Odds are, you've noticed some of the most iconic murals adorning New York City's walls.
We're lucky that way. Since we haven't got that overflow of nature most rural spaces have, we've got to thrive in a decorous atmosphere in some other way.
Enter NYC's absurdly talented street artists.
Spanning the decades, NYC's street artists have been leaving their elegant mark on NYC's walls; from Banksy to Kobra to all of the phenomenal 5Pointz artists, NYC has no dearth of talented street artists.
All you have to do is explore DUMBO, Astoria, the East Village and even Chelsea for your eyes to be caught by a splash of bright colors, an awareness of artistic excellence, and more often than not, an empowering social message.
So were you curious about the names and origins of your favorite NYC murals? Great. We've compiled a list of the NYC murals that leave us most wondrous. Read on to find out what and where they are.
1. V-J Day in Times Square
This stunning, colorful mural commemorates the famous photo taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt of a man and woman kissing in Times Square at the end of World War II.
It was painted by Eduardo Kobra, who captured the ecstasy America felt at the moment that signified the end of that unthinkable war. The mural's colors and the light radiating from the kissing figures at its center signify America's ecstasy.
The mural is visible along The High Line at 25th Street and 10th Avenue in Chelsea.
Eduadro Kobra is an artist and designer from Sao Paulo Brazil, and is well-known for his massive murals on city walls around the world Check out his sight here.
2. Chem Trails NYC
Painted by Maya Hayuk, this brightly colored, beautiful geometric design came up on the famed Houston and Bowery wall.
Hayuk spent more than a week hand painting the wall in 2014, braving extreme winder conditions to create the painting. She braved the ice and snow to create her geometric masterpiece, which made walking through the East Village a much more artistic experience.
Though the Bowery Wall is currently painted with a different mural, Hayuk's painted iconic outdoor murals all over the world, and maintains an active studio in Brooklyn. We wanted to shout out this mural because while it existed, it was a wonder to behold.
Check out Hayuk's site here.
3. All American Temper Tot
Baby Hulk is the painting that currently resides on the Bowery Wall. You've probably seen it. It's the image of a green baby flexing its gargantuan muscles over a backdrop of brand names and commercialism.
It was painted by street artist Ron English, and features English's recurring Baby Hulk character. Baby Hulk, or Temper Tot, is shrouded in front of an American flag construed of a satirical backdrop of pop culture and advertising images.
The mural's message is clear: in America, we are far too inundated with advertising and corporations. The powerful mural is also pretty nice to look at.
4. #SaveYazidiWomen
slimjim72 COLLAB BY @daniellebknyc x @lexibellaart & @zesae #wellingcourtmuralproject #wellingcourtmurals #igers #saveyazidiwomen #loves_street #loves_nyc #streetartiseverywhere #ig_cameras_united #streetart_daily #spraydaily #dopeshotbro #splendid_urban #dsb_graff #rsa_graffiti #nexus_streetart
Street artists Danielle Mastion, Lexi Bella, and 2esea all collaborated on this impactful painting as part of the Welling Court Mural Projects during the 2014 Welling Court's Mural festival.
In 2009, the Welling Court community reached out to Ad Hoc Art, a design house best known for their out-of-the-box thinking and culturally relevant artwork.
It sits near the base of Astoria Park, bordering the waterfront on Vernon Boulevard, with a community garden as its center point.
This painting is an empowering response to the treatment of Yazidi women in Iraq, who are victims of gang rape, false imprisonment, and torture.
,5. We All Have Eyez
eyez If you are in nyc...go to @wellingcourtmuralproject today and visit my Marley peace and over 130 murals for the mural tour til 6pm also stop by the @stickersocialclub exhibit and buy a painting based off this mural 11-86 Welling Court. Street. 11102
This was painted by street artist Eyez, otherwise known as Peat Wollaeger also a part of the Welling Court Mural Projects in Astoria.
This homage to Bob Marley is a part of the more than 130 murals in the Welling Court Mural Project mural tour. It's at 11-86 Welling Court and was painted in 2015.
Wollaeger is known globally for large scale portraits, murals, and colorful stencil portraits. He directs his creative passion toward waking up the world. Which is exactly what this painting does, through calling on the legacy of the incredible Bob Marley.
6. Crack is Wack
cfritolemon Stepped on dog shit for this picture, so worth it. 😍 #anotherone #keithharing #1986 #crackiswack #harlem
Keith Haring painted this jarring mural on the wall of a basketball court alongside Harlem River drive in 1986.
We say jarring because the image reveals tons of bodies being crushed by a skeleton holding a sign that reads "$0." The message is clear. Crack isn't just wack, and it won't just leave you broke. It'll kill you while destroying those around you.
The use of smokable cocaine reached epidemic proportions in the mid-to-late 1980s. When Haring came to NYC in the 1980s, he gained notoriety by tagging interlocking bodies in chalk outlines on New York surfaces.
Haring died of AIDs in 1990, but his mural remains, spreading his important message today.
7. Four Owls
bemsortido Mural do Emporio Dijon aqui no Brooklyn 😍 #emporiodijon #nyc #brooklyn #graffiti #streetart #craiganthonymiller
Also commissioned as part of the DUMBO Walls Project, native Brooklyn artist Craig Anthony Miller (known as CAM) designed and painted this enormous mural.
The four brilliant owls sit beside the Manhattan bridge. CAM's also contributed other works of art to the Brooklyn Beautification Project, but we wanted to shout out these owls because they're both abstract and realistic, radiant and striking.
CAM is an integral part of the visual fabric of the DUMBO area. Check out his site here.
Check out 7 NYC Instagram Photographers Who Are Killin' the Bridge Game.
[Feature Image Courtesy Inside the Rock Poster Frame]