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OFF THE WALL: NEW YORK CITY STREET POETS AND VISIONARIES, THE GOLDSMITH COLLECTION

AN EXHIBITION IN NEW YORK SHOWCASED A WIDE RANGE OF EARNEST, FUNNY, ANGRY, AND OTHERWISE WEIRD AND UNEXPECTED MESSAGES FOUND IN THE STREETS


by Edward M. Gómez


Earlier this year, Andrew Edlin Gallery in New York presented one of the most curious —and unconventional — exhibitions to have come along in many years. Simple in form, with scraps of paper bearing mostly hand-scrawled texts pinned to the walls, and completely without affectation, the presentation, titled “ARE YOU FREE ON SATURDAY FROM 4-7 P.M.?”, featured hundreds of found messages, declarations, bizarre observations à propos of everything from free rides to the airport to penises, and supplications of varying degrees of earnestness and intensity.

The American poet Kenneth Goldsmith holding a copy of the book NYC Street Poets and Visionaries (published by JBE Books in 2023), which documents his collection of found-art, strange, mostly handwritten messages, announcements, and declarations, which he has been gathering and keeping since the late 1980s. Photo by Edward M. Gómez
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