It’s almost impossible to describe what it felt
like to be living in downtown Manhattan during the weeks following September
11th. At the time, Hoodie and I were living together in the West Village, just a
few miles away from the Trade Center.  For months, it seemed, we walked around
in a dazed, stunned silence. Perhaps we still do.  It was not long after the WTC
shrines had gone, after the photos of the missing family members had come down,
that we began to notice a series of stickers in Soho and the Village. They each
had very simple statements on them:

“Searching”  “Loving” “Thinking”
“Expanding” and “Being”.

There was (is!) something about the stickers
that are truely profound.  On their own, their meaning is intense. But together,
there’s something overwhelming about them.  After 9/11 we couldn’t wait to find
another one. What word would be next?  The stickers projected peace. And it was
a peace that we were walking around trying to find. We were never quite sure if
the artist had made a connection between 9/11 and the stickers.  But we had. So
when we received an email last week from "http://www.vinnieray.com">Vinnie Ray, the artist behind the stickers, we
were really pleased. We were interested in learning more so we asked Vinnie Ray
our five questions: 

Wooster:  How did you get started in
creating art for the street?

"http://www.woostercollective.com/stickers/Expanding.jpg" WIDTH= "200" align=
"right" hspace="10"> Answer: I did alot of production work for "http://adaweb.walkerart.org/context/artists/holzer/holzer0.html">Jenny
Holzer in the 90’s.  She has been a big inspiration to me.  I have always
admired artists that have been able to work their message into culture outside
and inside the gallery space. I saw the street as a great way to put thought
prompts out there to get folks to consider things that are going on inside
themselves and how those things connect to the whole.

Wooster: 
What originally inspired you to do the "http://www.woostercollective.com/stickers/Searching.jpg">Searching, href="http://www.woostercollective.com/stickers/Thinking.jpg">Thinking,
Loving, "http://www.woostercollective.com/stickers/Expanding.jpg">Expanding,
Being series?

Answer:  I had these characters I had been
drawing and I wanted to do something with them.  I wanted to spread positive
ideas in my artwork and in a very
direct way.  So I thought of what kind of
things happen when you do some soul searching.  What is the process or path that
happens when we try to get to the
self.  These terms came to mind and I
like them because they are always happening…past, present, and future tense. 
They don’t really tell you what to do, they are more
sayings, so that it
leaves room for consideration. I think they also fit the vibe of the characters
well.

Wooster: What other street artists do you most admire
and why?

Answer: I really like the "http://www.mdefeo.com/">Flower Guy’s art.  It makes me feel good and I like
the whole planting idea…..johnny apple seed.  I like "http://www.bansky.co.uk">Bansky.  He’s tough and funny too.  "http://www.at149st.com/costrev.html">Revs/Cost early paste ups totally
introduced me to an underbelly of the city when I first got here.  I couldn’t
wait to see what was coming next. They owned this town.

/>Wooster: What’s your favorite city, neighborhood, or block, to post
and/or to see street art?  I love Brooklyn, but anywhere is good to me.  The
bathroom of bars is good, like a little gallery show.

Wooster:
What inspires you now?

Answer: Music and sound.  And
everyone who is maintaining hope in the face of difficult circumstances.
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BONUS QUESTION:

Wooster: What are you currently
working on? (Can you give us a sneak peak?)

Answer: I have a
first edition of a picture book based on the characters and ideas in my sticker
and flag work.  You can see it at www.vinnieray.com.  I am currently working on
extending the book into a more elaborate story.  I also enclosed three jpegs of
some drawings I am doing dealing with crystalline music and crystalline thought
inspired by architectural forms of cathedrals.

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