Khrystyna Melnyk
IDC Arts in New York City
Prof. Zoe Sheehan-Saldana
November 20, 2013
What Was 5Pointz?
As we all learned two days ago, the owner of the building that housed 5Pointz’s, Jerry Wolkoff, had a crew of workers whitewash the famous graffiti walls in Brooklyn. The building was first established as the Phun Phactory in 1993 by Pat DiLillo to allow artists to legally display their graffiti as a formal showcase. Then in 2002, Jonathan Cohen began to curate the work by asking for artist’s samples and layouts that they wanted to draw on the walls. The name “5Pointz” symbolized the five boroughs coming together, but because of its reputation, it ending up joining artists from all around the world. Also because of its reputation, it has attracted many R&B and hip-hop starts and in 2013, it was featured in the movie “Now You See Me.” The building was then set to be demolished to make room for condos and the New York City Council unanimously approved the decision. This however was not taken well by the public and when 5Pointz was painted over two days ago, it created a stir in the art community. Because 5Pointz wasn’t formally viewed as an art venue and rather a place of ruckus, disorder, and graffiti, government officials didn’t see any problem with destroying it and New York City lost one of its most famous outdoor art galleries.
When people tend to think of graffiti, they picture gangs and violence, which is one of the reasons the council was so eager to get rid of it. However, the irony in this decision is that 5Pointz could have been a haven for aspiring graffiti artists and may have even been the reason for the future acceptance of graffiti as an art form. As the mission statement says on the official 5Pointz website, “5Pointz gallery curator, Meres, plans to convert the five-story, block-long industrial complex at Jackson Avenue and Davis Street into a graffiti museum…he plans to open a school for aspiring aerosol artists, complete with a formalized curriculum that imparts lessons in teamwork, art history, and entrepreneurship in addition to technique.” The anger of reading this statement after learning that 5Pointz is no more can be seen in many fans of art-graffiti. The curator, Jonathan Cohen, said, “In 10 years from now, when the art form is fully accepted, [they] won’t be remembered for any individual real estate property [they] built. [They’ll] be remembered for the greatest art murder in history. That will be [their] legacy.”
However, many people wouldn’t agree with him. 5Pointz was famed only in art community, not be federal law or by federal officials. When the council was going over the project of G&M realty, they weren’t looking at 5Pointz for what it was, a beacon of hope for prospective artists, seeking approval for their talents. They saw it as an eye sore that would have better use as condos as though this would make the neighborhood safer and more pleasant. What is interesting, however, is that Jimmy Vab Bramer, one of the councilmembers, posted that the council agreed to increase “space for artists up to 12,000 square feet and 5Pointz could continue curating art at the site.” Many were unclear how that would work, but with Wolkoff actions, it is clear this wouldn’t be true. Although 5Pointz leaders were just starting to create a bid that would mark the site as a landmark, Wolkoff used his powers to paint over decades were of art and culture, “I whitewashed the building to stop the torture…[the artists] had to take their medicine…they will be upset with me for a day or two … and then everyone will be over it.” In addition, Wolkoff claimed to have loved the graffiti and said, “If I were an art murderer I wouldn’t have allowed them to paint all these years.”
Whatever, Wolkoff’s true feelings are, it doesn’t change the fact that the murals are now gone, but shouldn’t be. Just because the government didn’t see it as a landmark, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth anything to the citizens and visitors of New York. With its demolition, it killed many hopes of getting graffiti accepted as an art form. Eric Felisbret, author of Graffiti New York, wrote, “5 Pointz holds an important place in graffiti history… as an important social hub for the creative channel of the graffiti movement…also helped to shape generations. 5 Pointz came into being in an era when the graffiti movement in New York was divided between legal and illegal graffiti, so it served as a venue for aspiring graffiti artists, who might paint illegally if it did not exist. When it’s gone, perhaps the up and coming kids will head straight into the illegal arena of tagging and street bombing,” and added, “I think the biggest loss will be the fact that we will be losing the closest thing the graffiti movement has to a museum.” Even residents of the surrounding buildings were saddened by the news because they claimed it was a “real New York view”.
While Wolkoff thinks he did the right thing and admirers of graffiti art criticize his actions by saying it was a form of gentrification, the core problem remains: should 5Pointz have been seen as landmark, and therefore, not have been destroyed? People, and even experts on the topic, have a hard time figuring out a solid and complete definition of art. One of the official definitions is, “something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings.” By this definition, 5Pointz should have been preserved as a museum because it housed many of these pieces of “art”. The tragic end of a mural with so much prospective is rather discouraging when thinking of how times need to change in order for more progressive art forms are accepted.
Works Cited
“5 POINTZ.” 5 POINTZ. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. <http://5ptz.com/about/>.
“5 Pointz.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Nov. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Pointz>.
“5Pointz Redevelopment Approved by City Council.” New York Business Journal. N.p., 9 Oct. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2013/10/09/5pointz-redevelopment-approved-by-city.html>.
“Art.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/art>.
Colucci, Emily. “What Are We Losing with the Disappearance of LIC’s 5 Pointz “Graffiti Museum”?” Hyperallergic RSS. N.p., 2 July 2012. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://hyperallergic.com/53661/5-pointz-will-disappear-in-september-2013/>.
Evelly, Jeanmarie. “Graffiti Mecca 5Pointz Whitewashed Overnight.” DNAinfo.com New York. N.p., 19 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131119/long-island-city/5pointz-graffiti-whitewashed-overnight>.
Murray, Christian. “Owner of 5Pointz: I Whitewashed the Building to Stop the Torture.” Long Island City Post. N.p., 19 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://licpost.com/2013/11/19/owner-of-5-pointz-i-whitewashed-the-building-to-stop-the-torture/>.
