ART THESE DAYS

Goodbye Greenwich Village. Hello Williamsburg, the mecca of artistry in NYC has a new location. These days hipster after hipster are flocking to Brooklyn either to produce art or simply look cool. Most of these twentysomethings come equipped with Mommy and Daddy's trust fund and a homeless sheik look that cost them hundreds of dollars to pull off. You can find the largest population of them strolling down Bedford Ave at any time of day shouting " Hey, look at me I'm different!" It is very obvious that everyone chooses to only walk down Bedford and forgoe Driggs or Berry even if it is less convienient just to be noticed. But other than these sad individuals full of gloom and misery, there are real artists who make up the backbone of Brooklyn that keep the industry pressing forward. Most of the best places to see art in all forms is along Whythe Ave where you can find anything from posh minimalist works to renegade street pieces. Of the latter medium there is a new artist whose work is truly amazing, he tags his work as "Vandal" and creates an intelligent Banksyesque form of expression. He has one piece at the corner of Roebling and Metropolitan of a Giraffe wearing a remote control device that is remarkable, and another at the corner of S.3rd and Bedford that conveys the solitude of the city with a childlike quality.

Musicians also play a key role in the survival and revival of the Burg and renegade off the radar venues are popping up all over. The scene mainly consists of an indie rock uprising which seems to be like the great punkrock revival of the early nineties. On any night there is always a show to go to where you will either be greatly dissapointed or completely blown away or just a little confused as to what you just witnessed. Many of these shows are free and at most may cost you 10 buckaroos. With so many great bands forming the city there are uncountable different styles of music going around, but the latest craze is the ambient wave of music. Songs that start out quiet and slowly build to something very powerful, which is a great niche for a few songs but then becomes increasingly obvious and predictable as the set continues.

Even with all of the stereotypes and negative views of the hipsters here the art scene in Williamsburg could not be touched by any other city in the U.S. and seriously its the best place to live in NYC fo sho.

peace sucka-