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

Blanked Out

I don’t want to know what’s happening. Not because I have my head in the sand--although that would be interesting, but I want to be free of manic influences that are exploding all around me. In my ears, in my eyes, pushing me to see what I don’t want to
see and hear what I don’t want to listen to. What’s going on ? Where’s the surprise, the magic, the what’s going to happen next ? Give me a blank anything and let me draw, write or sing and dance on it. The unheard of yet, and the not seen before--- that’s what excites me. I don’t want something new I want something ever changing and evolving. Life is not cement but a ever changing river of possibilities.

Get Lost

The only way to get to know New York City is to get lost. And for a native that can be a challenge. I take public transportation because it’s cheap and fast. On Sundays, I often explore the city with subway trips to various destinations like Coney Island or the Bronx Zoo. But on the long journey to foreign neighborhoods, when my creative juices begin to flow I get a sudden urge to jump off the train at the next stop. Standing disoriented on the platform, I look for the exit. I climb the stairs out of the darkness and into the light. The busy streets are filled with colored faces and rich smells. This blur of unfamiliar images jars my imagination to the point of pure excitement. Exploring neighborhoods gives me a sense of the old and the new. My work thrives on the unknown. In fact, I draw and photograph only what I need so as not to recognized them later. It doesn’t matter where I am as long as I never been there before. I take out my pad and camera and start to explore the area. As soon as I become comfortable I know it’s time to move on.

In the Moment

The challenge in a busy city is to be able to be present in the moment. So much is going on that our senses are on overload. Sounds collide like millions of rivers with no wear to go. Is there one sound, a word or a melody I can recognize? I weave through the mass of peoples like a choreographer searching for the right steps. I dance along twisting and turning trying to avoiding oversized backpacks, cumbersome dollies and flying mustard. I look for calm in a graceful crack beneath the concrete pressed against the core of the pavement. I breathe----