cities in pixie dust

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.”

They also hand out free string cheese nearby.

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’s soup, the Camden Riversharks, the (Whatever they are calling it this week – Sony / Tweeter / Susquehanna Bank Center) music ampitheatre 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 some unique and spectacular 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.

See more here… JUST UPDATED and cropped/color-corrected. Hooray!

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 yourself into trouble, but painting on a wall or sign is probably amongst the lesser evil things out there.

Recently, and we don’t know how we’ve missed this site for so long, CPD stumbled upon an amazing blog on the Village Voice – Camille Dodero’s Streetscape Blog. So you should go check it out.

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 highbrow was accomplished, and as the editor made her way back home on the train a little hungover this afternoon, she kicked herself in the behind after seeing a sign for the Murakami show at the Brooklyn Art Museum and missing it. 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.

More views from Roosevelt Island here… 

Cities in Pixie Dust is going to NYC!

Smell ya later…

The next time you’re out and about, look around. Look up. Look down. Peek thru the fences. Look down the grate. The devil is in the details.

Wissahickon Creek trails, 4/5/08

Christian Posters Invade Philly! But there is no 53 AM. Or is there?

Sent to me by Chris “Spam” White,

“These posters have been showing up in center city and south Philly for
about a year. They always have a model’s head and a similar style of
Christian ranting. They always mention demons getting in your blood
and defecating. They also exhort you to stay married, stop shacking
up, and listen to Christ radio. These new ones also mention that
angels will hug you forever in heaven.”

[Read more →]

Now that Spring is coming upon us, I’m hoping to take spend a fair amount of time exploring some of the local parks. I grew up right by the Wissahickon Creek/Forbidden Drive area of Philadelphia, and have been wandering that area since I was a small child. Some places don’t really get old. And there are all the urban parks, from Rittenhouse Square to Washington Square, Pretzel Park to Clark Park. But can you believe it, I’ve never been to Pennypack? So that place is definitely on the agenda for a day or a few in the near future. And then there are all those tiny green spots, garden spaces, and secret hideaways (like the photo below) that you just happen upon by chance. Look for explorations and photos to come in the next few weeks.

Real content is coming soon, promise!