The End of an (Urban) Era

On the morning of November 19th, a part of the New York art scene was erased from history. A plan to turn the urban art mecca known as 5 Pointz into luxury apartments was finally realized, to the consternation of many graffiti enthusiasts in New York and beyond. “So many people put so much passion and energy into it,” Eric Felisbret, the author of Graffiti New York, lamented to The New York Times.

 Street art in New York has a considerable following; Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat both started their careers as graffiti artists, filling local walls with their colorful designs, while Banksy recently took the city by storm with his political interventions. (Some of the works be on view at Art Basel in Miami this year.) Whether you agree with changing 5 Pointz or not, the brightly painted building will live on in photographs and in memories.