June 26th, 2008 by citiesinpixiedust · No Comments
Sorry about the lack of content lately. It’s just that Cities in Pixie Dust has been spending a lot more time OUTSIDE the cities than in them lately. Including a trip to the boonies of southeastern Tennessee, and a visit to beautiful Ruby Falls, just outside of Chattanooga. We promise exciting new photos and posts coming soon, including some stuff from a new poster to CPD.
Cool stuff found elsewhere online: The Reverse Graffiti Project! - instead of cleaning up graffiti by repainting or sandblasting, these folks are turning tags into art.
This weekend past, Cities in Pixie Dust went to the South Philly Biennial, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, and rain-delayed until Sunday.
I really can’t say a whole lot about the experience, and actually describe it properly. You really had to be there. It was part Alice in Wonderland acid trip and part community art festival. A friend of mine walked by serendipitously, and had to leave because “I can’t handle this right now… It’s tripping me out…” Think glitter and rainbows meet saxophone versions of “Sweet Child of Mine” and Black Dog. Live Band Karaoke, tea tent, paper mache clusterf*ck and face painting. Plus a surprise solo acapella performance from the guy from the band “The Homosexuals.” Or as the kid who sang Danzig’s “Mother” during Live Band Karaoke said about the art, “What is all this stuff? It’s SO WEIRD!!!!” You really had to be there.
Northeast Philadelphia, or “The Great Northeast,” as some like to call it, is a wondrous place for a visit. It’s got Russian supermarkets with aisles devoted to pickles, trails that go for miles back in Pennypack Park, and wacky thrift shops almost untouched by hipsters. It’s got Franklin Mills Mall and suburban sprawl.
We’ve been there in the trenches… We understand that sometimes you just need to get the f*ck out of Dodge. You keep seeing the same people at the same places and it’s worn thin. Or maybe you just need to experience another place as an observer to appreciate how great your life is (or isn’t, as it could turn out to be). Getting away to a foreign land can sometimes be prohibitively expensive, or take too long to get you back in the office on Monday morning. When you’ve got the time, you ain’t got the money, and vice versa.
Cities in Pixie Dust is a big fan of exploration of “foreign” lands. Sometimes this means other countries, or other cities nearby. But just as often - it means exploring unusual parts of your own town. You don’t always have ten days and $1500 to go on vacation when you need it. We aim to someday share with you which Port Richmond bar has the best pierogie through experienced taste tests and photo exposes, which Korean BBQ in Olney has the best karaoke, where we found $3 drinks in Manhattan, and so on.
Today’s post is the first in a short series about Northeast Philadelphia.
We bring you…
The Twistee Treat custard stand. Unfortunately it was not open for us to sample their offerings… But CPD will be heading back soon (sometime after 12 noon daily by the way!) for a taste test. Welcome to summer. We know it’s not technically official until June 20th or so, but we all know Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial first weekend of summer.
I used to live on Delhi Street in South Philly. Delhi (pronounced DEL-hi, not deli) appears and disappears as you walk through the city, with a handful of blocks scattered throughout. In April ‘06, I spent two days walking the length of Philadelphia, snapping a picture of every block of Delhi Street… whether it was actually there or not. Sometimes it’s a street, sometimes it’s an alley… sometimes it’s just a state of mind. Our journey begins in the alleyways of South Philadelphia, and will soon continue through the rest of the city.Come along for the ride!
Philadelphia’s Italian Market Festival, Sunday, May 18, 2008. “Regarded as the region’s largest and oldest such event, parishoners from St. Paul Parish escort nearly 20 statues through the Italian Market…a beautiful, sacred tradition that celebrates the Blessed Mother.”
cities in pixie dust did not realize we had comments turned off …
we were all sad and stuff about no one leaving any links to awesome graffiti or snarky remarks about camden.
you may begin posting comments. if it gets weird, we may turn on moderation or require accounts, but for now - let’s let it ride.
Cities in Pixie Dust actually spends more time in Camden, NJ than we might want to admit! Aside from being one of the most dangerous cities in the USA, and the home of the following: Campbell’ssoup, the Camden Riversharks, the (Whatever they are calling it this week - Sony / Tweeter / Susquehanna Bank Center) place where big concerts and festivals come in the summertime… Or a place to see an amazing view of the Philadelphia skyline at sunset, and a dying industrial town (oh-so-romantic) - Camden has amazing graffiti.
We are seeking to learn more about the artists who are always painting and repainting the walls around Federal and 19th Streets. Some of these tags are so beautiful and intricate that they are hard to read.
April 29th, 2008 by citiesinpixiedust · No Comments
Cities in Pixie Dust is a big fan of art you can access in the everyday world, without going too far out of your way to see it - such as street art, graffiti, murals, stickers, found art, etc. Cities are places where people interact with each other. Sometimes they choose to interact with each other, and sometimes they’re forced into it.
So many people in the city go about their day with a hustle and bustle and don’t have time to look around. Street artists take the time to make something and put it where everyone can see, on the sly, while trying not to get caught “defacing” property. Some people would call a lot of street art a criminal act and not a work of art, but CPD disagrees. There is a lot of stuff you could do to get your ass into trouble, but painting on a wall or sign is probably amongst the less evil things out there.
And here are some pix of street art that CPD has stumbled upon in the recent past. There will be more to come. Or hit up the flickr for graffiti and murals…
Cities in Pixie Dust went to NYC for the weekend. On the agenda was much exploration, eating, drinking, and story-gathering. Nothing cultural or highbrow was accomplished, and as the editor made her way back home on the train somewhat hungover and pained this afternoon, she kicked herself in the ass upon seeing a sign for the Murakami show at the Brooklyn Art Museum. So CPD may have to get back up there for the day, on a well-behaved and more cultural type of visit before July.
On Saturday, we went to Roosevelt Island, formerly known as Welfare Island. This is a small island between Manhattan and Queens, and worthy of both a subway stop AND a tram. The tram is a pleasant but short ride from 59th and 2nd Ave. above the buildings where you get a pretty spectacular view. The subway ride (on the F line) takes you down in a tunnel built deep under the East River.
Apparently there is a historic Roosevelt Island Walk, which we traversed upon on this delightful April day. But there are no monuments or placards along this walk to tell you what makes it historic, exactly. So CPD and friends made up our own version of historic moments upon the walk. Paul Revere rode along the historic Roosevelt Island walk… Thomas Jefferson had a secret hideaway for one of his lovers overlooking the East River. Michael Jackson spent some time hiding out on the island after the tragic Pepsi commercial fiasco where his hair was set on fire. It was there he met his faithful companion, Bubbles.
The views of Manhattan from the west side of Roosevelt Island are pretty awesome. Also of interest are some curious sculptures by an artist named Tom Otterness, The Marriage of Real Estate and Money, which are mounted on rocks right in the water. The last of the sculptures shows a house getting clawed at by a lobster.
