Rockefeller Center: Wisdom, Sound and Light

Rockefeller Center is one of the most iconic locations in a city full of iconic locations. It's a complex of 19 commercial buildings in Midtown Manhattan. Among its most famous tenants are NBC and Radio City Music Hall, as well as home of the famous skating rink and the site of the annual giant Christmas tree.

It was conceived by John D. Rockefeller Jr. during the latter years of the Roaring Twenties. Originally it was intended to be the new home of the Metropolitan Opera, but the opera pulled out and was replaced by RCA (later NBC). Despite the 1929 Stock Market Crash and subsequent Great Depression, Rockefeller pursued the project. It was the largest private building project ever undertaken by private capital. His ambition was to create the "most inspiring example of urban planning that New York has ever seen," and to "demonstrate faith in the country's future when everything was going dead wrong, and to provide work in a time of lengthening breadlines." When construction begin in 1931, 1/3 of the manufacturing firms New York were out of business, and 64% of construction workers were out of work. Rockefeller's development provided employment for tens of thousands of men over the next decade. 

The initial plans for Rockefeller Center, by architects L. Andrew Reinhard and Henry Hofmeister, were met with scorn from critics such as Lewis Mumford, who said they were "bad with an almost juvenile badness." But by its opening in 1940, it was a popular success, with Ira Gershwin writing, "They all laughed at Rockefeller Center, now they're fighting to get in . . . Ha, ha, ha! Who's got the last laugh now?"

From the start, the complex was designed to be filled with public art, roughly focused on the theme, "The March of Civilization." There's an awful lot of Greek mythology-inspired sculptures and friezes that celebrate European colonialism and capitalist industrialism. Lots of swole Art Deco demi-gods celebrating mineral extraction and tobacco and international commerce.

The giant sculpture Wisdom looms over the entrance to 30 Rockefeller Center. It was designed by Lee Lawrie. Lawrie (1877-1963) was a leading American architectural sculptor, creating over 300 commissions in various styles, including Modern Gothic, Beaux-Arts, Classicism, and Art Deco. His family immigrated from Germany to Chicago when he was a young child, and he began working as an assistant to area sculptors at age 15, later receiving a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Yale University. Lawrie created a dozen pieces for Rockefeller Center, the most of any artist.

These two pieces, Sound and Light, flank Wisdom at the entrance to 30 Rock. This was the headquarters of RCA, now NBC (It's where Liz Lemon works on "30 Rock.") Radio and motion pictures were creating the modern media environment. These two figures represent these two industries that were achieving global significance. 

All three are by the team of Lawrie and Léon-Victor Solon. Lawrie designed the sculptures, and Solon applied color using a polychrome technique.

Alleva Dairy

 

Alleva Dairy is a 130-year-old cheese store in Little Italy, located at the corner of Grand and Mulberry Streets. It's known for its fresh ricotta and mozzarella and lays claim to the title of being the oldest cheese shop in America. It was founded in 1892 by Pina Alleva, an immigrant from Benevento, Italy, and ownership passed through subsequent generations of the Alleva family. Also, apparently actor Tony Danza was a co-owner for a while.

Unfortunately, it will close in March after a long dispute with its landlord over back rent. Like so many other businesses, Alleva was a victim of the pandemic. Not only did the tourist trade disappear during the pandemic, but many businesses in the area sourced products from Alleva, and they themselves went under, further reducing Alleva's income. Their last day is March 5.

High Line Water Tower

A water tower near the High Line, an elevated park waterway on the West Side of Manhattan. Water towers like these are an iconic, ubiquitous feature of New York City, but it's not common to find a vantage point close enough to draw one like this.

Canal Rubber

I've been wanting to draw Canal Rubber for, like, years and years, and I finally carved out some time to do it. It's hard to believe it's still there. It's been at this location since 1954, and is one of the most distinctive storefronts on Canal St. It's one of the few of this type of business still left on that stretch, which once had dozens of industrial supply stores. A few others, like Canal Plastics and Canal Lighting, still remain, but the rest of the street has become a weird conglomeration of upscale development, low-end souvenir and knock-off merchandise stores, and vacant buildings, with tons of street vendors lining the sidewalks with counterfeit goods. The building, at the corner of Canal and Greene St., was sold in 2015, but as of now, the business remains. It's not hard to predict that it will be out out sooner or later, though. 

Process shots:

R.I.P. Stomp

Today is the last performance of Stomp. If you're not familiar with it, it's a wordless stage show of a group of performers creating music and choreography entirely acoustically, using found objects and industrial materials like garbage can lids, brooms, radiator hoses, and the like. It's been at this same location for 29 years, performing 11,472 times.

I've never seen the show, but it's still a landmark of the Lower East Side. I've walked past its distinctive marquee a million times. I did this drawing as part of Save Our Stages series. Stomp was able to re-open after pandemic restrictions were lifted, but the international tourists who made up a large part of its audience have not returned, at least to this venue. The building has a long, long history, stretching back to the early 20th century as part of the Yiddish Theater, and later home to the original Little Shop of Horrors, John Leguizamo's Mambo Mouth, and Eric Bogosian's Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll. Hopefully, that tradition continues.

EV Grieve: Bang Gone: Stomp's Long Run On 2nd Avenue Concludes

House Portrait

My friend (and boss) Paul commissioned me to draw his house as a Christmas present for his wife. I think it's the first home they've owned. It's in Jersey City. Unlike most of my work, this one I did from a photo.

Draw-A-Thon

 Went to a drawing session this past weekend, a Draw-A-Thon fundraiser for the Arts & Design High School. It's been a long, long, looooong time since I've done any live model drawing!