IRUBNY CELEBRATES ITS 5TH ANNIVERSARY

On the Weekend of June 4Th and 5Th at the Washington Square Outdoor Art show, you'll get an opportunity to join Carol Caputo in celebrating the 5Th anniversary of this city-wide art project. This unique and exciting urban experience gave thousands of New Yorkers a chance to get in touch with their neighborhoods in a creative new way. It's simple, fun and exciting. Come and see what happens when you put a piece of paper on any surface and rub off the surprising textures and images found all around the Washington Square area. This is your change to add you artwork to the thousands of rubbings we've collected so far. They will be featured in a soon to be published, table top book.

Get a copy of documentary films short, IRUBNY, discovering the urban language experience. A story about how one artist passion touched an entire city... one block at a time.

IRUBNY will be located on the North side of Washington Square Park.

For more information about this event go to www.wsaoae.org

www.irubny.com

IRUBNY PREVIEW FILM NOV 11, 2010

AT THE SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS AUDITORIUM

209 EAST 23RD STREET, NYC

“5 years in the making”

IRUBNY

A film about one artist’s passion and how

it touched an entire city…one block at a time.

Over 4,862 people join Carol Caputo in one of the largest city-wide art initiatives.

A touching story filled with urban texture that begins in Union Square and rapidly spreads to every zip code in New York City. This unique film shows how a simple creative idea can change the way people interact with their surroundings. Shot on the streets of New York - IRUBNY defines the topography and texture that is the urban language experience.

18 min

Director/Editor, Lauren DeFilippo

Producer, Carol Caputo and Friends

Music, Miles Dalto

A State of Becoming

All energy evolves. There is no us, there is no it, just the dance of molecules. So when I touch an object I’m adding my energy to the history of the universe. I don’t believe anything really belongs to us. We are all connected to everything. My art is inspired by this concept. Drawings are always becoming. They have a life of their own. A sketch is just a journey of evolution that changes minute by minute. It is the story of my energy engaged. A story defined in line and time. Art embodies this spirit. When I am creating I am part of the earth and the stars. My actions effect every living thing.

The Book of Rubs

Mystery Heart

While walking down Avenue A one a bright sunny Sunday, I stopped for an espresso at a local café. I wasn’t planning to work that morning so I just sat quietly sipping my delicious coffee. On my way uptown I couldn’t help focusing on the pavement. I guess It’s an occupational hazard for me, or just an obsession. In any case, I noticed something interesting across the street in an empty lot. I had to take a closer look. I rummaged through my bag for a crayon and a piece of paper in the event that I had to take an impression. As I moved closer to the shinny subject it appeared rather uninteresting. I proceeded to make an impression anyway. I don’t know what specifically attracted me to this wall surface but I felt compelled to touch it. I placed the paper over the textured shape and rubbed with my crayon. Now most of the time when I find a surface and make a rubbing, I have an idea of what will appear on my paper. But this drawing didn’t even resemble what I rubbed. It was obviously a heart shape…but what did it mean? How did this happen? What was the message? Whatever it was it made me feel alive and connected to everything around me.

Museum Mile Solomon B. Guggenheim

IRUBNY celebrates it's third year at the Museum Mile event on 5th Ave. Mayor Bloomberg proclaimed June 9 Museum Mile Day...and IRUBNY was there to give the neighborhood a good rub.  With crayons in hand, crowds created textural impressions of the immediate area, then proudly exhibited them on our 6' tower in front of the Museum. We had an amazing turnout this year and collected over 265 rubbings.

Heard on the street---

 “I love this project…makes me feel connect to the city”.

 “IRUBNY is clever and anyone can relate to this simple activity”.

 “It’s great to do something that is just for the fun of it”.

 “If you ask me, I think we need to have more events like this that bring people together.”

 “New York is a big city but people still want to feel like a community.”

Have you rubbed your neighborhood?  www.irubny.com

If you love New York, you'll rub New York!

Rubbing has become addictive not only for me but for all the people who have experienced the IRUBNY Community Art Initiative. A celebration of where we live. But, most of us walk down the street every day feeling disconnected to our community and our environment. Rushing to work and home again we don't notice the beauty of our own neighborhoods. Certainly, New York City is crowded and noisy and it's often overwhelming to live here-- but if we look closely around our neighborhoods, we can find unique textural details that define our specific urban landscape. As an urban scanner for many years, I still am excited by the tall buildings and the broken pavement under my feet. Concealed in the rubble of this urban ciaos there is a pulse and magic that makes me feel connected to the past and the present.  Deep in the concrete, these rough surfaces and broken lines are waiting to be reclaimed -- all we have to do is rub it to create the urban language. IRUBNY is a creative celebration of our place and ourselves. Let's connect this summer !

IRUBNY began in May 2006, we have collected over 2,000 interesting rubbings from people all over the city. This summer IRUBNY is collaborating with the Museum of Art and Design. Everyone can participate on May 30st and May 31st. and Aug 29 and 30Th at MAD. for more information .www.mad.org/calender
On June 9 at 6PM, all the museums will be open and free. 

Crayons and paper provided.
For the third year in a row, IRUBNY we will be in front of the 

Solomon B. Guggenheim Museum.
For more ways to participate go to www.irubny.com