Live on Greene...
Trap or Die.
I spent the month of September on the streets of SOHO,NYC.
- “No, I’m not homeless, I’m an artist…” -
September 11th, to be exact I decided to pack my IKEA bag and head into the city and post up. It was NYFW, although I’m well over the fashion industry, it’s always a pleasure to pop out and see what celebs are roaming the streets; I headed down Greene Street.
I’m familiar with SOHO from my retail days and the back streets were always good for the after work smoke sessions. I walked down Greene and posted were my homie Irv ran the C.J. Yao Art Gallery. 62 Greene St. right next to Watches of Switzerland. The Rolex clock and banner lead everyone to believe it’s the Rolex store when in fact it’s actually the brand, Watches of Switzerland. 62 Greene Street was formerly where The Selects had a their retail location, and upstairs I managed to meet the owners of the building, Neal and Anita Slavin, who run Neal Slavin Studios on the second floor, and Rhonda, another tenant whose also been at 62 Greene for for ages.
Day 1, I was surprised by my good friend Will from Brighton Beach walking down Greene street and hung with me the enitre, day. The irony in this whole bid is I never reached out to William we just so happened to be walking down the same block around the time. We both lost our grandmother just at the end of summer 21, and last but not least, Will was one of the inspirations of me becoming a street artist. Day 2, NYFW was already in full effect and I started to see the celebrities one by one. IBN Jasper, Ashton Sanders, Frank Ocean, Machine Gun Kelly, & Megan Foxx to name a few, were out in these streets. And each day going forward became even more of an experience…
Truthfully I did go outside with intent. I was hustling. I became so broke, no unemployment, it was time. Earlier that summer a good friend, Jordan Cooper and I were talking. He made a remark, we’re both artist on the grind making it happen for ourselves; and the money is chasing us. That’s when it hit me. Jordan was right. The money was chasing us, we just needed to be in one spot to catch it….
62 Greene became my new office. I found a discreet spot right next to a Rolex clock and banner. Call it genius marketing, but the truth is, I wasn’t ready for the major leagues, aka Prince Street. I needed to be able to control my audience. The ATTIE Project sits quietly in the window of a vacant store front, ‘The Selects’. I sit, day in and day out, painting interacting with people who manage to catch my 1/1 creations.
By the grace I’ve made friends with the tenants of soho, neighboring workers of the retail shops, UPS and FedEx, and not to mention the highly classified, I’ve been making as many connections as I possibly can. Sad to say I really know no one or anything when I’m out there. I kinda just go with the flow, but for the ones I do know! it’s been nothing but positive interaction thus far…
This art life has opened me up to a new world. I’m meeting new people. I put my trust in humanity, in a time where society has us looking at one another with a side eye. I put aside all the stigmas and just went for it. Art is my healing mechanism, but in these streets, I hear real testimonies throughout the days. All conversations are genuine, authentic, real. The most interesting of all how I’m looked upon as this symbol of inspiration to these people. I share what’s necessary, just as they do, but if we only knew how deeper each our stories are aligned.
Me, Sin, & Mother of Sin…
Human interaction, let’s talk about it. To know me, you have know it’s not a black or white thing. It’s more of a good and evil battle. One thing I truly enjoy about my SOHO experience this time around is I get to be myself. Working in the retail industry, I recall companies I’ve worked for say, “we embrace you for who you are”. It took time for me to start calling people out on the bullshit, but it feels great this time around to engage with real people the way I have been and want to, on my own time by my own rules. Real people, real convos, real time.
It’s become my school, my work, therapy, exercise, all in one day.
Made a few connections out here…I’m looking to thug it out all holiday season. I will say I do look forward to testing my patience with the cold, but we’ll see how this goes. So far, so good…..until the hate comes through. you know how that go…I be outside until 6/7, no guarantee as to when exactly. Just make sure you make it a habit to walk on by whenever you’re around,
Stay real.
Live on Greene
Monday - Saturday
(??am-6/7pm)
Sunday
(??am-5pm’ish)
Closed when precipitation…
Photo by John (@urbnvisual)