Photographing public art: is it allowed?

David Aber found this really useful article. I can't guarantee that it's legally exactly correct. But it gives lots of examples that make sense. By the way, it's a Microsoft Word file… your browser may or may not be able to open it:

https://indyarts.org/docman/artist-services/85-blog-post-re-public-art-copyrights/file

(If you can't open Microsoft Word files and you're using a computer, you might want to get the excellent free package called LibreOffice; download that file and open it in LibreOffice. On a phone — Android, at least — there are a number of apps… if you don't have one, try searching for "Office". Finally, if you trust Google to see your documents, check out Google Docs, which is available on a number of platforms.)

BLM murals on MSA Annex (Murals being made, part 55)

Back on June 5th, I heard that Black Lives Matter murals were going to be painted at the Mercado San Agustin Annex that weekend. I got there on Saturday the 6th and found artists working:

I went back on July 7th to snap the finished murals. My first two photos had glare from the sun, so I took them again on September 13th:

(As always, you can click on a photo for a larger view.)

Here's an article from AZ Weekend with more info: Murals with a message: Artists paint downtown in support of Black Lives Matter

Update (June 23, 2023): Today's post Morphing MSA murals shows what happened in the area around these murals between 2019 and 2023. One of these murals is gone; there's also a new one.

A monster and a rose

Empire Tattoo has a mural above the store entrance:

Here's a closeup:

I was there May 10th.

Teatime for the bugs

Sarah Herr emailed this photo on Sunday, September 20. The hidden data in the photo says she took it that morning. “Finding murals has been a good antidote for COVID gym closures,” she wrote.

What a fun mural! Thank you, Sarah.

TucsonLifestyle: Making It Matter

I just found this July 25 magazine article about Joe Pagac facilitating Black Lives Matter murals and muralists:

Making It Matter

Roy Metcalfe repainted

February 7, 2014, we published a photo of a faded mural on Roy Metcalfe Automotive. Sometime since then, it was repainted. I spotted it on May 10th while I was photographing the murals on the Chicago Bar next door (which, confusingly, had the same street address):

The artist who repainted it (but didn't do the previous mural) was Gabrielle Ames. As it turns out, she also painted the Chicago Bar murals next door.

"Rhythms of Nature"

The City of Tucson requires that 1% of the budget of a Capital Improvement Project be set aside for public art.  Thus, the East Broadway Road Improvement Project between Camino Seco and Houghton Rd. has included six public art installations.  They were created by Niki Glen Studios.  Niki calls them "Concrete Sculptures".  I call them murals.  Whether you agree, or not, I think you will find them interesting.

"The Bountiful Desert"

Desert Life

Sundial

Waterfall

Desert Stream

Not a mural, but interesting nonetheless.

Photographed on July 27 and Aug. 30, 2020.

Click on any photo for a slide show of larger and sharper images.

Video: KGUN9 interviews Joe Pagac and Ignacio Garcia

KGUN9 TV starts their story Growing mural scene earns Tucson national reputation with a interesting video interview with Tucson muralists Joe Pagac and Ignacio Garcia.

The rest of the article says some things I don't agree with. For instance, it says Tucson has “a dozen artists credited with nearly 60 murals throughout the city.” We easily have more than 100 artists, and this blog has around 1,500 murals (though not all of them still exist). It mentions the City of Tucson's mural map, which shows 25 of those murals… this blog's mural map shows many hundreds.

It's great to spread the word about Tucson murals! I wrote to KGUN9 and suggested they check this blog to find more murals and muralists.

Sahuaro H. S.

Sahuaro High School students painted this one.  I wasn't able to find their names.  Nor was I able to find a title for the mural.  Sahuaro High is located at 545 N. Camino Seco.  The mural can only be seen from E. Vicksburg St. and it was photographed on May 1, 2020.

Complete Mural

Left Half

Right Half

Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

Your * Planet Next!!

David Aber spotted this amazing mural online and let me know. I'd been to Gospel Supplies, the store on Broadway… this mural turned out to be in the alley behind it. I stopped by on May 10th. What an obscure place for a great mural! Here are closeups, left to right:

Again, note that the mural isn't at the front of the address below (Gospel Supplies). It's in the alley behind:

Cuppa Coffee

Found at the "Barrista del Barrio" and photographed on April 15, 2020.

Painted by Alejandra Trujillo

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Murals being made, part 54: Monster trucks! Close up!!

On January 7th, David Aber spotted a logo and two trucks on the west wall of TCR II Suspension Brake & Alignment:

Although it wasn't obvious when he took that photo, the mural wasn't finished. I drove by on May 10th as the sun rose over the building and saw that the artist had added a dune buggy and a background:

There was glare from the sun at the top of the first photo, so I decided to go back on August 14th to get a better photo… thinking that the mural was finished when I saw it in May. Oops again. The artist had filled in the background:

Is it finally finished?? I could go inside the store to ask, but I'd rather leave you in suspense. :) Stay tuned.