Mosaic Art: St. Mark's Place between 1st Avenue and Avenue A

Since I started this blog I have become a big fan of the East Village art of Jim Power, the Mosaic Man. I have previously mentioned his work, in a post on the Fillmore East and in another on 2nd Avenue between East 7th and St. Mark's.

Today's block is the biggest mosaic showcase yet. There are several lampposts decorated with his art, which is a common spot for his work and where his works appeared in the previous two entries. But there are also other interesting spots where mosaics appear, and I feel safe in assuming that they were also done by Jim Power. 

Let's start with the lampposts at the intersection with Avenue A, along the western edge of Tompkins Square Park. 

You can see that it says 'mosaic trail' on the top and lower part of this side. 

Here are some other looks at that pole:

I was trying to find the word 'east' above, but I only saw it saying The Village. That's okay, I believe this is part of the Village. Or maybe I just missed the word.

On the same side of this street along the park, just south of this pole is another one with mosaics, this time only on the lowest area. It is on the left in this photo, with the previous lamppost to the right:

 

Here's a panorama view along the park from this pole area.

Despite nature being in various stages of spring bloom, it was a cold April day and felt closer to winter. I wasn't happy with that, and neither were my ungloved hands while I took a bunch of photos.

Here's a look up the block, facing east towards 1st Avenue:

The lamppost to the far right in the above photo also has mosaics on its base.

I believe it says Avenue of the Arts.

The Crooked Tree is a crepe place located halfway up our block. Some of the mosaics refer to businesses in the area. Since he couldn't possible mention every place, I'm guessing he chose ones that he likes and identifies with the neighborhood. There are more mosaics at the actual Crooked Tree shop, coming up shortly. 

Here's another shop mentioned on the same lamppost, though this one is out of business.

A look back across Avenue A at the park and our first two lampposts. 

The fourth corner of the Avenue A intersection features yet more mosaic art, this one on the side of a building. Here's a wider look first, with the mosaic in between wood panels and to the right of the piece with bright colors:

I'm guessing it was done around 1987, since it reads 1787 1987 We The People. But I don't know, it could've been made in 1995. If it is that old, I'm glad it's still there and in good condition.

After checking out those corners I started to slowly make my way up the block and see what shops were there, figuring I wouldn't see another lamppost mosaic until 1st Avenue. But I was in for a nice surprise. 

I was taking photos midway up the block of some interesting buildings:

That curved look above is because it's a panorama shot.

And I saw a hot dog place called Crif Dogs which I was pretty sure I had seen Anthony Bourdain visit on one of his tv shows.

Sure enough, it turns out he did go there in the New York episode of The Layover. He also went to the bar next door called Please Don't Tell, which you enter through a phone booth in Crif Dogs.

I saw an interesting illustration nearby:

And a macaron patisserie:

And then while still looking at what shops were around, I almost walked straight into a mid-block lamppost covered in more mosaics.

I saw the 'Please Don't Tell' mosaic before I had jogged my memory about Crif Dogs and the next-door bar, so I thought maybe Jim Power was asking people to keep it quiet about this lamppost because he hadn't gotten permission, or something like that. I don't know if he gets permission for his mosaics but I thought maybe that was what it meant. I'm glad it's just the name of a bar.

And he also included Crif Dogs:

Here's some more of the post, including Wizard of Oz images, a jazz club that I couldn't identify, and an Eat Me mosaic that might be a hot dog reference to Crif Dogs.

The Tin Man appears below a message to drivers:

Or maybe bicycles are also being advised to slow down. Or maybe it's general life advice for everyone. Open to interpretation.

On the other side of the street is The Crooked Tree, the previously mentioned crepe shop. 

The tree directly in front of it is indeed crooked, along with the next one down in the photo...

But the trees across the street might actually be more crooked:

Anyway, my point is that there's a lot of crooked trees in the area. It doesn't have to be a contest. 

Back to the tree right in front of the creperie: it has mosaics around its base!

C'mon, that's just cool.

Nearby on the same side of the block is a nice work of street art:

It is signed with the Instagram addresses for Dasic Fernandez, a Chilean artist, and The Bushwick Collective, a group of street artists.  

On the side of the building just to the left is another image, though I don't know who did it.

As we're getting closer to 1st Avenue, on this same side of the street there is a dumpling shop next to an interesting building with lots of faces on it. 

It turns out that I wasn't the only one intrigued by this building: It was used on the cover for Led Zeppelin's 1975 album Physical Graffiti, and it was also in a Rolling Stones music video.

The term Physical Graffiti came from Jimmy Page. There used to be a vintage clothing store in the building starting in the 1990's called Physical Graffiti, and there is now a tea shop there called Physical Graffitea. 

A few doors down is the Under St. Marks Theater. Even its outside entrance has a quirky, intimate East Village vibe.

Across the street is a bookstore and some more mosaics.

Also the former site of the Yaffa Cafe, which closed in 2014 after over 30 years of business.

There was another of those Donald Trump posters near the 1st Avenue corner.

At the very top it says Make America Hate Again!

I know you probably thought that Donald Trump and his presidential campaign would be very popular in the East Village, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Then again, if it's just one person putting up those signs, then maybe the rest of the neighborhood really likes him... 

There is a strong Ukrainian presence in this area, as indicated along the side of this... whatever this object is:

Nearby is Little Missionary's Day Nursery, founded by Sara Curry, who was known as The Little Missionary. 

There is an honorary street sign for her on the corner:

We've reached 1st Avenue and there is one more mosaic lamppost to see, on the southwest corner of the intersection.

At first I didn't know why the theme was American Gangster. I thought maybe he was inspired by the 2007 Denzel Washington movie. But it turns out that nearby on St. Mark's, between 1st and 2nd Avenue, is the Museum of the American Gangster, just next to Theatre 80 St. Marks.

The lamppost features many gangster names, including Lucky Luciano, John Dillinger, Monk Eastman, and Ma Barker.

It's hard to see the name Monk Eastman above, but it's to the right of the larger letters for Theatre 80.

I looked up the name Florence Otway, assuming it was the name of another gangster, but she was actually the co-founder of Theatre 80. I'm glad I looked that up. Here's some more of the lamppost:

I believe that's just a reference to a cafe in the neighborhood called The Bean. 

That's all for now. Another great batch of art from Jim Power, the Mosaic Man, a genuine New York artist.