Papaya Square

Papaya Square

50 x 50 oil 2014

About a year ago I was struck with this corner at 14 Street and Second Ave. It seems to evoke New York that is harder to come by these days. The store is indigenous, or at least not a multinational Star Bucks-like chain, which seems to have taken over much of Manhattan. I like the sign because it has sculptural elements, not a plastic banner.

The time of day is crepuscular--yeah, might be leaning on my nocturne crutch a bit here, but not full-blown. The effulgence of the corner warrants it--and I am still challenging myself in that I have chosen the tricky square as a format. I've always avoided the square, having somehow absorbed the idea that it is noncommittal. (neither landscape or portrait.)

Perhaps painters eschew the square because of its static nature. I've tried to offset this by inferring movement by the cropped taxis: one entering, one leaving. The viewer completes the circuit, imagining the world to the sides.