He had an ulterior motive.
A New York City artist painted more than 200 portraits of fellow Brooklynites to encourage neighbors to say hello.
Rusty Zimmerman, 44, started painting people in southern Brooklyn a year ago after moving with his wife and stepchildren from Crown Heights to Kensington.
He wanted to not only get to know his new neighbors, but also to foster community in a city known for people who care about themselves.
“Helping neighbors greet each other is at the heart of why I do this job,” Zimmerman told the Saturday Post.
His 202 portraits will be on display inside Building 8 of Industry City until Sunday, and at the closing ceremony the paintings will be returned to their subjects to take home.
Among the hundreds of New Yorkers Zimmerman met along the way were an MTA bus driver who once harbored dreams of designing handbags, and someone who told the artist when it was “proper to talk” about the Big Apple. , and some wanted to become a supermarket. “Pirate King”.
Each portrait takes Zimmerman four to five hours to complete in the studio, and here is a snippet of a conversation between him and his subject. Available on SoundCloud.
“The best way to love New York is to talk about New York,” Subject No. 69, Stanley Delva, told him.
“You have to live here long enough to know that can happen.” [s–t]. If you’ve lived here long enough, you’ve earned the right to talk about it properly. ”
Staten Island’s Guy Zorda, also known as “King Henry,” had his portrait drawn wearing a regal crown as host and mascot for the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team. He also recalled showing up to a game the day after his thyroid was removed.
Zimmerman also drew a picture of Gorilla Nems, a Coney Island rapper whose real name was Travis. The artist said the musician, who just returned from a tour, is scheduled to pick up the portrait Sunday afternoon.
When painted in Building 2 of Industry City, all subjects were seated in the same red chairs displayed in the exhibition. Unlike most oral historians, Zimmerman knew little of his subjects until they sat in front of him.
And just like in his conversation with the Post, he always began his sessions with the same heartfelt, “How are you doing?”
In fact, Zimmerman did not hand-select his subjects and only knew three of them previously.
He rode his bike through parts of southern Brooklyn, holding multilingual flyers urging people to register. At one time, he had 650 people on the waiting list, and he was fighting tooth and nail every two weeks to get one of the 10 spots available.
Zimmerman’s interaction with his subjects did not end after the portrait was taken. Mr. Zimmerman will host a reception on the first Sunday of the month inside Café Nube in Sunset Park, where they and their friends and family will come together to view 17 to 20 new portraits and admire their He told the Post that he was able to listen to clips of history.
They were also displayed at various libraries throughout the year, and a pop-up was held at the Berkeley Center.
The California native started a free portrait project in Crown Heights in 2015 to hone his skills and meet people around him.
This project earned him a place in the Prep School Hall of Fame in 2022.
After receiving his award from his old teacher, his now-wife asked him if this was what he wanted to do, since he had spent most of his life working in the octagon on the side.
When he moved to Kensington in 2023, he decided to do a second round called “We Are South Brooklyn,” which is on display in Industry City.
And just like the first round, this project was still about connections.
When Zimmerman lived in Crown Heights, his neighbor Charles’ house went up in flames while his children were playing with matches behind the couch. He knew his neighbors and was able to help the firefighters.
But more importantly, he was able to call his neighbors and check in.
“When they’re having a hard time, they can look out for each other,” he said.
The portraits will be on display Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a closing ceremony Sunday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
