Another treat from Tree Town Murals

Mary Thiefels is the brain and talent behind Tree Town Murals. They adorn many walls, planters and train trussels around town. This is an example of her latest work.

Enjoy!

A Chance Meeting...

Imagine our delight when my friend Julia and I stumbled upon this fabulous find!

We both love to walk art fair the day before it opens to preview what is coming and we found this young woman painting this piece. (It sits on the former location of Pinball Pete's that recently burned down.) It is in the heart of the newest fair in the collection of fairs that occur in Ann Arbor from July 21st to the 24th this year.

Ellen Rutt is an art student at the University of Michigan and didn't want to see this wall unadorned. She spoke to the owner and convinced them to allow her create this cheerful piece.

We loved the drips on the circles and felt they took on a life of their own. If you want to see this up close and you are headed to the fairs, you'll find this on South University between Church St. and Forest. Stop by and see the finished piece as she was still adding the finishing touches.

Nice job Ellen!

More Sidewalk Surprises!

Here is another piece that I found on a sidewalk. Alas, once again, I can't remember where in downtown Ann Arbor I found it. I need to start keeping better records.

And no, this photo is not a reverse image. If you note the word on the forehead of this piece was actually written backwards. Why is anyone's guess....

Sidewalk art

Another find while strolling in Ann Arbor. I don't remember where I saw this, but it is another example of the unexpected....

Street finds

I was walking across the street the other day when I found this guy stuck to the street. I'm told they are all over town. How fun! 

One just has to be careful not to get hit by a car while looking at them. 

Creative and a cause

This catches your eye doesn't it? I have a true respect for window painters. Especially ones how can paint at this detail. 

I found this on the window of a downtown hair salon named Anneke's. I like it that they are promoting a cause that is near and dear to their clientele. Smart advertising with a creative bent. Nice.

Quick 'n simple art

Imagine how much fun you could have with this? If you put a monopoly board in a downtown how much fun could that be?

It's conjuring up all kinds of images of various ways that you could market a downtown. Hmm. The wheels are turning....

Stay tuned!

New Ideas for Items Everyone Uses

When keys began popping up with images on them, I thought well, how come I didn't think of that? Yet another example of something that was obviously a great idea that took a while to develop. Now why couldn't it have been me?

Graffiti Ordinance

Here is the graffiti ordinance for Ann Arbor.

(1) "Graffiti" means any mark or marks on any surface or structure made without the prior permission of the property owner and made in any manner, including but not limited to, writing, inscribing, drawing, tagging, sketching, spray-painting, etching, scratching, carving, engraving, scraping, or attaching. Chalk marks on sidewalks in not "graffiti." "Graffiti" does not include any attaching which is permitted under Chapter 82, Section 7:102(3).

(2) No person shall apply graffiti to any surface or structure.

(a) Community service that is as relevant and appropriate to the violation as possible;

(b) Restitution;

(c) A fine of not more than $500 plus costs.

(3) The victim may proceed with any private right of action provided under law against a person who has applied graffiti or the parent or guardian of a minor.

Okay, so it looks like all one has to do is say they approved the work if they like it and want to keep it or are not interested in covering it up. Seems like a big loop hole to me. (See below.)

Bubble Gum Alley

Take a close look. It will become evident why this space has been nicknamed bubble gum alley. Yep. There are hundreds of pieces of bubble gum stuck to this wall. 
So the question is, does this count as graffiti? The new ordinance passed making it the owners responsibility to remove graffiti in several days (I can't remember the exact number). 

But back to my question. Is this graffiti? It is located in an alley that had paintings done on the walls that were someones artwork that had been approved. It survived in pretty good shape until someone came and "white washed" some of the walls and then all kinds of stuff I would call graffiti appeared. Then it started to spill over into this area. Personally I love this and think of it as art on a collaborative level, even if ones only contribution is a wad of gum. 

But again, is this graffiti? I'm at a loss as how one defines that? I guess I should read the ordinance to see how they define it. I'll look into that and check back in. Hopefully with more images of "graffiti".

You never know what you'll find....

I found this while I was taking a short cut through an alley in downtown Ann Arbor the other day. I have mixed feelings about graffiti. I personally love well done pieces like this one. I get very annoyed at tagging for taggings sake. 

