![]() ![]() With the five-story complex in sparse use since the 1970s and entirely empty since 2009, the artist Jonathan Cohen-whose tag is Meres One-struck a deal with the building’s owner, Gerald “Jerry” Wolkoff: Artists who wanted to paint big, intensive projects could do so on the building’s exterior without running afoul of anti-graffiti laws, which had been ratcheted up during Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s reign in the 1990s. ![]() In the early 2000s, the derelict warehouse at 45–46 Davis Street became a haven for graffiti artists, thanks to an unusual arrangement. So much of what is enshrined in the iconic 1983 graffiti documentary Style Wars cannot be found in the urban landscape today.Īll of that made the demolition of 5Pointz, a legendary graffiti venue in Long Island City, Queens, an unlikely battleground for the soul of the art form. Many of the defining works of the late 1960s and 1970s in New York City-“DONDI” wrapped around the side of an entire subway car, “TAKI 183” sprayed on a brick facade-have been lost, painted over, or torn down entirely. Even the most famous pieces are not guaranteed to last. Some works last months, others don’t make it through the night. ![]() Ephemera is as central to their medium as spray paint. Graffiti artists learn early not to get too attached. ![]()
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