twitter and Flickr for example), in the real world there's even less and this seems kinda sad.

Occasionally advertising is playful but usually only in ambient approaches. If shops were just a little more fun with how they treat people, shoppers would enjoy it every so slightly more and it's obvious how this could make a huge difference.

For example; a sign (in a shop) at the top of some stairs that made reference to you being out of breath (after the climb) or perhaps witty anecdotes to read while queuing (anything to improve queuing right?!) Obviously just examples, but surely there's some mileage here. Does the shopping experience really have to be so... grown up?

There are some more pictures of the shop in a Flickr set should you be intrigued by what you see here.

Liquor Sign

Kate, a friend of mine sent me this thinking I might quite like it. She’d be right. The spelling is amazingly bad, whomever put the letters and numbers up there was drinking too much of the cheap liquor, or just didn’t give a damn about it.

Sleeping Lorry

I saw this round Spring St in New York. It looks a bit like a Chris Ware drawing. All lorries should have murals on them. It would make driving on motorways more enjoyable.

UPDATE: It's by Steve Powers (AKA ESPO)

Coney Island Sign

In Coney Island (where The Warriors live) they have a hot dog eating contest – of course they do, it’s called Nathan’s famous hot dog eating contest. I think a skinny Chinese dude wins it most years.  I just though the sign was pretty special.

The Thing, Brooklyn, New York

This junk / record shop has become pretty famous over the years, mainly because it’s just insane. Dusty, dirty and very cheap it has tens of thousands of records all UNSORTED! Seek, and ye may find if you’re really lucky, although I did find The Boy From New York City by The Ad Libs for 50c. Sweet. If you're in the neighbourhood you gotta pass by The Thing!