A Love Letter to the City by Stephen Powers, Princeton Architectural Press, 172 pages, $29.95.
The walls speak to us through Stephen Powers' paintbrush and with his concise messages he captures our attention. The transition from underground graffiti artist took Powers on a journey that began in New York where he went by ESPO and blurred the lines of graffiti artist and community service. He painted vandalized storefront gates around the city. Later he painted signs for Coney Island businesses for free to restore an authentic look to the buildings that were being replaced by computer generated printing.
As Powers found his way as an artist he kept returning to old style signs as a vehicle for his message. "I made paintings that looked like Coney Island signage, except I stripped out the commercial and inlaid emotional content."
Powers tells his story alongside the many photographs of his work. From Coney Island, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Dublin, Sao Paolo and Johannesburg, he has painted his messages. His words bring humanity to urban landscapes that have mostly lost their way. They speak to the community because Powers takes the time to connect with the people who live there.
