If you ever find yourself walking through Manhattan along
Avenue C, make your way down to the corner of Sixth Street and check out an
amazing mural. The mural lies in a small East Village of New York City known as
Alphabet City. This area got its name from particular streets: Avenues A, B, C,
and D, which happen to be the only avenues in Manhattan to be named with a
single letter. The mural on the corner of Avenue C and Sixth Street takes a
literal approach to the neighborhood’s name by depicting all twenty-six letters
of the alphabet through unique graffiti styles. The mural was completed by
artists Sheryo and The Yok. Their work is comprised of various elaborate
graffiti pieces, but this one in particular stands out to me. To take imagery
and stylize it into various letters of the alphabet is a unique, illustrative
typographic solution.
What I find extremely neat about this project is that the
artists chose to stay true to the nature of the neighborhood while tying in its
history. Before the Alphabet City mural, these exact walls were covered with
various works of graffiti that often lead to a great deal of controversy. Even
the process leading up to the new mural created controversy as the building
tenant RCN decided to use an outside mural group instead of choosing an artist
form the neighborhood. Many thought in doing so that RCN was trying to “whitewash”
the history of the neighborhood, but that was not the case.
The agency, Green Village, ultimately received permission to
repaint the walls. The agency’s goal is to find “graffiti-ridden properties and
then approach owners to create free public art on them.” Artists Sheryo and The
Yok took what they saw on the wall previously before it was repainted and
integrated that style into their mural, thus staying true to the neighborhood
and its history. In a statement regarding the mural, the artists said, “The
mural represents Alphabet City in a more literal way, we painted all 26 letters
of the alphabet that wrapped around the block on Ave C. Some of the letters are
inspired from the community some are inspired by NYC as a whole, some are the
artists personal work twisted into the letter form.”
Overall, Sheryo and The Yok made an extremely interesting
work of art solely out of letterforms. They stayed true to the neighborhood and
New York City while integrating in their own twists. Each letter tells its own
story, and each has the ability to stand alone as an individual work of art
while also coming together to act as part of a whole. I think this is a very
unique, fun, and beautiful way to integrate type into works of art that people
can admire. Doing so through a graffiti approach only makes it that much more
relatable to younger generations of today, thus making it a piece that everyone
can enjoy, young and old, whether for its history, significance, or style
alone. Overall a fantastic way to use letterforms as art!
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