Tag Archives: Murals

Rural Murals

22 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in Bad Photography, Native American Themes, Street Art

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

 

Buffalo

Look closely

Just drove north of Flagstaff along Highway 89 up to Kanab. I used to commute from Flagstaff up to Tuba City for work, so a stretch of this was very familiar to me. I was pleasantly surprised to see one new element along the road, a certain amount of street art.

The subject matter is rather distinctive, but I can’t help thinking one of the best things about this material is the background.

An elderly Navajo working one of the craft stands told me there were a couple different people in the area putting these up. I don’t know much more.

Thought I’d share.

(Click to embiggen!)

 

Red backgrouind
“Off the goat” reads a popular T-Shirt (in part).
Stencil
Backside
Nuther Look
Love this one
Under a Navajo Nation Flag
First one I saw
Pink
Dimples

 

P.S. My girlfriend tells me I’m not supposed to include the pictures of the child and a goat on account of she accidentally picked up a black ant taking pictures of those herself. We ejected the hitchhiker on the outskirts of Page. A little Hydrocortisol and a couple Advil had us on our way. The cycle of pain may continue once she realizes what I did here.  I’m not a praying man, but your kind thoughts would be appreciated.

The Dumpsters of Atqasuk

15 Friday May 2015

Posted by in Alaska, Bad Photography, Street Art

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

128Since I seem to be sharing dumpster art these days, I thought I’d post some pictures from a trip to the village of Atqasuk. I spent some time there last April, I think. It’s a small village of a little over 200 people located on the Meade River.

Naturally, their dumpster graffiti features prominently in my pictures from that trip. This community appears to be a little more interested in public service announcements than artsy murals, but some of the announcements have an artsy side of their own.

(Click to embiggen. you know you wanna!)

Dumpster Goodness!

General Images

Planography!

Moar Dumpster Goodness!

10 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in Alaska, Bad Photography, Street Art

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

DSC01474

Gotta watch out for bears around here!

I’ve said it before, I know. What do you mean, you don’t remember? Well I have

(And I’m deeply hurt that some of y’all don’t remember this thing that I once said before.)

…I think.

Anyway, it remains just as true now as whenever it was that I said it before; Barrow has the best dumpsters! Yes, it does. Here are a couple new ones, and one that I think I somehow missed a ways back.

And yes, that’s it, just a brief moment to indulge in a little dumpster-based jingoism, and with that I’m outta here.

…actually, I am literally outta here. Time to fly South for a little time away from the frozen North.

I miss it already!

(click to embiggen!)

 

Southitude, Thy Name is Portland!

24 Saturday May 2014

Posted by in Bad Photography, Street Art

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

295I’ve been walking about a bit. I’m tired and I’m sweating. Whether it’s measured in miles or degrees of humidity, Portland is a long way from Barrow. Southitude brings with it many wonderful things, but I always find the transition just a little jarring.

I enter a wine bar and sit down. I soon have a number of glasses in front of me, each filled with a taste of a different red wine. The owner begins to tell me about the first one.

…and quickly loses me.

The features of each sample are quite lost on me, though the friendliness of the people here isn’t. I eventually settle on a glass of something red. I don’t know which it is and I can hardly tell it from the others, but I like it. “It’s good.” That would be the extent of my tasting note. My tongue is a bull in this china shop. This is a good place, but perhaps it’s a bit better for a different kind of customer. Luckily, I think there is one more mural somewhere down the block, something to look forward to after enjoying my glass of something red.

Oh look, Street Art!

(Click to embiggen)

 

 

Moar Murals from Anchorage!

10 Saturday May 2014

Posted by in Alaska, Street Art

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

171Some of you may remember this post covering a host of murals in downtown Anchorage. I even had the privilege to meet Ziggy, the source for many of these toward the end of last summer. Over the last year or so, I’ve found a few more murals and picked up a few new pics of the old ones. Finally got a few pics of the last one i was after on my way out of the ice-box. I’m headed to Vegas and a summer with (fingers crossed) more time for bloggety things. So, I thought I’d show the additions now.

.

You may click to embiggen.

 

Arctic Graffiti II

21 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by in Alaska, Bad Photography, Street Art

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

001It’s been an odd year here in Barrow, rather warm in fact. Still, a bit of snow did manage to stick to a wall or three, and in due time a few creative individuals took the time to do something clever with it. I don’t have a huge batch of snow-graffiti this time, but a few of these are really cool.

In related news, I actually took the time to tweak a couple of these photos, nothing special. just enhanced the contrast and shifted the color a bit in an effort to make the art come through better. I wouldn’t say that I accomplished anything brilliant, but at least you can read the writing. This is, I think, the first post where I have actually done any post-production on a photo. Sometime, I may have to go back through my old pics and see what I can do to improve a few of them.

Click to embiggen! …come on, all the cool kids are doin’ it!

Vegas Street Art 3, …but First a Couple Pigeons!

21 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Bad Photography, Las Vegas, Street Art

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Hot Birds!

Hot Birds!

Just how hot was Vegas this June? Well, just ask the pigeons.

