If you Google 5Pointz and then select “Images” you will find tens of thousands of photos of this industrial complex in Long Island City, Queens, NY. Some are genuine amateur tourist pictures taken with point-and-shoots, disposable digital and phone cameras. These lovely people could care less about lighting, F stops and lenses. They were just there because they’d heard about the landmark and wanted to come and see it. They wanted to take a little bit of it away with them.
Another group of picture-takers are the group between amateur and seasoned professionals. Their intentions for hopping the #7 are more deep-seated in capturing something of this gallery’s heart. They come with SLRs/DSLRs, medium grade lenses and maybe a light meter. They will come at various times of the day to get different aspects of the personalities of the paintings. These photographers may actually be the ones that do the greatest justice to the beauty and creativity of the writers and street artists who have left their marks here.
Finally are the high-end professional photogs and videographers. You will find their images of 5 Pointz in magazines, music videos, and on TV shows. Project Runway used 5 Pointz as an inspiration for one of their challenges last season. Joss Stone used the site as the backdrop for her music video “Tell Me Bout It.” In these situations the clothing designers and the musician are the ones who tapped into 5 Pointz’s soul and found their inspiration, fed off the passion not the photographers or videographers. Yes, these camera operators are the crème d’la crème of their art and do all kinds of justice to the angles, the colors, the textures but their emotion story is the one in their viewfinder, not the walls of the warehouse.
Whether vacationers, aspiring photo artists or established professionals, there is an archive of images of this space as extensive as the works that have graced its walls. But no matter how great those photos or videos, none of them will replace the experience of going to Queens and having your breath taken away when it first comes into your view, whether from a car, a train or walking down the sidewalk; to touch while listening to the songs of the city going on around it. So please, do whatever you can to save this huge, perfect gallery of current visual art.
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If you wish to help save this site you can join “Saving 5Pointz Aerosol Arts Center” on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Saving-5pointz-Aerosol-Art-Center/555293587824214
There you will find links to petitions. If you live in the area you can attend hearings and get
your voice heard on this important issue. We need to save the real art of this and future generations.
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5Pointz on the web:
http://5ptz.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/5PointzNYC
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/HC5gYz_L9DYTo
— Kathy Creighton | @Mama_Kath