But the real dilemma for me is when this is done on private property. No one has the right to deface another persons building. Imagine the outcry if this was done on someones car. No doubt someone would notify the authorities quickly. But would they do the same for a building? Oddly we don't take the vandalism as seriously when it occurs to fixed property. Why is that?

Currently Ann Arbor is entertaining the thought of adding a graffiti removal ordinance. It would require property owners to remove graffiti within a proposed amount of time or face a fine. Ypsilanti has one of these in place currently. This seems to be punishing the wrong party for the defacement. I understand the importance of removing graffiti as soon as possible as it is a deterrent to repeat hits. But what if you like the graffiti? What is you consider this a piece of art and you like it? I'll bet no one has considered that aspect. 

In fact that is how Jean-Michel Basquait got his start. He painted walls in alleys and anywhere else he could. They became so valuable that people looked at removing portions of buildings. Unfortunately he died of a heroine overdose when he was 27, otherwise who knew what would have happened?

Graffiti vacation ends in arrests

These photos are examples of graffiti done by Jim Clay Harper (Ether) and Danielle Bremner (Dani). They toured Europe this summer tagging public property along the way. They left their mark in London, Spain, Paris, Frankfurt, Hamburg and other places they visited including New York City.

They caused thousands of dollars of damage and where arrested when they arrived back in the states. Due to the high value of the amount of damage, they are being charged with felonies and could spend up to seven years in jail. 

The charges for the alleged paint spree are being pressed in New York City. The NY authorities are working with European authorities to determine if more charges will be pressed overseas as well. Yikes!

Looks like this couple should have stuck to canvas' that they had permission to paint on. Destroying public property or property owned by others should never be permitted. As much as I enjoy well done graffiti, is is ruined for me when it is done without consent. Shame! 

Wall Art

Room 411 at the Hotel Des Arts in San Francisco. This wall was created by a L. A. artist named Kinsey.

I've always loved wall art, meaning art that has been painted or papered onto the wall. 

This is what I would do in my bedroom if I had the talent or money to paint something along these lines. Although I've always envisioned that the installation would involve wildlife. 

As a child I spent Thanksgivings at a home that had a black and white photo of a remote beach with large boulders along two of it's walls. I loved this image. I imagined that I would go to sleep in this room, dreaming of small waves softly cascading onto the beach. It is still a dream of mine. The images change, but the concept remains the same. Maybe some day....

Bomb It!

Bomb it! 

For those not in the know, this is a term used by graffiti artists. It refers to moving in and quickly making your mark. It is also the title of a documentary about graffiti artists around the world. 

It begins in Philadelphia with Corn Dog, the daddy of graffiti. It quickly moves around the world from Tokyo, to South Africa, to Sao Paulo and many places in between. It discusses why people participate in the art and discusses distinctions about the art. The one thing it doesn't do enough of is actually showing the art. Fortunately there are other avenues to do this.

I highly recommend this for those interested in the art and it's evolution!

The artist shown here is named Lord Leigh. I prefer graffiti that does not use the artist name as the piece. Give me images any day over stylized letters.

Discovering Tin Tin!

I know it is difficult to see this painting well, but look close. It is a painting of one of my favorite childhood heroes... Tin Tin! His faithful dog, Snowy is prominently shown in the middle surrounded by other characters from the series. 

Tin Tin was created by Belgian artist, Herge. He developed the comic strip into a series of graphic novels long before the term was well known. Tin Tin is a young crime solver who went on wild adventures! He was a favorite of mine in sixth grade.

This painting is in a Mexican restaurant on Boston University's campus. When I asked why a Mexican restaurant had a Tin Tin picture, I was told it was left over from when it was a French restaurant. It was an oddity to discover and unfortunately (in my eyes), not well known (Tin Tin, not the restaurant which was mediocre at best). 

These pictures are NOT animated...

...your eyes are making them move. 

To test this, stare at one spot in each picture for a few seconds and everything will stop moving; or look at the black center of each circle in the first picture and it will stop moving; but when you move your eyes to the next black center, the previous one will move after you take you eyes away from it.

Kind of fun!