Here are a couple details from the mural I've seen over and over...but never really saw.
Monday, March 29, 2010
The mural I saw but didn't see...
Here are a couple details from the mural I've seen over and over...but never really saw.
Friday, March 26, 2010
MONTEREY BAY LIFE FORMS
Back at it today. I was meeting a friend out on the west side of town so thought I'd focus my efforts there. On my way to lunch made notes on a couple murals to go back and shoot. Had a fabulous lunch at Avanti's...I mean - where ELSE can you get a baby radish, cucumber and Monterey Bay sardine salad?! And did I mention: to die for?! But it wasn't enough cuz I was pretty hungry having had no breakfast, so I also ordered the did-I-mention-freshly-made asparagus soup?! OMG!
Okay back to the project...in the area of Avanti's...is the intersection of Bay Avenue and Mission. There were three murals here: two painted by (I think the same artist) Lanny Markasky on Sylvan Music's building and one across the street which was a mural project with locally conspicuous artist James Carl Aschbacher and the then fourth graders (now ninth graders) of Bay Elementary.
I had the interesting experience of nearly colliding with a very large man wearing tie dye while coming around the corner of the Sylvan Music building after photographing the mural. The man cheerfully and immediately said, "How nice to run into you!" Then he introduced himself as John and proceeded to tell me a joke about a man who had purchased a large clock, and while on the way home with it passed by a local pub. A rather intoxicated bar goer was coming out of the pub precisely at that moment and managed to collide with the clock festooned fellow. Whereupon the drunk said "Can't you wear a normal watch like the rest of us?" .....Get it?!
John toted a mandolin, noticed my Santa Cruz Blues Festival tee shirt and we shook hands as fellow musicians. John gave his blessings for the mural project and we both wished each other a great day.
After photographing the murals I decided to head down Bay Avenue to the ocean. Well THAT was a huge distraction! I drove up West Cliff Drive and down West Cliff Drive. What an amazingly gorgeous day. I stopped to take a bunch of photos...couldn't resist.
Finished up with a couple murals along Front Street. And one of them, I have seen for at least a couple years regularly...at least a couple few times a week...and while photographing it I realized...I never really actually SAW it before, not really. It was amazing....I'll post a couple photos in the next post.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Day One - March 23, 2010
Okay, after thinking about documenting the many and amazing murals in Santa Cruz County, I said to myself - let's start! I have commissioned myself to do this: find them, photograph them, learn about them and the artists, compile all this into a book to publish and make available to others. A document of public graphic art, and a period of time of Santa Cruz history. I first contacted about 300 people on my email list who live in the county and asked them for help: to give me locations/addresses of mural art they might know of. I have already heard from a little over 30 of them in the last 48 hours and THANK YOU ALL for your support and input!! Then I contacted the Cultural Council and the Community Foundation to support this project . They were enthusiastic and I will formalize my interests to them in grant requests in 2011.
Today was was my first day...started in Felton and up through the San Lorenzo Valley.
After photographing the first two murals I realized that I needed to measure them. So my next stop up Highway 9 was the hardware store in Ben Lomond to buy a tape measure. I actually own a couple of them but didn't want to drive back home to get one. I found a 25' one for a little over $6...and then I found my ACE rewards card I hadn't used for $5 off...so I got the tape measure for a whopping $2.62. Pretty cool.
I'd seen a mural there in Ben Lomond at the art center (appropriately), and asked the clerk if she knew of any others in the area. She reminded me of a couple, like the Orthodox Church, that I would not have thought of. And she reminded me of Jimmy Dean in Brookdale. She told me about how the new owner of the Brookdale Lodge had started to paint over this long standing mural, and because of community outcry, had it re-painted it. So off I went with my tape measure.
Well Jimmy looked pretty second class compared to the original. I'm hoping someone out there has a photo of the original that they'll contribute....
Then in Boulder Creek. I started photographing and measuring the hardware store there which had several murals depicting local history. I think I'm minding my own business and then this woman shows up and says' "What are you doing?" After taking a moment to write down the measurement numbers in my head I explained, "I'm on a mission to document the murals in Santa Cruz County." Anne Marie Conrad, who owns the hardware business with her husband Doug says, "Well, we heard the sound of the measuring tape and wondered what was going on." Of course! I thought - hardware business...they would totally know the sound of a measuring tape! I apologized, not meaning to cause any consternation. She was then kind enough to give me some of the history around the mural and point out some fun details I did not see. A very nice and unexpected connection.
