Institute of Higher Burnin'

Published: Sunday, May 27, 2007
Filed under: All Things Arts Friends
Discussion: 2 comments

It was AC’s first visit to Long Island City, so B brought him by to check out 5 Pointz — the colorful block of converted warehouses full of artist studios, abutting the elevated 7 line.

The ever-changing walls are a living collage of (entirely legal) graffiti and a refreshing departure from the sometimes over-sterilized Manhattan art scene. Not everyone is a fan, though.

The three of us took in the scene as we wandered among the graff writers, hard at work this hot afternoon.

5 Pointz

2 comments

Qsoz on June 11, 2007

David Smith (HCHS '88? '89?) aka SANE SMITH was one of the first that I recognized and you could see his work everywhere. He's most famous of course for bombing the Brooklyn Bridge. But he died when I was a senior in high school. I remember that day because I saw a bunch of my classmates dressed in black and mourning. The circumstances around his death were and are still a subject of debate after they removed his body from Jamaica Bay those many years ago. Some say it was suicide (due to an impending lawsuit against his family), others an accident while scouting new locations, still others believe it was the NYPD that caused his death. People still talk about SANE and you can still see some of his work today (here near the Hell's Gate Bridge).

vipnyc on June 11, 2007

Legendary.