Monday, February 29, 2016

Mexico City is mural heaven!

Many thanks to David Aber for taking over while I spent most of February in Mexico. Since I'd only barely crossed the border in the past years to visit my dentist in Nogales (if you want a good dentist, just ask! :) my trip into central Mexico amazed me. There's street art (and other kinds of art) everywhere.

As I write from time to time: This is the Tucson Murals Project, but once in a while (such as Randy's post from Baghdad) we like to spread stories of murals around the world. Here's one from my time in Mexico — at the Garibaldi Metro (subway) stop, I think:

It shows Metro riders. The mural has more visual art around its edges, and urban/rap-type music (in Spanish, of course) plays in the background. It's typical of what I came to discover in the Mexican cities I visited: what seemed like much more appreciation for the Arts than in some places. (Let's please pull for even more Tucson art… and cooperation between artist groups and government… OK, off of my soapbox. :)

Next time, back to another of David's mural photos! I'll continue in March with an incredible number of murals at a high school I spotted while I was searching for my way out of a dead-end street.

P.S. I hope you enjoy your extra day (February 29th). How about some mural-watching? By the way, Dave is busy updating the mural map. It's one of the links you'll find on the TucsonArt.info murals page.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Natural World

Tile murals by Robin Riley (I think) and the students of Santa Clara Elementary.  I took these photos on 12/11/2015.




Click on any photo for a slide show of larger photos.
Another mural from the Santa Clara School was posted on 12/26/2011.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Conserve To Enhance

I was wandering the neighborhood on Dec. 24, 2015 looking at Christmas decorations and found this at Anna Henry Elementary School:



The school's mascot is a Gila Monster and it's painted on a 3,000 gal. rainwater recovery tank.
Click on any photo for a slide show of larger images.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Chicanos

Alley behind Tierra y Libertad Organization (TYLO), a Tucson-based grassroots neighborhood organization in Barrio Wakefield.  The alley is located in the 3600 block between South 6th and 7th Avenues.  Photo was taken on Oct. 28, 2015.

Click on the photo for a larger image.

That's actually only the left end of a long and exquisitely-painted mural. I stitched together a panorama.

There are more murals — not as long or polished as this one, but still impresssive — at IncrediblAlley.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Hummingbird Mural

The South side of a building at S. 12th Ave. and W. Lerdo Rd.  Photo taken on Dec. 11, 2015.

Click on the photo for a larger view.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Midtown Bar & Grill

Here are three photos of a mural painted on the front and side of the Midtown Bar & Grill:




Photos were taken on Dec. 11, 2015.
Click on any photo for a larger size.
NOTE:  By July 30, 2016 all of the murals have been painted over. What a shame.

Monday, February 08, 2016

Trash container murals revealed

The graffiti-abatement test program — of painting murals on five dumpsters — showed off its work Friday, February 5th in the parking lot behind the old Chicago store location (across the street from the new, much smaller location). Here's a wrapup from KVOA-TV News 4:

First 5 'dumpster art' containers completed Friday

Thursday, February 04, 2016

New at Mexicayotl Academy

Around the corner from the other murals at Mexicayotl Academy (which are mostly faded now)I spotted a new mural November 20th. Here are two views:

Wednesday, February 03, 2016

David Aber joins the Tucson Murals Project

You've seen a number of David Aber's great photos on this blog. He's emailed them to me and I've posted them.

I realized that he might just post the photos himself — and he's agreed to become the blog's co-editor. You'll start seeing his name at the bottom of some blog entries on the "“Posted by” line.

Welcome, Dave!

Monday, February 01, 2016

Slovly('s) mural updated

Three years of Mondays ago — January 21, 2013 — I posted photos of the mural by Sabrina Vincent — better known as the artist SLOV — on the wall outside her family's Tucson home.

(If you haven't seen that blog entry, I hope you'll click over! The mural was one of my favorites. And don't miss the links from that blog entry to the Arizona Daily Star article and to the photos of the mural-making, as well as the Portfolio section, of SLOV's website.)

Yesterday, as I drove along Columbus Boulevard — on my way home from a planning meeting of the Heart of Tucson Art group — by the way, their spring artsists' open studios tour will be April 9-10 — I drove by this familiar spot. (I know Tucson streets mural-by-mural. “Such-and-such mural is two blocks over there,” I'll think.) I did a double-take and pulled over right away to take some photos.

The left side of the old mural — next to her garage door — is now solid blue-green. The new mural is on the side of her home along Columbus:

The words are: thee lift me / and I'll lift thee / and we'll ascend together.