In the middle of Times Square nestled between digital billboards, flashing lights, and wall-to-wall consumerism there is a relic of the past - T Sq. Newsstand. Spearheaded by artist Kimou “Grotesk” Meyer in association with Victory Journal, Juxtapoz Magazine, and other visual artists the T Sq. Newsstand is an art installation that embodies nostalgia for the almost forgotten visual landscape of New York City before the 90s.
The installation is a fully functional newsstand complete with tags from well-known graffiti artists. The idea is “to bring some culture to Times Square,” and to “raise question and conversation between people,” Meyer comments.
“I built my fantasy about what was New York when I was 10,” Meyer went on to explain that he grew up in Switzerland and for his tenth birthday his father gave him two gifts: a book by photographer Henry Chalfant (leading NYC graffiti photographer and co-producer of the film ‘Style Wars’) and a book on New York City architecture. These new visual influences heavily impacted Meyer’s artistic aesthetic.
Meyer came to the states in 1999 and recounts, “when I came here everything was pretty much gone, I had more like a visual fantasy about the New York I was hoping to see and the newsstand was kind of the last piece of real estate … that had that kind of grittiness.”
Meyer, along with guest artists, will be at the installation everyday from 4-7 to display art, sell prints, and interact with the community. The T Sq. Newsstand will run through October 18th and is located within the Broadway Plaza between 44th and 45th Street.
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