Ann Lewis: someone invested in the power dynamics of society, in the consequences of unchecked shifts in power, in the various realities perceived by communities as a result of these consequences.
In 2014, the 5Pointz building in Queens was bought by developer Jerry Wolkoff with the intent to transform the building into a number of condominiums. While this may not seem like an uncommon story to tell, the 5Pointz building was known for its vivid display of graffiti along the walls of the building, covered in what many believe to be part of what makes New York, well, New York. Soon after the building was bought, however, the art was quickly whitewashed, transforming the building from this:
To this:
This devastated a number of graffiti artists who had contributed to the wall years earlier, as it seemed almost like an insult to the time they had spent at the 5Pointz. The underlying issue in this case, and in many like it, is an issue of people- of communities, businesses, residents: the displacement of all of these factors occurs as a result of gentrification. Tom Angotti dedicates a section of his book New York for Sale to gentrification, appropriately titled “Dislocation, dislocation, dislocation.” He introduces the section by informing readers that real estate revolves around people who own property, and that the three main principles associated with said people are “relocation, relocation, relocation.” As for those who aren’t presented with the opportunity to comfortably relocate, they are often left in the shadows of those who can, creating dislocation. When property values in a given area go up as a result of higher class newcomers, those who initially lived there are more often than not forced to move out- creating empty space that is then seen as an opportunity for redevelopment. Ann Lewis, in response to this issue, went about a project she called Define Progress, a project that made headlines as its main component was both eye catching and straightforwardly meaningful. What Lewis did was create banners made to look like caution tape, with the exception of being marked with “Gentrification in Progress,” the biggest of which was hung around the 5Pointz building:
She strung actual tape marked with the same words around a number of other public places, such as the Germania Bank building- also known as a canvas for graffiti artists, which was bought by real estate giant Aby Rosen for $55 million dollars- and Pearl Paint on Canal Street, which offered affordable, specialized art supplies.
She explains her intention with the tape as follows:
“This custom barricade tape is used to call attention to recently closed small businesses, residential buildings that are being emptied to become luxury rentals, and community spaces being gobbled up by “progress”.”
Her use of quotations around progress indicates that what developers and real estate giants tend to disguise as “progress” is only achieved through the destruction of local communities, the displacement of people, and the loss of what makes the city so unique. In addition to her use of custom tape around the city, she filmed a video as part of the project emphasizing this point, in which a scene of destruction is concluded by the laying down of a hammer marked “progress.” Lewis has a number of other works concerned with a variety of present-day prevalent issues, such as police brutality, the war on Syria, domestic violence, and more. I found her work to be extremely interesting in that each piece she has created thus far is art that I find more than capable of producing meaningful, solution based conversations.
Ann Lewis: an artist.
Visit her site!
Discussion Questions:
- Do you think public support of demonstrations like Lewis’s can contribute to the mitigation of gentrification? To what degree?
- Is it possible to undo the consequences of gentrification as they have taken place thus far in New York City? In other words, is gentrification an irreversible process?
- Angotti notes that New York City “deserves its reputation as the fastest paced city in the world,” and that this reinforces the “value and power of central locations.” Does this characteristic mean gentrification in NYC is inevitable? Why or why not?
