So much of the wall art I see at Paint Louis and other places looks like Marvel comic books on steroids. (But, um, I’m getting some in my spine later today. It has its uses.) Being old and not ever being a comic book reader (unless you count Mad Magazine), I don’t get the ethos. What are the artists trying to express or communicate? Inquiring minds want to know.
I’ve never seen anyone use a stencil before at Paint Louis but it makes sense. It’s been hard for me (knowing nothing about the techniques) to understand how the artists get the small details right. The colorful arcs emphasize the big chest and belly, as does the pose with hands behind the back. I particularly like the top of the head scattering into crazy energy mist.
Missed yesterday’s post. Today is two weeks post-op and things haven’t gone as smoothly as I would have liked. A little harder to get out on the street.
So back to Paint Louis. This picture gives some overview of how the process works, albeit just a short selection. The whole thing runs about two miles or 3 kilometers. It becomes a linear art gallery.
Some noble thoughts in this Kieth Haring-ish mural. But maybe it’s better to start at the base of the pyramid, focusing on food, shelter and health care.
Is anyone out there old enough to at least know of the once-popular radio drama, The Shadow? https://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/The_Shadow.php The intro was always "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” I pride myself on loose associations, and that was what immediately came to mind when I photographed this section of the Paint Louis wall.
Some of the wall art at Paint Louis is pleasant fantasy, some political, some social commentary, but to me a lot of it is deeply disturbing. Sure, I’m in my 70s (okay, boomer) and would not understand lots of what’s happening to younger people. Nevertheless, much of the work communicates - to me - a dark, distorted, even apocalyptic world. It is so skillfully executed, but what motivates it? Some of it reminds me of the well-known English artist, Francis Bacon, https://www.francis-bacon.com/paintings, whose images curl my toes and make me look away.
Other than that, have a nice day. 😃
They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Of course, the taste of that eye is shaped by culture and experience. I get some of the esthetic of the wall painters on a visceral level but there is plenty that puzzles me. My parents didn’t get the Rolling Stones, either.
I’ve never gone to the earliest phase of Paint Louis. The artists must start with a plan, perhaps on a grid, to transfer their designs onto a large section of wall. There is also a puzzle (to me) about the enormous scripts that all follow a similar style (to my eye) and look much alike. What do I know. I’m old.
We wanted to go to the big Japanese festival at our botanical garden yesterday and got tickets in advance. When we arrived around 11 all of the remote parking lots were full. Literally nowhere to put your car, so we left. Big disappointment, photo ops missed.
Labor Day weekend around here brings the return of Paint Louis, the annual event in which a 2+ miles stretch of the Mississippi River floodwall is turned over to graffiti artists from around the world. You may or may not like the style but this takes a lot of skill and effort. The work may not be art school standard but you can’t pull this off easily. And imagine the expense for all that paint, equipment rental and transportation. More to come.
Perhaps how an artist feels after the work of Paint Louis is done. It's photography geek stuff, but I like how the formal elements in this one turned out. Dark, sharp, cool but active against warm, round and passive. Horizontal wall top against the vertical smokestacks. They are across the Mississippi in Illinois so they're pretty big.
There are a number of things going on around town this weekend so I hope to have something fresh to show. Midweek we blow off on another adventure.
Hieronymus Bosch on a particularly bad trip, or maybe a contemporary painter off anti-psychotics. I've mentioned that some of the Paint Louis wall art reminds me of particular artists. This one makes me think of Francis Bacon, https://www.francis-bacon.com/paintings . You see his work in all the big museums. I find it deeply disturbing and walk by quickly.
Only a few non-Americans would recognize this face and mayby not many of us. It is the engraved portrait of Benjamin Franklin that appears on the US $100 bill. Maybe you've seen a movie showing a briefcase packed full of Bens. I like the artistic embellishments. They remind me of the style of one of my favorite painters, James Rosenquist.
