WATER GATE

 

A gate in the flood wall along the Mississippi, part of the graffiti-permitted Paint Louis section. The river lies just beyond the trees. I've never seen this gate closed, but then I wouldn't drive by if the water was that high.                         

INTERPRETATION NEEDED

There was much creative mural art at Paint Louis but a lot of what went on the walls can be described (if I understand correctly) as tagging. I looked for information online to distinguishing graffiti from tagging and found only a little, such as https://www.edenart.com/news/graffiti-vs-tagging.  Is this hyper-stylized lettering? I can see hints of letters, an R here and maybe a K there, but I can’t read.it. Is it meant to be intelligible to someone? Comments welcome.                       

PAINT LIKE AN EGYPTIAN

Clever, and one of my favorite works from Paint Louis, a wonderful mix of references. It brings back dim memories of when we walked down the Avenue of the Sphinxes in Karnak-Luxor decades ago on our earliest big adventure.               

ONDER WINS!

People from other countries are amazed at American lawyer advertising. (As an American lawyer, I am, too.) The state authorities that grant our licenses used to consider it undignified, uncouth. Some decades ago our Supreme Court declared that it is protected free speech. Almost all of the many billboards are for plaintiff personal injury firms. That’s where the big money is.

What I really like about this image, though, Is the rhythmic parade of concrete railroad trestle supports, colorfully splashed with graffiti and receding into the background. 

May need to dip into the archives for a bit. It’s been unusually cold for unusually long by our standards, and it’s about to get colder. This old guy ain’t wandering around  outside.                  

ARTISTS FIRST

 

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.                

DOPE CITY

Full disclosure: I’m an old fogey. I don’t pretend to understand all the language of the young. Nevertheless, my understanding is that “dope” is a positive term these days. Thus, Dope City, referring to our town, may be a compliment. Yet the figure between the dollar and cent signs looks like a medication capsule. The red tagging characters under the top of the Arch spell STL (not that outsiders would know), and the red numerals to the right, 314, are the main local telephone code.           

STL DPB IN NEW YORK - VIEW FROM A BRIDGE

One of the photo group's activities was to walk across the Manhattan Bridge from Chinatown, at least part of the way. I got separated from the group and went all the way to Brooklyn, my back on the verge of crumbling. One of my colleagues, much fitter than I, made the same mistake and got me back across safely. We considered getting an AirTag to put in my pocket so the leaders could find me if I got lost again.

This is the view to the south from the start of the path on the Manhattan side. The lettering was on the top of an old building beside the bridge. No idea what it means.                

LIKE IT NEVER EXISTED

Graffiti on another old building a couple of blocks south of the burned-out warehouse seen recently. In Anglo-American jurisprudence, it means that something is of no effect whatever, as if it never existed. Bleak, but the painter says nothing about the reference. The shiny building on the upper right is a very expensive Four Seasons Hotel above a casino and restaurant complex. The economics change quickly.                   

GOAL POSTS

St. Louis has a long, graffiti-permitted section of the Mississippi River floodwall. There are some industrial facilities behind it. It faces west and can simply glow in the late afternoon of a clear winter day.               

HOW IT'S DONE

Preparing a section of wall for this year's work at Paint Louis. The top of the flood wall is several feet / well over a meter from the top of the roller. Since the wall goes on for more than 3 miles / 5 km, it's hard to imagine the volume of paint used on the whole project. Hot work, too, in the harsh sun. Still quite warm here.       

AN ENIGMA WRAPPED IN A MYSTERY

Not all of the Bevo neighborhood has benefited from the Bosnian revival. I assume this is a closed and boarded-up bar. The choice of color is unusual. The graffiti is weird too. I think the white lettering spells out GATOR and the light black letters PRESSURE. Strange enough, but OATMEAL?        

I'M MELTING...

Snow doesn't usually last that long around here. Warm temperatures and blue skies create a stream along the riverfront, reflecting a railroad bridge and the graffiti section of the Mississippi flood wall.                

CROWNS

A wide view of some of the flood wall at Paint Louis. The Mississippi lies a short distance behind. This is freshly painted - you can see one of the artists in the left background - but I have no idea what it means. Not the first time that has happened to me with a painting. I just like the color and scope of the scene.          

THE WALL LIGHTS UP

Back to Paint Louis. I may need to use pictures from there until we arrive in Seattle next week. (We were going to arrive in Prague today but that went down the drain.) Lots of colorful things to look at so no problem.

The wall faces roughly west so on a sunny day it becomes brilliant in late afternoon light. Of course, dramatic shadows, too.               

PAINT LOUIS IS BACK

Paint Louis, which takes place here over Labor Day weekend, is a big international gathering of graffiti artists, taggers, DJs and hip-hoppers. It's arguably the largest single graffiti event in the world, covering a 2 mile / 3.2 km stretch of the Mississippi River floodwall south of the Arch, all sanctioned by the city. The result is considered the longest mural in existence by the Guinness Book of World Records. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint_Louis 

I went for a look late yesterday afternoon and things were just getting started. It's supposed to rain most of today and I don't know how it will affect the schedule. https://www.facebook.com/PaintLouis/ I'll be back when the weather permits.                

WE CAN ONLY HOPE

But, given the history of our species, I'm not particularly sanguine. As they say on American television, stay tuned for further details.                     

EAT MY SHORTS

From the graffiti-permitted section of the Mississippi River floodwall. I've always admired Bart Simpson. He was a boy I never was, self-determined, sometimes rebellious, sarcastic, often disrespectful. I was a good kid, reasonably obedient, following the social, political and religious party line. Always had a good haircut. Rarely got into trouble. Then adolescence hit me in the cauldron of New York City. Wow, did things change. 

Got some mildly irresponsible things to do tomorrow. Three airports: STL - ORD - LAN. Gotta see those other grandchildren.    

IN THE LOOP

Not in the sense on being in the know or having the right information. The Loop is a stretch of Delmar Boulevard that straddles the line between St. Louis and University City. The area got its name a long time ago because trolleys from the city proper would barely edge out into the newly forming suburbs and turn around on a loop of track to head back in. Now it's full of interesting restaurants, offbeat shops, an art house cinema and the bar where Chuck Berry used to play. The feel is adventurous and the politics pretty far left.

The Loop has been the scene of several recent demonstrations. Many businesses have boarded their windows as a precaution. I walked the strip yesterday, taking pictures of some of the things painted on the wood. This got my attention.             

ARE BETTER THAN ONE

Well, maybe, if they are coordinated and seek the same goal. On the other hand, think of Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov. Image found in the old, lonely commercial area south of the Arch.               

             

THIS FOLLOWS THAT

Artica takes place in an area of semi-abandoned commercial buildings north of the Arch. It's a bit desolate and no one much cares about graffiti. One of the Articans, Robert, I think, created this near the entrance gate. The the set of tools is complicated.