Regenerating a Memory - Herbert Von King Park and the Brooklyn Commons

Sitting in the (short) grass, probably with a make America Green Again hat on - I’d moved into my first Brooklyn apartment because of its’ fantastic access to outdoor space. One, my garden, was private.

I didn’t know what my experience with the other, a park, would be. At first, it was a charged space for me. One of the things that attracted me to the area in the first place. After I moved, I didn’t know anybody but, because I was out there so much, it sort of got me acquainted with the city. Later I took it for granted, using it to workout, sit, and walk strictly functional. Summer changed it, so did winter. Then, I painted it to rediscover my full range of experiences out there, and change the pace of viewing it, yet again.

The dog run was a hugely popular feature of the park. Deep wood chips replaced the mud pit when people got organized - demanding no more mud, running water and shade - and they got it! Solidarity, Bitches!

The park was like a stage for performance, a workshop for all kinds of recreation. TO my delight, it was often strewn with bikes. Recreational everything.

A small concert pit would create an entirely separate soundscape - while the main field, painted here, showered tunes up against my building any time the weather was nice. That guy was the most consistent DJ in action. He also played at Fort Greene...

Herbert Von King is a park - for sure - for the real city. An intricate array of Bedstuy & friends. I came to know the gardener Queen - Eve master of the entire block - and a skilled regenerative fabricator. She even gave me permission to re-plant the tree I grew in my backyard and provided cover for one of my guerrilla gardening efforts.

See the full painting in works…