Greenpoint Birthday Girl Busted

It didn't even take one month for the public to put an end to the wooden girl in Greenpoint. To recap: a street artist put up the piece as a birthday present for his girlfriend, who had moved to Connecticut and was pining for her old neighborhood. Friends and strangers alike were encouraged to pose with the painted lady; the photo project can be found here.

By late June, however, she was painted grey and then quickly revived with a Sharpie. Now, not even a month after she was lovingly bolted to the street sign, it seems she's met her end, as her body was found busted in half over the weekend. It's a cruel, cruel world out there birthday girl, but it probably wasn't personal.

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By Jen Carlson in Arts and Events on July 7, 2008 11:45 AM

Comments [rss]

ides_of_march

I thought that thing was Jennifer Lopez trying to act.

robingee

I'm surprised it lasted this long!

dagblad

Am I really the first one to suggest that maybe this isn't the tragic tear-jerking story it's been made out to be?

Did this mervin really think his work wouldn't be defaced? No, the mervin is you, the viewer, who gave this supposed love-sick sucka' the benefit of the doubt.

You know what I think? I think she broke up with him when she went to CT, and this was his artist's way of saying, you know, f-u.

Besides, you saw the original vandalism. Somebody f'king greywashed it and stamped a well made sign on it. That's not characteristic vandalism.

thoughts?

Kevin Walsh

How is it in anyone's way? It wasn't extending past the curbline, hence people could still park, and it wasn't extending into the sidewalk, people could still get past.

However: expecting the thing to be let alone in NYC, or most places, was optimistic.

www.forgotten-ny.com

jaycjay

"It didn't even take one month..."

One month seems like a more than reasonable period of time for someone to stake out a piece of public property for a project meant to enhance their own personal life.

Personally if I'd put this thing up, I'd probably have taken it down myself after about two weeks once a decent amount of photos had come in. I'd be thinking it's run its course and I should get it out of peoples' way.

But hey, selfishness has never been my strong suit.

theevilone

That's what you get for moving to CT.

PBRK

I would blame alcohol. I've seen many public arts destroyed by inebriated passer-by, just because.

thedroog

oh no, hipster street art defaced and destroyed! it's a sad day when hipster street art is actually considered a relevant story in nyc.

Dude69

#7 - I agree that the most likely culprit is a long time G-point resident who's tired of these hipsters and their shennanigans, that only lead to gentrification and despair for the nabe. They have to take out their anger at someone, or something.

MurphGuide

There is always a jerk somewhere to ruin things.

WorksInDUMBO

#5, I don't understand. Why do they deserve it?

citizenerased

Least surprising story of the year so far.

thefacts

#5, I agree.

It was likely an O'Boyle or a Mulvenna or some other G'pt native from Murphy's who's had enough of the hipsters' crap in their neighborhood.

matty

i wonder what gawker has to say about this?

chris

If you do something like this and it gets an inordinate amount of press on gothamist and other blogs, your work deserves to be defaced, smashed, and maybe even burned.

Dave Hogarty

A few years ago, an artist affixed a number of zoetropes made with bicycle wheels to signposts on Rivington St. It was a very creative idea and most people seemed fascinated to gather around and look at them. Within a week, of course, they'd all been bashed to pieces. Some people are just irredemably destructive a-holes.