Frederick IllE 77th St between 2nd Ave and 1st AveHeart Three · Location 315 · Drawn June 2003Hover over or select the image to reveal a hidden view.PhotographsDownload photograph 1Download photograph 2Download photograph 3Download photograph 4Download photograph 5Download photograph 6Download photograph 7Download photograph 8Download photograph 9Download photograph 10Download photograph 11Video podcast0:00On East 77th Street and 2nd Avenue, on the southeast corner of that intersection, is a commerce bank, open seven days a week.0:10On the street facing onto East 77th Street is one patch of stone that represents the only part of the bank that isn't predominantly a glass face.0:21This patch of stone is particularly nice because it's set into the building in such a way that it creates a really nicely proportioned frame.0:32The frame is bordered on the bottom by a dark black granite and this figure was drawn quickly inside of this frame.0:41This is Captain Frederick Ill Jr. He was drawn in June of 2003.0:49His drawing is counting 10 people.0:54Banks and federal buildings are two of the most stressful spaces to draw on or even near.1:01Though most of that stress can be traced back to our own biases, superstitions, and paranoia,1:07the bottom line is this.1:08These buildings are feeling the exact same thing.1:11Biases, superstitions, and paranoia.1:14Not that I can even begin to pretend what a person who robs a bank feels, but suspense has to be one of the top three emotions.1:22I'm guessing the others would be greed and disempowerment.1:25If any bank robbers are listening to this, please don't take that personally. It is only a guess.1:31This bank has baited us with an undeniably compositionally sound frame that just screamed out for a figure to be drawn in it.1:38even the most primitive artistic eye would look at that space and see that a figure had to be1:45drawn there this figure was the fastest one we have done to date andrew and i collaborated on1:51its creation i drew the body he tackled the hands and we had it done in less than three minutes1:56done so quickly that no one could really question what the big deal was in the first place but the2:02The only disadvantage of doing it so quickly is that we were working to just get it done.2:08The experience can be enjoyed in retrospect, and the product of our efforts, we will have to be cherished afterwards too.2:17Just like a bank robbery, I guess.2:21Fred Ill Jr. was a skinny kid from the Bronx, and he made up for it by being better than you.2:27A captain in the New York Fire Department, he gained fame two years ago for saving the life of a man who was pushed onto the subway tracks.2:35He later stayed nearby as the man learned to walk on artificial legs, and he helped to find scholarships for the man's children.2:43Everything he did, he did it over the top.← Location 314Heart Three · Location 315Location 316 →
