The life size installation, “Mom-and-Pops of the LES” is officially up and you can swing by to see it any time!
Mom and Pop shops have been an integral part of New York life since pretty much as long as New York has been around. But with an increasing amount of developers, luxury buildings and other forms of gentrification taking root in places like the Lower East Side, traditional brick and mortar stores are disappearing from our city-scape.
“Mom-and-Pops of the LES” is an installation that touches on just this problem. Artists and photographers, Karla and James Murray have been photographing New York City shop fronts for years and have multiple books highlighting their importance in the city.
The installation focuses on four shops; a bodega, a delicatessen, a small luncheonette and a news stand and can be seen inside the park on Essex Street and East Broadway for an entire year (July 2018-2019).
The wood-framed sculpture stands eight feet high and is twelve feet wide. The photographs are printed on dibond, an aluminum composite material that is weather, UV, freeze and heat-resistant and also has a graffiti-resistant laminate applied.
Although the project was complete last week, the official inauguration of the installation will be on July 14th.
Featured image: untappedcities.com