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Graffiti Explodes Across Pandemic-era New York

AFP

   NEW YORK - Graffiti, part of New York's history for more than 50 years,
   is flourishing during the coronavirus pandemic, a sign of decadence for
   some, but vitality for others.

   As dusk becomes nightfall, graffiti artist Saynosleep takes a quick
   look around and then gets to work on a luxury store closed since it was
   looted in June during protests over George Floyd's death.

   "If you're not painting right now, I don't know what you're doing," the
   40-year-old said, adding an expletive. "There has never been a time
   like this."

   The facades of hundreds of stores that have shut because of the
   pandemic are "an invitation" to artists, Marie Flageul, curator at New
   York's Museum of Street Art (MoSA) said.

   Walls, bridges, sidewalks and subway cars -- 34 of which have been
   painted since the beginning of the month -- are canvases.

   "It's a big surge, a renaissance of graffiti," said Saynosleep, who
   uses a different pseudonym for his legal artwork.

   Graffiti was first accepted by the art world in the 1980s when it moved
   into galleries.

   Expressive street art then captured the imagination of the general
   public in the 2000s when it went from illegal to legal spaces.

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