March 14, 2014

A Love Letter to the City: Stephen Powers’s street art – in pictures

New York graffiti artist Stephen Powers daubs his colourful murals on city walls and rooftops from Brooklyn to Belfast, Philadelphia to São Paulo

The red dots in “YOU” are pepperoni. — All I Need Is You, above Brooklyn’s Fulton Fried Chicken, which used to be Tony‘s Pizza – the red dots in ‘you’ are meant to be pepperoni. Photograph: Matthew Kuborn Photograph: Matthew Kuborn

Euphoria is you for me. — ‘Euphoria is You for Me’, the final line of a poem Powers painted around an old Macy’s store in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Photograph: Matthew Kuborn Photograph: Matthew Kuborn

That wall surface is called “pebble dash.” The only people who like painting it are graffiti writers. We. Love. It. — Baby Mothersday on the back of a pub in Dublin. ‘Pebble dash...’ muses Powers. ‘The only people who like painting it are graffiti writers.’ Photograph: Steve Powers Photograph: Steve Powers

STAK and Greg Lamarche handled the Home wall. In addition to Michael Jackson, they put graffiti godfather IZ in the pile of refrigerator magnets. — Hold Steady in Powers’ native Philadelphia: ‘the kind of town that respects the shortcuts ... New York City would put a lock on that gate.’ Photograph: Adam Wallacavage Photograph: Adam Wallacavage

I Paid the Light Bill... — I Paid The Light Bill Just To See Your Face, in Syracuse, New York, inspired by an old light bulb outline once painted on the same bridge. Photograph: Adam Wallacavage Photograph: Adam Wallacavage

Nothing to do is everything with you... — Syracuse’s Near West Side neighbourhood. ‘I made a very adult version of what graffiti is to me,’ says Powers. Photograph: Adam Wallacavage Photograph: Adam Wallacavage

I wrote Open Door 64 as a backup name years before I discovered it’s a great Bible quote (Revelation 3:8) and a useful metaphor for being there for those you love. — Looking for an Open Door in Dublin: ‘I discovered it’s a great bible quote and a useful metaphor for being there for those you love.’ Photograph: Steve Powers Photograph: Steve Powers

Make a note of it. — Remember, a super-sized Post-it at 4915 Market in Philadelphia. Photograph: Adam Wallacavage Photograph: Adam Wallacavage

Elm Place and Livingston Street. — Back in Brooklyn: ‘Meet me downtown for a few/ Every street carries us home/ Born busy as a Brooklyn Bound B/ I am made to leave/ I am made to return home.’ Photograph: Matthew Kuborn.
Photograph: Matthew Kuborn

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