Archive for the ‘City Pattern Project’ Category
In which The Gay Recluse braces for the inevitable. This past week has been very depressing to us. You just get the feeling that the election is already slipping away. It’s not like we think Obama is going to save us or anything. But when was the last time we had a major candidate who […]
Filed under: Capitalism, City Pattern Project, Communism, Dissonance, Government, Landscape, Longing, Resignation | 2 Comments
Tags: Andy Warhol, God, Manhole Covers
In which The Gay Recluse loves trees. So we sit down on the subway next to this guy who starts to aggressively hum. (We’re like: why us?) And then he karate chops at the air in front of him. We ignore him and think about Chamaecyparis obtusa.
Filed under: City Pattern Project, Subway, The Summer Garden | 2 Comments
Tags: Chamaecyparis obtusa, Crazies, Dwarf Hinoki Cypress, Karate Chops, Subways
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with Japanese maples. Hey there, Eskimo Sunset (Acer pseudoplatanus)! You’re actually a combination between a maple and a sycamore; we also read somewhere that you’re the most variegated plant in the world! As with all of our City Pattern Projects, we dream of the day that you […]
Filed under: Capitalism, City Pattern Project, Communism, The Gay Recluse, The Summer Garden | 1 Comment
Tags: Acer pseudoplatanus, Eskimo Sunset, Japanese Maple, Sycamore
In which The Gay Recluse explores a longstanding obsession with moss-covered brick. Bricks, it seems, are the literal building blocks of civilization, whereas moss is the incremental destroyer. To see them together — and to appreciate the beauty of this — is to understand that you cannot have one without the other, just the way […]
Filed under: Architecture, City Pattern Project, Longing, Ruins, The Gay Recluse, The Summer Garden, Weather | 1 Comment
Tags: Bricks, Heidi, Lauren, Melancholy, Moss, Revelation, Spring, The Hills, Winter
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with manhole covers. Recently we were suprised to learn that cities in Florida such as Ft. Lauderdale also have manhole covers, some of which are pretty freakin’ swank. Reader CBNY sends us the following: [The first] is a little perfunctory, but I find it offers a rather […]
Filed under: Architecture, City Pattern Project, Infrastructure, Landscape, The Gay Recluse | 2 Comments
Tags: Fort Lauderdale, Manhole Covers
In which The Jane Austen Watch checks in with The Gay Recluse. So we’re always hassling our correspondents to submit more material and believe it or not, sometimes it works! Today, for example, The Jane Austen Watch filed this report from her beat in Queens: I took some pictures of the tiles at this diner […]
Filed under: Architecture, Capitalism, City Pattern Project, Communism, The Gay Recluse, The Jane Austen Watch | 1 Comment
Tags: Diners, Just Pretty Cool, Queens, Tiles
In which The Gay Recluse is Manhattan Born. Location: Edgecomb Avenue and we forget exactly. When we first looked at this, we thought it said “Manhattan Born,” which we kind of prefer, even though we’re not exactly from here. Or are we, now that we’ve lived here almost ten years? Whenever anyone asks me for […]
Filed under: Architecture, City Pattern Project, Communism, Decay, Gay, The Gay Recluse | Leave a Comment
Tags: Manhattan, Manhole Covers, Sugar Hill
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with manhole covers. Location: Edgecomb Avenue and 159th Street Is this the best manhole cover ever? Perhaps it is. We could stare at this for a thousand years, on or off drugs. Whenever anyone asks me for something to put into a time capsule, I tell them […]
Filed under: Capitalism, City Pattern Project, Decay, Infrastructure, Landscape, Photography, The Gay Recluse, Washington Heights | 4 Comments
Tags: Andy Warhol, Drugs, Manhole Covers, Weiner Werkstatte
In which The Gay Recluse sees remnants of craft in the morning commute. This is where we stand every morning to wait for the train. And dream of stenciling this pattern onto the walls of our office.
