I admit it. I'm a delinquent blogger, and I apologize for that.
To get us back into the swing of things, I will post a few interesting visuals.
One thing that can be said in favor of St. Etienne is that it's got several interesting wall murals. I'm sure I've only discovered a few of them in my time here so far.
One thing that can be said in favor of St. Etienne is that it's got several interesting wall murals. I'm sure I've only discovered a few of them in my time here so far.
This painting of an old man, near my house, is much more poignant than the image it's covering. The previous old man mural was a grumpy-looking dude sitting on a mountain of loafers - it was very tongue-in-cheek.
These murals are painted off-site, then transferred onto the walls of buildings by pasting them there. I only know this because I have noticed several of the murals' edges flapping in the wind. Bits and pieces of the art also get torn away as time passes, as you can see at the bottom of the image below.
I have to say that this particular mural, with the old lady, is my favorite - she looks so angry!
This one is just very pretty.
I think that many of them are by the same artist, as evidenced by a similarity in the style and use of line. The only exception might be the butterfly mural. I also wonder if the bat at the bottom right of this mural acts as an artist signature. The little winged guy shows up in various spots around the city, with or without a mural to accompany him, as shown below.
What do you think? Are all these murals by the same artist? Is the bat acting as a stand-in signature? Do you think the city condones his artistry? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
I hope you enjoyed this long-overdue post!
wow the shadows on the butterfly mural make for an outstanding visual effect
ReplyDeleteThe first one is my favorite. The old man looks kinda depressed, maybe because he has bird legs
ReplyDeleteThe bat 'signature' reminds me of the spray paint templates that populated Charlottesville when I was in college (and younger); Bronson, Che, etc...
ReplyDeleteI don't remember if they can still be found around town.
Cool pictures Andrenne.
The bat looks to me like an imp. Though the distinction may be small, it would serve as a vandalism/graffiti artist twist on things.
ReplyDeleteIt's weird that these things are painted on a canvas that's then wrapped around walls. The fact that the first one still shows a bit of its predecessor behind it tells us that someone's making decisions to keep certain ones over others. This "regulation" of vandalism seems like a really smart way to curb the problem while providing interesting things for the townfolk to look at.