Murals by 'Picasso of Harlem' are at risk of disappearing
Monday, March 5, 2012
By Douglas Feiden / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Two dozen world-famous murals painted on roll-down security gates on 125th St. by an artist dubbed the “Picasso of Harlem” could find a new home in an outdoor art gallery at the eastern edge of the strip, state officials say.
The iconic artwork of 84-year-old Franco Gaskin — better known as “Franco the Great” to tourists from Japan, Sweden and Brazil — has been rapidly vanishing as spiffy shops and chichi chains transform the neighborhood’s main street.
Enter the state’s Harlem Community Development Corp., which is working with local elected officials and the grassroots group Save the Gates to move the murals to Triboro Plaza, a neglected stretch of 125th St. between First and Second Aves.
“It will expand the cultural corridor all the way to the East River — and create a destination for art, commerce and tourism in a dead zone near the Triboro Bridge where you rarely see any pedestrians,” said HCDC Director of Planning Thomas Lunke.
Read the full article at the NY Daily News.
Two dozen world-famous murals painted on roll-down security gates on 125th St. by an artist dubbed the “Picasso of Harlem” could find a new home in an outdoor art gallery at the eastern edge of the strip, state officials say.
The iconic artwork of 84-year-old Franco Gaskin — better known as “Franco the Great” to tourists from Japan, Sweden and Brazil — has been rapidly vanishing as spiffy shops and chichi chains transform the neighborhood’s main street.
Enter the state’s Harlem Community Development Corp., which is working with local elected officials and the grassroots group Save the Gates to move the murals to Triboro Plaza, a neglected stretch of 125th St. between First and Second Aves.
“It will expand the cultural corridor all the way to the East River — and create a destination for art, commerce and tourism in a dead zone near the Triboro Bridge where you rarely see any pedestrians,” said HCDC Director of Planning Thomas Lunke.
Read the full article at the NY Daily News.
