MTV News with Kurt Loder, 1991.

Univision New York, 1991.

New York Post, Page Six, WINTER AT TAR BEACH, 1979.

Page Six profiles Peter Mayer's first graffiti work, titled Blondes on the Roof, 1979.

The piece depicted 72 nude sunbathers on the rooftops of five buildings on York Av. between 75th and 76th Sts.

The work was visible by aircraft, including by flights landing or taking off from LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Teterboro airports. During the work's existence, it became a frequently visited site for helicopter tours of New York City.

Blondes on the Roof gained Mayer significant notoriety in the downtown scene. A friend of the artist described the work to Andy Warhol during an introduction of the two artists. Warhol responded saying: "Oh, that is what everyone is talking about downtown!"

Commissioned works appearing in 200 Cigarettes (1999)

Directed by Rica Bramon Garcia
Writter Shana Larson

Staring Christina Ricci, Ben Affleck, Janeane Garofalo, Casey Affleck, Courtney Love, Angela Featherstone, Kate Hudson, Dave Chappelle, Paul Rudd

LINK

Call it graffiti. Okay, call it ruffiti.

After all, artist Peter Mayer curbs his dogs all over Manhattan . . . construction site fences, buildings _ any uncontested space.

His hurriedly painted Scottish terrier-like canines evoke a gamut of reactions from passers-by, be they dog lovers or not.

A lot smile and laugh. A few complain. Some try to take the art with them.

Since the dogs' conception in 1987, they have appeared in fashion spreads, MTV and Tama Janowitz's movie Slaves of New York.

Mayer has had two one-man-many-dog exhibits at galleries in New York. And commercial success prompted a seven-city tour this summer on Route 66.

He painted the dogs as "a way to cut through, to avoid talking to art dealers."

"As an artist, you have to deal with dealers who dictate what they think they can sell," Mayer said. "The artist is always dealing from a weak position _ to get to a good position, he has to go through stuff like this."

Mayer applied this philosophy to another project in 1985. He painted girls sunbathing nude on the roof of his apartment building and neighboring roofs.

After painting more than 80 nude sunbathers (all blond _ "I could use one color of paint that way") he got a lot of press. And tenants threw parties to show off their roofs.

Soon after, he was out one night and wanted to do something new.

"I had a bucket of gray paint, this nice blue-steel paint. I made a dog and thought this made sense, it's almost a gift," he said during an interview in his studio.

Sitting in the room is almost a psychedelic experience. Various sizes, colors and forms of The Dog meet the eye wherever you look.

"I just wanted to have fun, to get it out there, to just present it. It will find its own level," he said.

Each dog is done with about seven swift strokes _ a head, body, tail and four legs.

"At the time, I was going to a lot of galleries and got tired of looking at paintings that were so wispy and vague. "Can't you see it, it's there and yet it's not there,' " he said mockingly.

The simple, boldly painted dogs on canvas at an uptown gallery struck a chord with "kids, antique people, street people _ there wasn't one group."

One woman who lives down the street from the gallery had never visited until Mayer's dog show.

" "Surely you've seen my Warhol exhibit? My Calder show,' " Mayer said, imitating the gallery owner's exchange with the woman.

"No, no," she said, purchasing a $1,500 dog painting. "This is wonderful."

The paintings initially fetched $500. Those were scarfed up. And the price went up.

Some prefer to spend no money but expend a bit of effort. One enthusiast drove up to the gallery in a station wagon with two dogified construction fences and asked for Mayer's signature.

Some believe the dogs are "subversive" and annoying. One woman passed out letters stating Mayer had kidnapped dogs and was sacrificing them to Satan. One man told Mayer the dogs "interrupted the order" of things in New York.

"Where does he see the order?" asked Mayer.

Other interpretations are "too intellectual for me," the artist said, laughing.

Mayer, 37, is a graduate of the National Academy of Art in New York and the High School of Art and Design. Until a year ago he supported himself buying and selling antiques, but he always liked the feeling of being absorbed in painting.

The lifelong New Yorker likes to walk around and "see things" to stimulate ideas. He's particularly drawn to the Wall Street area at night, where "it's like a different planet. It's exciting, it makes you dream."

"This stuff isn't going to change the world," he said. "I just want people to think about where they are and what's really going on. Everything is not so dark; everything is not so bleak."

Graffiti Bible
Fien Meynendonckx

Tectum Publishers, Antwerp, Belgium
2012
ISBN 10: 9461580363  ISBN 13: 9789461580368

(illustrated on p. 202)

Manhattan Dawn and Dusk
Jon Ortner

Harry N. Abrams, New York, USA
1995

ISBN-10: ‎1556704267 ISBN-13: ‎978-1556704260

(illustrated)

petermayerstudio@gmail.com

For all inquiries, please contact
N. Hitchcock, webmaster.

The Bridge Street Studio is open by
appointment.

2335 County Highway 41
Roxbury, New York 12474

Wikipedia article forthcoming.