Filed under: Architecture, Capitalism, City Pattern Project, Communism, Photography, Subway, The Gay Recluse, Washington Heights | 1 Comment
Tags: 163rd Street, Art Deco, Grates, Iron Work, MTA, Peeling Paint
In which The Gay Recluse is blown away by grand, tessellated spaces. On Friday we went apartment hunting with a friend of ours who wants to move uptown. We didn’t have much time — we were with a realtor — but managed to snap a few shots of these foyers. (We’ll try to get some […]
Filed under: Architecture, City Pattern Project, The Gay Recluse, Washington Heights | 4 Comments
Tags: apartment palaces, Foyers, Landmarks, Mosaics
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with MHCs (“manhole covers”). Location: Broadway and 161st, Washington Heights This pattern would look great anywhere, but mostly in the hospitals and office buildings. Whenever anyone asks me for something to put into a time capsule, I tell them not to bother. The manhole covers will last […]
Filed under: Capitalism, City Pattern Project, Communism, Infrastructure, New York City, The Gay Recluse, Washington Heights | Leave a Comment
Tags: Andy Warhol, Hospitals, Manhole Covers, Office Buildings, Time Capsules
In which The Gay Recluse finds a silver lining. We’ve already written about our bad karma at the 34th Street Station, which is filled with ungainly chrome columns and awkward ramps. But just the other day, we noticed an infinite wall of gold tile. We’re not sure why it took us two years to find. […]
Filed under: Architecture, Capitalism, City Pattern Project, Communism, Dissonance, Gentrification, New York City, Subway, The Gay Recluse | 2 Comments
Tags: 34th Street, Berlin, Chrome Columns, D-Train, Karma, MTA, Ramps
In which The Vermonter, a former New Yorker who has retired to the rural life, checks in with The Gay Recluse. Recently we heard from our friend The Vermonter, who had this to say: I love manhole covers! I have been photographing them for years! Here are some favorites from a few years back… Whoas! […]
Filed under: Architecture, Capitalism, City Pattern Project, Communism, Infrastructure, Landscape, Photography, The Gay Recluse, The Vermonter | Leave a Comment
Tags: Manhole Covers, Manholes, The Vermonter
In which The Gay Recluse stays in a swank hotel in Berlin. One good thing about going to Berlin for work was our company paid for the hotel, a little boutique called Goethe 87 in the west. Even though it wasn’t that expensive in euros — about 100/night — that’s the equivalent of $10,000 US […]
Filed under: City Pattern Project, Photography, The Gay Recluse, Travel | Leave a Comment
Tags: Berlin, Damask, Euros, Exchange Rates, Geothe 87, Hotel, Stencil, Wallpaper, Weak Dollar
In which The Gay Recluse dreams of a new career. Ever since we visited Prague a few years ago we have been obsessed with becoming a sidewalk builder. This obsession was rekindled in Berlin, which has lots of sidewalks made of small stones. Please! Step into our office. Could someone please hand us a stone? […]
Filed under: Architecture, City Pattern Project, Landscape, Photography, The Gay Recluse, Travel | Leave a Comment
Tags: Berlin, Career Counseling, Pavers, Prague, Sidewalks, Stones
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with manhole covers. Here’s something you won’t typically read about in guidebooks to Berlin: the capital of Germany has some freakin’ kickass manhole covers! This is pretty much our favorite manhole cover these days. At 4′ by 4′, it’s not small, either.
Filed under: Capitalism, City Pattern Project, Communism, The Gay Recluse, Travel | Leave a Comment
Tags: Berlin, Germany, Guidebooks, Manhole Covers
In which The Gay Recluse becomes obsessed with orange tiles. We recently spent some time in Berlin at the conference center, much of which was done in orange tiles. Yes it was garish but there was something appealing about it. Maybe it’s just because it seems like nothing you ever see on this side of […]
Filed under: Architecture, Capitalism, City Pattern Project, Communism, Infrastructure, Subway, The Gay Recluse | 3 Comments
Tags: Berlin, ICC, Orange Tiles, The Clash
In which The Gay Recluse loves ferns. Sometimes it seems that ferns are seriously underrated. Which is kind of odd, considering they almost always look great! We recommend getting rid of your lawn and replacing it with ferns and birch trees. If everyone did this it would obviously solve most of the world’s problems. Here’s […]
Filed under: City Pattern Project, Landscape, Stereotypes, The Gay Recluse, The Spring Garden | Leave a Comment
Tags: Birches, Ferns, Lawns, Problems
In which The Gay Recluse thinks about taking a seat. Time/Location: Recently, around 34th Street. We walk by these benches all the time, but have never had the time or inclination to sit.
Filed under: Architecture, City Pattern Project, New York City, Photography, The Gay Recluse | Leave a Comment
Tags: 34th Street, Manhattan, Park Bench, Sitting Still
In which The Gay Recluse is entranced by the lowly marigold. Time/Location: Sunday afternoon at the Green Valley Nursery in Westchester. Yellow marigolds. Red marigolds. Orange marigolds.
Filed under: City Pattern Project, Dissonance, Photography, Retail, Stereotypes, The Gay Recluse, The Spring Garden | Leave a Comment
Tags: Green Valley, Marigold, Westchester
The Gay Recluse 