Best known for his street installations, on his own and with Leon Reid, Artist Brad Downey, was recently asked what work he is most proud of.

“It’s hard to say. But I am quite fond of taking CCTV cameras down. I have a nice little collection of these objects. It is something I have been doing since 2005, I think this work is important. I do not know if its art but I am proud of it.”

He also talks about his latest video work and new book, The Adventures of Darius and Downey, written by Ed Zipco. Head over to Ekosystem for the full interview.

Photo of Brad Downey’s work by fahrlaessig on Flickr.

A 8-foot-tall park bench appeared on Houston Street this week, not to be confused with “the bench” outside American Apparel down the street.

A tribe of behemoths has apparently moved into the city, and is looking for somewhere to take a load off. This 8-foot-tall park bench was found Monday bolted into the median strip on Houston at Suffolk Street in the Lower East Side.

A spokesman for the Department of Transportation said the agency is investigating.

Mysterious 8-foot bench appears on LES [AMNY]

Update: Tod confirms that the bench was installed by Brad Downey.

Downey was in town for a flash recently, but long enough to team up with Mike Wrobel to make and install an 8 ft. high bench on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He asked me to document it for him, since the lifespan of this type of work is always questionable. Soon after I took these photos, the piece was removed by the DOT. But only after it made the news. Check out the articles in the NY Post, and AM New York. The DOT was nice enough to post flyers notifying the owner of the piece that they could come claim the work within 48 hours, before they scrapped it. I’m sure there wouldn’t be any NYPD representatives present if someone did in fact show up to claim it, none at all. . .

Photo by Tod Seelie

Update: Nobody is claiming it.

Street artist, Brad Downey hit the streets yesterday with a couple brand new sculptures. Thanks to Tod Seelie for sharing the photos and a harrowing moment while riding along for the installation.

Things got off to a rocky start when the first piece (a three-headed phone sign) bounced out of the back of the truck in the middle of the Pulaski Bridge. Luckily the car behind us was able to swerve out of the way in time (some true knucklehead business).

The pieces are up, so check them out yourself. Tod provides the exact locations in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Long Island City, Queens.