By Cristina Martinez
April 13th, 2023
Rich Garr is an interdisciplinary collage artist based in Brooklyn, NY. My class and I went on a walking tour with him where we explored various forms of street art all across the Gowanus neighborhood. During this tour, Garr connected the neighborhood's art and history to make a collage specific to Gowanus.
One of the first pieces we saw was a sanctioned piece by Groundswell NYC, an NYC-based organization with the goal of bringing artists and the community together, often using "art as a tool for social change, for a more just and equitable world". Born & Raised is a piece that represents the Gowanus Canal, a major part of the neighborhood, but also a majorly polluted body of water. In the piece, you can see the oil that polluted the water, and the ripples and rainbows it creates on the surface. It also depicts various landmarks that are important to the identity of the neighborhood.
One of the most memorable parts of this piece is that it has already been covered by tags. It was interesting to see the combination of sanctioned and unsanctioned street art. There was so much space on either side of the original piece, but the taggers chose to put their work right on top of it. I think of it as a way for them to make sure their voice is being heard. When people like us go on walking tours or just see street art like Born & Raised our focus is on the piece, not what surrounds it. By placing their tags on the piece and not around it they are ensuring that their voices are heard and that their names are being seen.
Soon after we went to a building where Garr put up his own piece. A wheat paste plaque detailing a small piece of that building's history. Smaller pieces like that art are often seen out of the corner of your eye. They aren't big works that draw attention, but smaller pieces that can create dialogue.
Another cool piece that we saw was a wheat paste by Captain Eyeliner. A lot of this artist's works are political messages and this one was no different. It depicted Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Supreme Court Justice known for her collars. This piece calls for people to vote, and depicts Ginsburg wearing a collar that is a map of Brooklyn. A lot of the piece was torn away, and it was surrounded by tags, stickers, and other small pieces. No matter the wear and tear this one still stands out amongst the rest.
Something else we saw was a sort of unintentional street art, ghost signs. This is when a sign has left a mark on the building after being up for so long. The "National Packing Factory" no longer exists in Gowanus, but its name still lives on.
This tour was cool as it showed not only the community through the eyes of paid artists but through the eyes of those who live in it. We got to see works big and small, and so many different parts of what makes the neighborhood unique. It also showed me that there is so much art that can be appreciated by just taking the time to look for it.
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