Tag Archives: mural

Nostalgia

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… is a mural on Main Street in Nashua that takes a look back at three of the highlights in the history of American movies – The Three Stooges, Cary Grant and Vivian Leigh in ‘Gone With the Wind’, as well as James Stewart and Donna Reed in ‘A Wonderful Life’. It was painted on the side of on the Chase Building on its 100th anniversary. Once upon a time this building was home to a movie theater with a few different names – the Tremont (1917-1927), State (1927-1973), and Star (1973-1980) Theaters.

Phelany23 painted the mural, with the support of Positive Street Art.

below: A Wonderful Life, Christmas 1946 with James Stewart and Donna Reed

below: Gone with the Wind – Cary Grant and Vivian Leigh

below: The Three Stooges in The Blob – Larry, Moe, and Curly

Phlegm’s progress.

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British mural artist Phlegm has been painting a large mural on the side of 1 St. Clair West.   The first time I saw it, was on the 14th of July, 2016, when it looked liked this:

below: The white background of the mural was painted first.

a street in Toronto, St. Clair Ave., with an older nine storey building with concrete facing, on the side, above the level of the stores beside it, is the outline of the start of a mural. All painted white, a seated figure.

below:  Photo from 19th July, 2016

a verylarge mural on the side of a building is in the process of being painted. An white outline of a seated person with their knees drawn up, one leg has been painted with a design in black

As it turns out, there is a lot of detail in the mural!  It slowly took shape.

below: 21st July

a very large mural on the side of a building is in the process of being painted. An white outline of a seated person with their knees drawn up, one leg has been painted with a design in black

below: Fast forward to August 2016 when the mural was almost finished. …
but wait!  Isn’t that the CN tower on the shoulder?

large black and white mural by phlegm of a seated person with their knees bent up, made of tiny houses and buildings and other structures

below: Hey!  It is the CN tower.  And isn’t that the Gooderham/flatiron building?  And that building with the little dome, isn’t that on Yonge street?

close up of mural made up of toronto landmarks like the cn tower and the gooderham flatiron building, by British artist phlegm

below: There’s the ROM and its ‘crystal’ too!   This is the ‘bottom’ of the figure and in this photo two things become clearer.  First, the scale of the project and just how big the mural is becomes apparent.  Second, the mural is of a person coming out of the earth, being pulled out by the roots almost.  But is it a person?  Or is it a living city?

the bottom part of a mural, man in scaffolding is still working on it, black on white, pictures of buildings.

below: The head part – play ‘spot the building’!  Is that old city hall?

head part of phlegm mural

below: Scalliwags is on one of the knees along with a lot of trees.

knees part of the mural

below: And last, the feet with more roots at the heels

feet of a person in a mural made of paintings of trees and buildings, roots growing out of the heels. satelite dish in the mural and on the building beside the mural

This project is also a part of the STEPS Initiative program.

Photos taken back in 2016
This post also appears in a blog about Toronto, As I Walk Toronto.

Vhils and flowers

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One of the joys of exploring cities that have organizations and programs that promote good street art, is finding walls that have been a canvas for artists with global reach. In this case, the city of Chicopee (that I suspect many people outside of Massachusetts have never heard of) has a mural by Vhils, aka Alexandre Farto, a Portuguese artist whose work is now found in over 30 countries.

On the side of a residential building, a large mural by Vhils of a man's face with the word chicopee on the top and the year 1848 on the bottom, like a coin. On a lower section of the wall is a mural of different types of flowers on a bright blue background - poppies, daisies, foxglove, and more

below: A better look at the Vhils work – He hasn’t painted this mural. Instead it has been created using a bas-relief carving technique. The colours in the mural are the colors of the different layers on the wall.

below: A garden of color. Bright red poppies with white and yellow daisies….  Blue hollyhocks and yellow delphinium (I think!) too.

Photos taken July 2024

La cultura es poder

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Culture is power.

La Cultura es Poder was painted by the Colectivo Morivivi in connection with the “Race and Visual Cultures” project of UMASS Amherst. In this mural, swirls of coloured music unite the elements of the story. From the website for Colectivo Moriviví – “the different musical genres can be seen in the mural coming out of the windows and merging in a trail of colors that leads us to a Bomba circle. With this image, we wanted to evoke the connection of the most contemporary rhythms with ancestral traditions. Bomba is very present in the activism of the diaspora and its community practices. As such, culture is resilient and it is power.”

Colectivo Morivivi is an all-women artistic collective, democratizing art and bringing the narratives of Puerto Rican communities to the public sphere. Holyoke Massachusetts has the highest population of Puerto Ricans, per capita, in the continental United States.

