The Writing's on the Wall

Opening it for a look you find 160 pages of New York geography, from white-brick walls to subway cars, restaurant doors to alleys. Treated simply as a book of photography, the journal is already impressive, offering a visually interesting journey through the very stuff that makes the city. New York becomes a labyrinth of walls and doorways through which we can wander for days.



Are you from New York? Then flip through and see if you recognize any of these places; maybe that's an alley near you, or a wall you've walked past for years without notice. It's like a game of architectural Memory. Not from New York? Doesn't matter—take a look, anyway, and draw little aliens all over the cinder blocks of a midtown warehouse, scribble on garage doors, add vines to air-conditioning units, write obscenities on what might be a waffle-delivery van.

It's the ultimate doodler's companion: printed on ink-friendly uncoated pages and giving you something to look at before you draw (or write—it also makes for an awesome journal).

There is a somewhat unhelpful interactive website to go along with the book—but I'd skip that and just grab a copy of the book itself.

Until then, here are some sample spreads—both pre- and post-graffiti: