In 1971 a man named Jerry Wolkoff brought the building and had leased it out to a company that had made record player accessories and eight-track tapes. The company then moved out in the early 1990s, so he decided to rent the space out as studios to artists. In 2002 the former warehouse known as the Phun Phactory slowly turned into the 5 Pointz Aerosol Art Center, Inc. Located in Long Island city, New York. Considered to be the “graffiti mecca” of the world and the largest, the 200,000 square foot building was also an outdoor art exhibit. The attraction brought many artists from all over the world to come and paint their pieces all over the walls. The name 5 Pointz was given by a man named Jonathan Meres Cohen. The name signified the unity of the five boroughs of New York coming together as one. The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.
The outdoor museum brought many tourists and even attracted hip hop and R&B artists. Such as Doug E. Fresh, Grandmaster Kaz, Mobb Deep, and Rahzel just to name a few. Also was featured in Hollywood films. The most recent movie I believe it to be in was “Now You See.” This place brought the community together such as holding events and also having tours. One of the most recent events was to actually save 5 Pointz. The owner had other plans for the building. Petitions were signed and even more events took place.
Jerry Wolkoff had plans for the building. He wanted to build to high-rise towers with luxury apartments. Wanting to avoid any confrontation he added that there would be a 60 high-wall for artists to paint on freely. “I am telling you, I did not like what they did — I loved what they did.” (Jerry Wolkoff). He enjoyed the beauty of the artists and appreciated it. Sadly though over night the building was painted over white. It broke the community’s heart seeing ten years of the largest aerosol art center gone within one night. All of the artists work can never be replaced. “The judge gave me the right to demolish my building. It would take three months. To watch the pieces go down piece by piece by piece would be torturous.” (Jerry Wolkoff). Ten years of art erased that can never be duplicated again.
Work Cited
“ABOUT | 5 POINTZ.” 5 POINTZ. IV.Creative.Inc, 2012. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
As we talked about in class, I’d encourage you to take on some broader questions (graffiti, the hip hop or R&B music scene, the value of communal spaces like this, pressures to rehab in cities, etc.)
Make sure to use just last name for in-text citation, and in places citations seem to be missing (any info that you got from a source needs an in-text citation). Coscarelli source needs title of article.