The Bowery, New York City
June 15, 2017
© Rick Kollmeyer
The Bowery has a long history of being a little rough around the edges. It also has a long history of being a place where interesting things happen.
Deborah and I, during one of our classic “wanders”, came across this mural of Joey Ramone, painted by Solus and John “Crash” Matos. It sat directly across from the former location of CBGB, the legendary punk club where the Ramones got their start.
I loved the mural and stopped to photograph it.
At first, I thought the photograph would be better without the woman standing in front of it. She was on a smoke break, so I figured I’d wait for her to finish and move along.
Then I started looking at the rest of the scene.
There was the broken bicycle. The gum-covered sidewalk. Evidence that someone had recently left some bodily fluids behind. And, of course, the mural itself, commemorating the Ramones and CBGB.
And then there was the girl.
Suddenly, I realized she wasn’t getting in the way of a simple photo of a mural.
She was the photograph.
All of it together seemed to capture something about the Bowery that the mural alone couldn’t. The music, the graffiti, the grime, the people and the little bits of everyday life that somehow accumulate around a place with a history.
Joey and the Ramones had to fight their way onto the music scene.
But on this particular day, Joey had some company.
And she was having a smoke.
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