TUCSON is fading...

Back on September 28, 2014, the mural at the northeast corner of Stone and Speedway looked like this:

There are close-ups of each letter in our January 1, 2015 post TUCSON.

Fast-forward to November 10, 2021. I saw this ghostly artwork from Rappel Studio (click there to visit) on Facebook. Rappel Studio is Doug Rappel, who also paints watercolor:

Commenters were lamenting that the mural had been covered by the new Popeye's fried chicken restaurant — blocked completely, I thought they meant. I mentioned that to David Aber, my co-editor on this blog. He drove by and said that the mural was still there. So I stopped by on December 14th and snapped these photos:

We know of several TUCSON and ARIZONA murals, each different. We have photos of four (after you click, you can use your browser's "back" button or arrow to come back here):

• “"Living" TUCSON AZ mural” on 329 E. 7th St. (near Antigone Books) (October 12, 2021)
• “Greetings” on 5809 E. 22nd St. (October 8, 2021)
• “Greetings” on 406 North 6th Avenue (April 26, 2017)
• “TUCSON” on Speedway & Stone (January 1, 2015)
• “New @ 1st & Arcadia” (October 05, 2013)

If you've seen other TUCSON murals, please let us know! You can leave a comment below — anonymously, if you'd like — or there's a contact box at the right edge of this page.

TUCSON

Let's start 2015 with a mural in a prominent spot: the corner of Speedway & Stone, across from Pima Community College. It was painted around a year ago or so, replacing a Dia de los Muertos mural.
All except the first and last photos are Mark Fleming's taken (according to the timestamp in the photo files) on February 16, 2014. I took the first photo and the last on September 28, 2014 (not long after Mark sent his photos... thanks, Mark!).

T by Titus Castanza

U by Donovan White

C by Rock Martinez

S by Ed Muren III

O by Danny Martin

N by Ruben Moreno

The figure on that last mural seems to be peeling off. It looks like a paste-up. (As always, you can click on a photo for a larger view.)

The artists' names and website links (except Rock Martinez’s) came from a Tucson Sculpture Festival 2014 page.

Have an art-ful 2015! We'll help.

Update (February 15, 2022): The mural is cracked and faded. It's also hidden behind a restaurant. There are photos in today's post TUCSON is fading….

Deconstructed mural?

Deconstructed art is a term for some contemporary art and architecture. But I think it's probably also a good word, by now, for this mural that I saw almost a year ago. It was around a construction site at 44 E. Broadway — last December 15 — where the Sonoran Institute was planning to move in. I haven't had a chance to check it in the last few months, so I'll let you do that as you drive by. If you have a chance, please let me know (by email or with a comment below) if it's been "de-constructed" by now...

Update (May 15, 2012): I found a post on the blog Tucson Kent's World with photos of this mural being painted. Mural Artists in Downtown Tucson has the story, and three photos, of Rock Martinez and Ed Muren painting the mural. The post is dated October 22, 2010 — two months before I snapped my photo.