Photos taken July 2024

threads

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The brick and window facade of the old American Thread Company provides a backdrop for the playful and colourful mural by Golden305.

mural by Golden 305 in Holyoke, beside old brick factory and warehouse

The artist, Venezuelan artist, Cristhian Saravia (aka Golden305), is an illustrator and muralist originally from Venezuela but now based in Miami, Florida.

mural by Golden 305 in Holyoke, bright colours, purple background, unicorn wearing converse shoes, spool of thread with a needle bee, blue diamond,
close up of part of mural by Golden 305 in Holyoke Massachusetts, brown unicorn with white t shirt and ice cream cone as horn, green comb in his curly black hair , wearing converse all star running shoes
part of American Thread com mural in Holyoke, blue clouds with happy faces, and a few blue rain drops, pink heart, rainbow,
close up of part of a mural by golden 305
mural by golden 305

Photos taken July 2024

Holyoke Bordalo2

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The morning after I posted the photos of the Bordalo2 mouse and bear in Lynn, I saw this on Clemente Street in Holyoke (also Massachusetts)…

It is “Father and Baby Moose”, also by Bordalo II

This is another Beyond Walls project; this time in partnership with the City of Holyoke, El Corazon de Holyoke, and Nueva Esperanza. Clemente Street is in a section of the city with a large Hispanic population.

below: A close up look at baby’s hind leg and all the metal pieces that went into creating it.

Photos taken July 2024

Beastie Boys in NYC

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large mural by shephard fairey in the village area of new york city, featuring the music group the Beastie Boys. An image from one of their album covers, Posse In Effect in mostly red and blue. Men standing beside a large ghetto blaster and one man crouching beside it. Looming over stores on 14th Ave near the corner of Avenue A.

A large mural featuring the Beastie Boys looms over 14th Ave and Avenue A in New York City.  The Beastie Boys started rocking in 1981. They recorded and performed their version of hip hop/rock for more than three decades. 

part of large mural by shephard fairey in the village area of new york city, featuring the music group the Beastie Boys. An image from one of their album covers, Posse In Effect in mostly red and blue. Men standing beside a large ghetto blaster and one man crouching beside it.

The mural was painted by Shepard Fairey (aka Obey) as part of the NYC Hip Hop 50 celebration in October 2023.

Spirit of Harlem

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Near 125th subway station (A/B/C) there is a mosaic mural. Original artwork done by Louis Del Sarte and made into a mosaics by Franz Mayer of Munich, 2005. After it was vandalized, it was restored in 2018. It’s a lively scene with musicians and dancers enjoying themselves. Vibrant. Alive.

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, musicians, drummers, bass players, and women dancing

part of spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, man in blue suit playing drums

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, brass band, women dancing
spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, man in hat watching musicians
spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, woman floating above dance floor,
spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, black woman dancing and floating
spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, woman with a shiny blue necklace

below: The corner of 125th (also Martin Luther King Blvd) and Frederick Douglas Blvd.

spirit of harlem mural at 125th and Martin Luther King Blvd

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city

some downtown Barrie murals

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In downtown Barrie there is a narrow alley with a large bright coloured mural by Clandestinos and Shalak Attack

alley in town of Barrie, downtown, mural on one side, by clandestinos and shalak attack, two large birds, a green star, butterfly, and woman's portrait
clandestinos mural in an alley in downtown Barrie, birds at the bottom end of the lane
shalak attack contributions to a mural in barrie ontario, a portrait of a woman
a butterfly in a clandestinos and shalak attack mural

Also downtown is ‘The Container Project’ at Meridian Place.
below: One side is the Barrie skyline filled in with flowers and some animals (there’s at least one raccoon). Painted by Katie Green.

mural in orange and blue, barrie skyline filled in with images of flowers and feathers, and some animals
close up of flowers in barrie skyline mural by katie green

The other side of the same container is another Katie Green mural which looks like a collage of Barrie landmarks.

mural with small scenes
close up of some of the scenes in a mural, a gazebo, rowers on the river, an old bridge over a narrow street, a clock on a pedestal, the East Bayfield community center,

below: On a very pink wall, a mural by Alanah Jewell

very pink wall, with images to make a mural, cedar tree, salmon, bears, sun, water, flowers, moon, clouds, plants, by Alanah Jewell in downtown Barrie
In the words of the artist:
“The sun will teach us about beginning new every day, and the importance of providing light and warmth.
The moon will teach us about the cycles of life and the importance of water. She will teach us that our bodies’ cycles are sacred and will tell us stories of Grandmother Moon
The stars will teach us about navigation and our ancestors’ journeys across this land. They will tell us about a time, thousands of years ago, when each of our ancestors started as someone living in harmony with each other and with the land.
The bears will teach us about rest, protecting our young, and the importance of strength. They will teach us about survival.
The fish will teach us about the depth of the water and the vastness of aquatic life. He will teach us that the water is worth healing and protecting.
The eagles will teach us about wisdom, guidance, and a connection to the spirit world. They will tell us about our Creation stories.
The cedars will teach us about standing tall and strong. They will tell us to give thanks for this life and the medicines that are abundant all around us.”

Photos taken June 2023