Ferguson: History I Don't See

History mural, Ferguson, Missouri. June 2018.

On the corner of North Florissant and Airport/Hereford, there is a US Bank. The bank has a mural on its side depicting Ferguson history.

History mural, Ferguson, Missouri. June 2018.

Who's not there?

History mural, Ferguson, Missouri. June 2018.

We've got to stop being so blind.

St. Louis: Art Museum: Half Moon Serene

Half Moon by Ben Nicholson, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri. January 2018.

A January Sunday. The end of winter soooooo far away. Days still short; nights still long. A good day to float through an art museum, enter rooms of others' imaginations.

Half Moon by Ben Nicholson, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri. January 2018.

I hied to the St. Louis Art Museum.


My eyes fell on Ben Nicholson's Half Moon and they rested there.

Half Moon by Ben Nicholson, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri. January 2018.

Half Moon by Ben Nicholson, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri. January 2018.

Half Moon by Ben Nicholson, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri. January 2018.

Half Moon by Ben Nicholson, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri. January 2018.

Half Moon by Ben Nicholson, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri. January 2018.

Half Moon by Ben Nicholson, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri. January 2018.

Half Moon by Ben Nicholson, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri. January 2018.

Half Moon by Ben Nicholson, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri. January 2018.

Half Moon by Ben Nicholson, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri. January 2018.

St. Louis: Art Museum: Cell

Cell, by Louise Bourgeois, St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri. December 2017.

December 2017


I met an acquaintance for coffee at the St. Louis Art Museum. 

Cell, by Louise Bourgeois, St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri. December 2017.

It's probably a sin, but I didn't look at much except for this exhibit, practically at the entrance.

Cell, by Louise Bourgeois, St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri. December 2017.

  I figure I'll make up for it later.

Cell, by Louise Bourgeois, St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri. December 2017.

 And the gods will forgive me.

On the Way to Louisiana: Rest in Beauty

Chamber County Rest Area, Interstate 10, Texas. September 2017.

Ohh, Texas has some glorious rest areas.

The Chambers County Rest Area is one of them.

The ladies' room threw sparkle on my little soul as soon as I walked in. What a cheery surprise.

Chamber County Rest Area, Interstate 10, Texas. September 2017.

Is this not a living testament to the Declaration of Independence's ideal of our inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? And the power of a government to share beauty, and therefore the pursuit of happiness, with its peoples?

We can choose to share beauty in anything, right? Including a public bathroom alongside a highway?

Yes.

There is even a human-engineering logic behind it.

El Paso: UTEP: Star-Lord

Star-Lord in Chihuahua Desert Garden, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. May 2017.

A small gift of guerrilla art as I passed through UTEP's Chihuahua Desert Garden one day in May.

Star-Lord in Chihuahua Desert Garden, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. May 2017.

El Paso: Lurid Lagartos

Lagarto sculpture, San Jacinto Plaza, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.

I'm afraid I'm not fond of the alligators in downtown El Paso. They lurk in the middle of the downtown plaza that some call the Plaza de los Lagartos (alligators) and some call San Jacinto Plaza. I prefer the latter name.

Lagarto sculpture, San Jacinto Plaza, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.

They remind me of the godawful "art" at the entrance to an amusement park in Tbilisi, atop Mtatsminda. I took some shit for decrying the grotesqueness of the "art,"  but I stand by my verdict.

Mtatsminda, Tbilisi, Caucasus Georgia.

There was a time when real, live alligators were kept at the Plaza, beginning in the late 1800s and ending in the 1960s. There's even a Louisiana connection, with the arrival of "Jack and Jill, a pair who arrived in a cigar box from Louisiana."

Lagarto sculpture, San Jacinto Plaza, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.

The fact was, however, that the alligators suffered regular indignities, not to mention cruelties and even death, at the hands of visitors.

Lagarto sculpture, San Jacinto Plaza, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.

Here's a photo of a vintage El Paso postcard, showing the live alligators in the plaza:

Postcard of live alligators in San Jacinto Plaza, El Paso, Texas. Postcard photographed by Red Oak Kid.

