A WALK ON ST. MARK'S

Cool van (rmr)


Galeria de La Vega (rmr)

Artist James De La Vega has crafted his mystique here. He's a character. The artist hero of Spanish Harlem is known for his drawings and depictions of his mother as different people...
Elvis, Frida Khalo, Che, Castro, Martin Luther King, Marilyn Manson and others.

He's also known for writing these phrases in chalk all over NYC...'Become Your Dream' and 'Don't Let idiots ruin your day.' (RMR)

Although Richard really liked de La Vega's work, I wasn't that impressed. He was in the gallery while we were there, and I could see from the photos on the walls that he probably spends a lot of time in there. He's obviously relatively successful and has crafted a mystique that's worked well for him. But I suspect that he's now become a bit of a caricature - no longer artist, but personality. I'd be surprised if he could find the willpower to do something different as an artist, because he's trapped in the persona he's created. Also, while some of the work was genuinely interesting and exploratory - a lot of it was just blatantly commercial, which irritated me. I don't think that the words artist and struggling need to always go together, but to be so absolutely chasing the dollar seemed disingenuous to me. (MB)


Physical Graffiti Vintage Clothing (mb)

The Cube Astor Place (rmr)