All posts tagged: new york city

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Max Chavelev

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I fell in love with capturing street art once I started to learn the artists’ names and get an appreciation for their individual styles… It’s all about the thrill of the hunt…whether it’s circling your work turf, or heading to new streets, it’s the same urge that drives me: Today I will find something new; something great!  Having that experience and being able to share it with others gives me a high each time… It was one of those days when I knew that I would find something special…My meanderings took me far away from work…One more turn, I kept telling myself and as I  was passing by a church yard, where lunch was being served, I saw the most striking mural I have ever seen…There was a sense of serenity to it, a sense of awe…This piece by Jules Julien remains one of my most memorable finds to date…” – Max Chavelev // @maxchavelev   036/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Mom

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I remember the first time I arrived in New York City. It was in my sophomore year of college as part of The Tougaloo Concert Choir to perform with the great Duke Ellington at Carnegie Hall. We had traveled all around the East Coast of the United States singing at various historical sites while raising funds for our school. However, New York City was a completely different experience especially for a Southern girl, seeing such cultural diversity during the Civil Rights Movement. It was so strange seeing people bustling about so rapidly with the energy and possibility of hope that filled each of their steps. It was the most phenomenal thing I had experienced up until that point. Excited and just about the hour when the choir was about to go on stage and perform a round of spirituals with Ellington’s band, we were informed that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been shot in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a moment I shall never forget. April 4th, 1968.”   – Mom   034/100 of #100DaysofConfessions …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Ericka Tapia

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“Before Vogue’s poll of Brooklyn being the coolest place on the planet, before the hipster invasion, before the lovely art adorning our street corners– Brooklyn was always cool. Cool because of its raw diversity, attitude, style, and culture. I have some fond memories of why I love Brooklyn… I remember Bushwick block parties were always pop’n until they got shot up, I remember playing skelly top in Red Hook Projects and taking strolls up Court Street on hot summer days…I remember Coney Island on Easter Sundays and everyone from the hood had their very best on… I remember when Thrift Stores were second hand stores and you didn’t want to be caught dead in there because that meant you were poor…Now you’re actually considered cool and frugal if you shop Vintage — who knew! I remember taking the school bus from Red Hook Projects to an almost all white elementary school in Park Slope called Brooklyn New School. I even went to a high school called Brooklyn School For Global Studies– can’t get anymore Brooklyn …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Shannon Hemmett

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“After flying overnight from Vancouver to NYC, I found myself at the Museum of Modern Art standing in front of Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon… I was having a creative drought at the time and was eager to experience paintings that I’d only encountered in my books…I’d always been interested in Picasso’s attraction to masks and they play a central role in this piece. The brush strokes are confident from afar, but they are not clean on close inspection and one of the mask-like faces on the right hand side has been aggressively reworked in comparison to the rest of the painting… Yes, I realized that even Picasso reworked his canvases! It was important to see the potency of the imperfections, it was a pep talk about letting go and keeping an open mind in my own art practice…” – Shannon Hemmett // @shannonhemmett   018/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project

TIM KAU-Jetsetterproblems.com

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Tim Kau

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“Four years ago, I bought my first bike in New York City. Prior to owning a bike, I got around the city walking, taking the subway, hopping on the bus… and reluctantly taking cabs. Once I started riding my bike, I was hooked. I found myself cutting my commute time in half, without having to use my MetroCard or to pay the taxi fare (or Uber bill). I also could control the speed with which I could absorb all that was around me.  I found myself creating mini “road trips” to the different neighborhoods of the city… Being on a bike freed me up to explore and check out different boroughs… even riding my bike across the Williamsburg Bridge is exhilarating and gets your heart racing. It’s good exercise. I could ride and be free – in a way that wasn’t hindered by train traffic, car traffic or people traffic. The autonomy of deciding which route to take and being able to mix up my commute… all of these options opened up with my bicycle.  …

Confessions Of A Jetsetter w/ Tim Okamura

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I think being a painter does facilitate seeing the world through a different lens than normal. I often find aesthetic appeal in places others might consider dilapidated, unremarkable, or even ugly. In the urban environment in particular, I’ve always been attracted to aging buildings, cracked walls, and empty lots. I love the effects of rust, faded paint, layers of graffiti, signage, posters, and patchwork attempts to repair broken façades. All of these things combine to create what I consider a kind of poignant organic beauty that I think is both viscerally appealing and a pure visual record of the conflicting forces of man-made constructions and nature. This viewpoint often leads me to stumbling across inspiring motifs when I least expect it, and incorporating them into my paintings by direct, detailed documentation, or more suggestively in abstract form. I hope that through my painting I can point to ways for others to see the world differently, to view their environment in a positive way, and perhaps discover a sense of previously unacknowledged beauty in their own …

The Perfect Staycation For A Francophile

Published by Khadijat Oseni

As the famous words often attributed to Audrey Hepburn go, “Paris is always a good idea.” Being the self-professed Francophile that I am, I constantly have a daily dose of wanderlust for Paris, which is one of my absolute favorite cities in the world. However, the luxury of time or budget isn’t always on my side to plot a getaway. It’s in these instances that I become creative and have mini escapes throughout my day that fondly remind me of Paris. Come join me on une journée Parisienne à New York (a Parisian Day in New York). Le Petit Déjeuner Chez Ladurée (Breakfast at Ladurée) Ladurée, one of the most popular bakeries and tea salons in Paris established since 1862, has two locations in Manhattan – a storefront on Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side and a full tea salon in SoHo and their macarons are my kryptonite! For this reason, I skip the typical breakfast fare and head straight to dessert. My favorite flavor is pétale de rose (rose petal), but you can’t …

Time Travel: 1920s & The Jazz Age Lawn Party

Published by Khadijat Oseni

A week ago, I had the opportunity to travel back in time to the 1920s via the annual Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governor’s Island in New York City. It’s always a fun affair that perfectly captures the decadence, elegance and vivacious energy surrounding this era. New York fashionistas show up in droves and dress to the nines to escape to an alternate steamy world filled with big band sounds, high-stepping foxtrotting dancers, and fancy St. Germain cocktails outside of the sweltering heat of the summer. When nostalgically reflecting on this delightfully chic summer activity that has now become a bit of a tradition for me, I also particularly love looking back at old photographs of New York City for vintage style inspiration. So, I’ve decided to integrate some of my favorite atmospheric shots of New York during this decade with images from my past weekend playing dress-up on the lawn. Enjoy! xo Khadijat

#Art Life: The Bowery Mural

Published by Khadijat Oseni

Like a true Brooklyn girl who still wells up at the sound of Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind” when thinking of home, no matter how highbrow an art experience I encounter at classic museums around the world, there is always a special appreciation I have for the street art adorning the walls of New York City’s concrete jungle whether as “high” as commissioned, public art pieces or as “low” as illegal graffiti tags. The landmark Downtown NYC spot for street art aficionados alike is the infamous Bowery Mural located at the corner of  Houston (pronounced HOUSE-Ton for non-New Yawkers 😉 ) & Bowery streets, one of my favorite places to periodically visit when home. The wall was first christened by the iconic Keith Haring and Juan Dubose in 1982 and has since showcased an impressive list of established and up & coming artists splattering their vivid imaginations across coveted NYC territory. The Bowery Mural is Downtown New York’s interactive allegory with bright colors, patterns, tags and graphics telling tales of life and culture once experienced and presently observed by its residents. It is a constant …