Lagarto sculpture, San Jacinto Plaza, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.

Maybe I wouldn't find the durn things so objectionable if the colored lights didn't shout so loudly.

Lagarto sculpture, San Jacinto Plaza, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.

El Paso: Accidental Art

Ladies' room, Cafe Mayapán, El Paso. March 2017.

Mmmmm, those greens.

Squares,
Angles,
Verticals,
Horizontals.

Metal plates,
Plastic plate.

Shiny,
Matte.

Wood,
Ceramic,
Metal.

Shadow,
Light.


Accidental, utilitarian art in the ladies' room at Cafe Mayapán.

El Paso: Chamizal: Carlos Flores

Carlos Flores, "The 187," exhibited at the Chamizal, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.

October 2016


I visited the art exhibit at the Chamizal National Monument one day. Carlos Flores was the featured artist.

"The 187," above, unsettling. I wish I knew more about it. I did look up "the 187" and discovered it is a reference to murder. The scope targets on the chests of the woman, girl, and man are obvious. The girl's eyes, she who is studying English, disturb.

Carlos Flores, "Refogios," exhibited at the Chamizal, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.

I love the painting above. The grandmother at the ready to protect the young boys. Her direct gaze, no-nonsense strength. Her beauty of character.

Carlos Flores, "La Batalla por Juarez," exhibited at the Chamizal, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.

There is this Mexican-US border art that prizes warrior women; it draws me.

El Paso: Downtown: Museum of Art Green-White-Black

Gift shop, El Paso Museum of Art, Texas. January 2017.

January 2017

My first visit to the El Paso Museum of Art. Saw some cool stuff. Not the least of which was the way the light hit the green and white pedestals on which staff placed shop items.

Gift shop, El Paso Museum of Art, Texas. January 2017.

Gift shop, El Paso Museum of Art, Texas. January 2017.

Gift shop, El Paso Museum of Art, Texas. January 2017.

Gift shop, El Paso Museum of Art, Texas. January 2017.

Gift shop, El Paso Museum of Art, Texas. January 2017.

Gift shop, El Paso Museum of Art, Texas. January 2017.

El Paso: Segundo Barrio: The Murals

Segundo Barrio murals, El Paso, Texas.

The mural above is across the street from the Sacred Family Catholic Church, one of the cultural anchors of Segundo Barrio in El Paso.

The juxtaposition of the intentional art plus the prosaic scene of freshly-laundered jeans draped over a banister plus the loudness of that #619 - it pleases me.

Segundo Barrio murals, El Paso, Texas.

The murals of Segundo Barrio are a draw for internal and external tourists to El Paso. There is a brochure you can get with a neighborhood map and numbered locations on the map, which match mural titles and descriptions.

Segundo Barrio murals, El Paso, Texas.

I can't help but compare the influence of the murals in humble Segundo Barrio with the immense Equestrian (fka The Last Conquistador, Don Juan de Oñate) by the El Paso Airport. NOT from a perspective of holier-than-thou, reverse-elitist, "real people" versus the affluent.

Segundo Barrio murals, El Paso, Texas.

No, I wonder about the comparison between the two in real, number-crunching terms. How many people actively seek out the Segundo Barrio murals; how many seek out the statue? How many tourist photos are there of the murals (as a group) versus how many of the statue?

Segundo Barrio murals, El Paso, Texas.

If I move to a comparison of intangibles - what messages do visitors glean from the statue? The murals? Emotions? Lingering effects, if any? Which of the two say "El Paso" more loudly to the internal or external visitors?

Segundo Barrio murals, El Paso, Texas.

Segundo Barrio murals, El Paso, Texas.

For some visual reference, below is a map that shows some of El Paso's neighborhoods, which I saw at the El Paso History Museum:

El Paso neighborhoods. El Paso History Museum.

And a slide show of Segundo Barrio murals below:

Related posts:

• El Paso: History's Long Reach: Oñate 
• El Paso: A Graffiti Gathering