I toured a couple other streets and then started heading back down Highway 9 toward Scotts Valley. As an aside: while I am driving around I make note of murals I see along the routes so that I can get back to them. One of these was a mural on the side of Mountain Propane. So on the way back down Hwy 9 I stopped to take a picture. Well, there were a bunch of cars in the way of the artwork so I went over to the shop and asked when the best time would be to come back for a pix. I talked to Selby Henderson who was very congenial and helpful. Then he asked one of his workmates, "Who did the mural?" and that young fellow said, "My mom." How cool is THAT?! She even has a website which I will be checking out. Selby also informed me of a couple of tagger murals made in tribute to a number of local young people who died in accidents. These are in rather remote, non-obvious places...I am looking forward to seeing these. Thanks Selby.
Later this afternoon I had a reason to travel down Soquel Avenue and noticed murals along the way. And I also noticed spaces where there had been great murals that have been painted over!
What I learned today, my first day on this project:
- Measure the mural
- Notice where the sun is and get an idea of the best time of day to photograph
- Take notes
- How many public art pieces there are out there when one actually LOOKS for them!
- How many of these pieces are just sort of in our "peripheral" vision.
- Becoming aware of those pieces that I always enjoyed in my peripheral are gone...and I miss them and feel a bit of sadness that they are gone.
- Asking myself: what defines a mural....
I am really stoked about this project. Aside from appealing to my artistic sensibilities, it is causing me to think about the process in ways I hadn't imagined. What to document? How to photograph? Where to get the history? What are the relationships of store owners to their artwork, etc?
New doors opening.
Today was was my first day...started in Felton and up through the San Lorenzo Valley.
After photographing the first two murals I realized that I needed to measure them. So my next stop up Highway 9 was the hardware store in Ben Lomond to buy a tape measure. I actually own a couple of them but didn't want to drive back home to get one. I found a 25' one for a little over $6...and then I found my ACE rewards card I hadn't used for $5 off...so I got the tape measure for a whopping $2.62. Pretty cool.
I'd seen a mural there in Ben Lomond at the art center (appropriately), and asked the clerk if she knew of any others in the area. She reminded me of a couple, like the Orthodox Church, that I would not have thought of. And she reminded me of Jimmy Dean in Brookdale. She told me about how the new owner of the Brookdale Lodge had started to paint over this long standing mural, and because of community outcry, had it re-painted it. So off I went with my tape measure.
Well Jimmy looked pretty second class compared to the original. I'm hoping someone out there has a photo of the original that they'll contribute....
Then in Boulder Creek. I started photographing and measuring the hardware store there which had several murals depicting local history. I think I'm minding my own business and then this woman shows up and says' "What are you doing?" After taking a moment to write down the measurement numbers in my head I explained, "I'm on a mission to document the murals in Santa Cruz County." Anne Marie Conrad, who owns the hardware business with her husband Doug says, "Well, we heard the sound of the measuring tape and wondered what was going on." Of course! I thought - hardware business...they would totally know the sound of a measuring tape! I apologized, not meaning to cause any consternation. She was then kind enough to give me some of the history around the mural and point out some fun details I did not see. A very nice and unexpected connection.
I toured a couple other streets and then started heading back down Highway 9 toward Scotts Valley. As an aside: while I am driving around I make note of murals I see along the routes so that I can get back to them. One of these was a mural on the side of Mountain Propane. So on the way back down Hwy 9 I stopped to take a picture. Well, there were a bunch of cars in the way of the artwork so I went over to the shop and asked when the best time would be to come back for a pix. I talked to Selby Henderson who was very congenial and helpful. Then he asked one of his workmates, "Who did the mural?" and that young fellow said, "My mom." How cool is THAT?! She even has a website which I will be checking out. Selby also informed me of a couple of tagger murals made in tribute to a number of local young people who died in accidents. These are in rather remote, non-obvious places...I am looking forward to seeing these. Thanks Selby.
Later this afternoon I had a reason to travel down Soquel Avenue and noticed murals along the way. And I also noticed spaces where there had been great murals that have been painted over!
What I learned today, my first day on this project:
- Measure the mural
- Notice where the sun is and get an idea of the best time of day to photograph
- Take notes
- How many public art pieces there are out there when one actually LOOKS for them!
- How many of these pieces are just sort of in our "peripheral" vision.
- Becoming aware of those pieces that I always enjoyed in my peripheral are gone...and I miss them and feel a bit of sadness that they are gone.
- Asking myself: what defines a mural....
I am really stoked about this project. Aside from appealing to my artistic sensibilities, it is causing me to think about the process in ways I hadn't imagined. What to document? How to photograph? Where to get the history? What are the relationships of store owners to their artwork, etc?
New doors opening.
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