Seriously, ask the pigeons.

My Vegas vacation this year wasn’t entirely a story of hyper-heatitation (it’s a word now, dammit!). My Vegas Vegation was also a story of big-ass moons, …which I failed to capture, of my friend’s Pathfinder campaign, and my Sister’s new truck. Before that it was a story of her grand-daughter, and of course it was also a story of street-performers and odd museums. It was definitely a story of Mongolian grills, Korean BBQ, and of the Komol Kitchen, …which makes the best Tom Yum Ghai Soup in the fricking Milky Way. It was also a few stories best left untold.

Okay, the untold stories aren’t that exciting. No slot machines were hassled and no hangovers were harmed in the preparations for this post.

But, more to the point, it was also a story of street art. Of course, I had already covered much of the street art in Vegas here and here. I did manage to find a few pieces I hadn’t covered before, including a wonderful historical piece in Henderson by an artist named Giuseppe Abriu. Some of them even appear to be new. So, without further mumbly -gumbo…

Always a Tourist in Vegas, or Look What I Found! (Street Art, Part I)

21 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in Bad Photography, Las Vegas, Street Art

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Clowns Close-Up

Clowns Close-Up

When I mentioned that I was in Sin City for Christmas, someone on Twitter asked if there were any murals in Vegas. I hadn’t really thought about it, as I soon proved with my answer. Vegas to me can usually be divided between the bare (earth-toned) walls of most residential neighborhoods and the kitchy goodness of the Strip and its progeny. …I tend not to notice either as I go about my business.

If you look closely you can see signs of effective graffiti-abatement programs all over the town. Graffiti does not last in much of Vegas, and it doesn’t appear that most of these programs distinguish a well done work of art from a simple tag. Even a legal mural can apparently be quite a problem.

This area was home to me for a good chunk of my life, but I always feel like a tourist when I come back to Vegas. …more so when I venture near the places this town is known for. Some parts of Vegas are more Vegassy than others.

…and sometimes it’s better to be a tourist than others.

Like this time for instance!

I decided to look around and see if I could find a mural or three, just for the heck of it. I soon discovered the Las Vegas Arts District, a neighborhood that was nowhere near this colorful back in the days I called this area home. But here it is, the source of most of the pictures I posted below. They hold an art fair here on the First Friday of every months, but my own interests lay mainly with the murals strewn about the walls of various buildings in this district.

Suffice it to say that I was very wrong to think Vegas doesn’t have interesting Street Art. They have rather a lot of it. You just have to know where to look.

***

This is a two part post (cause I got a lot of pics). I’ll add a few comments on some particular locations to the second post.

(As always, you may click to embiggen!)

Denver is Cold Enough …to Celebrate the New Year with a Camera

04 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by in Bad Photography, Street Art

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Demon Mustang of the Denver Airport

Demon Mustang of the Denver Airport

As it happens, this New Year found me in Denver, camera in hand. Downtown Denver was damned cold on New year’s Eve, but the fireworks were pretty cool. I spent much of the rest of my time wandering about with a camera in my hand and a friend from Brazil at my side. Liliana caught me being bad once. Against my better judgement, I have included the evidence in this gallery.

My usual obsession with street art found its way into the lens, though I have included a few additional pics in thus set. Liliana caught a lot more than I did. I took the liberty of included a few pieces that appeared in a previous post. The murals just belong here too. they were done by David Choe, and they are beyond cool! I have by no means captured the wealth of public art in this city, much less the whole state of Colorado. Time simply ran out, so I am cheating and taking much of it back with me.

The Denver Airport airport really is the gift that keeps on giving. I finally got a decent pic of the infamous mustang, even if it was from a ways out. I also grabbed a few pics of some of the murals in the airport itself. Now I’m not usually all that interested in indoor murals, for some probably arbitrary reason, but these are worth a little attention. Painted by Leo Tanguma, these aren’t your run-of-the-mill public building murals. No these guys are full of disturbing content and subversive messages. Combined with a Demon Horse and a statue of Anubis, these murals have clothed the Denver Airport a reputation that would make Scandinavian rock band proud.

Brings a tear to my eye.

(You may click on a picture to embiggen it.)

Santa Fe isn’t Cold Enough (…but it Has Mad Arts!)

17 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by in Bad Photography, Street Art

≈ 43 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Railroad Station

Railroad Station

Santa Fe isn’t cold enough.

I was sitting down for lunch at a conference in Santa Fe as a snow storm settled on the town when someone asked me how the cold here compared to the cold back home. I told her it wasn’t cold enough here.

After the laughter, I explained that I had stepped in a puddle of melted snow that morning, the result being that my foot was cold and wet. This was not the sort of thing I had to worry about in Barrow, at least not for much of the year.

Santa Fe just isn’t cold enough.

Oh but it’s a beautiful city for a walk, even with the wet snow that melts around your feet and makes them wet.

***

Quite a few of these murals are from a sort of youth center, called Warehouse 21.

In other news, I added a couple pics to the photo-gallery for the Institute of American Indian Arts, in Santa Fe.

(If you click on it, it will grow!)