a well worn quaker.
November 27th, 2009
quaker - blue, originally uploaded by m hoek.
penguin metro mural
August 26th, 2009
This mural was always one of my favorite things about the Silver Spring metro station. You couldn’t look at it on your way to work without seeing the irony of the situation, people/penguins rushing around in their suits, somewhere to be. Sadly, it’s been down for over a year now, waiting somewhere in WMATA storage until the new transit center is complete in 2010 . The wood panels were originally painted by artist Sally Callmer and were only supposed to stay up for a year, but thankfully the piece was purchased for permanency by WMATA. Definitely looking forward to seeing it back up next year… assuming the construction stays on target.
M.Y.O.B
May 12th, 2009
I found this little painted window box in a not otherwise particularly pleasant alleyway in the Shaw/U St area. I enjoy the homeowner’s “Make Your Own Beauty” approach. These painted flowers added color, character, and life to a usually forgotten space. It is little gems like this that make wandering around the city so enjoyable. So hats off to you Mr. Fake Flowerbox Alley Painter Guy, thanks for beautifying our fair city.
CrAZy hOUsE!
April 21st, 2009
Well someone in the Shaw area decided to paint the side of their row-house all crazy-like. hehe! Not sure it’s what I would have gone with if I owned an end house and therefore a large, blank canvas at my disposal, but I do appreciate the “whimsicality” of it. Reminds me of Dr. Seuss in a way.
murals to zora - albus cavus - eatonville
March 12th, 2009
albus cavus (who we have written about before and is generaly awesome) is doing the painting of Eatonville, the yet to be opened restaurant on 14th St….
…Eatonville is owned by Andy Shallal of Busboys & Poets fame. B&P is named after Langston Hughes (the “busboy poet” from his time at the Wardman Park Hotel in the 1930’s). Eatonville is named after renouned author Zora Neale Hurston (Eatonville was the Florida city where she grew up). Hurston is a graduate of Howard University and is best known for “Their Eyes Were Watching God.”…
…various artists (w/the occasional little kid spray paint helper) are busy completing all of the artworks that will adorn Eatonville’s walls…
…artists are working in a variety of styles…using stencils w/hand detailing for what looks to be a Warholesque series,…
…some with ladders in precarious positions….
…HERE is a site about the events that they are hosting this weekend in the space (party on Friday and public viewing on Saturday). Check it out!
mass civil disobedience
March 4th, 2009
A large mural was installed in Adams Morgan that is in protest of clean coal technology. I assume that this is the product of the “This is Reality” group which have recently had a significant advertising presence in the metro. While I have not had a chance to do much reading on either side of this issue I really like the little dead canary logo that The Reality Coalition came up with so that is cool in my book. This particular mural features Ghandi, gas masks, and a group of anonymous workers.
The blurry (potentially headache inducing) affect is from my handi-dandi Lensbaby.
bicycle! bicycle!
January 26th, 2009
The side of the Big Wheel Bikes store in Georgetown. I’ve never been inside this particular store, but I do enjoy this abstract bicycle on the wall!
fisheye mural
January 10th, 2009
This crazy mural is in Adams Morgan on Columbia just past the top of 18th St. It features people playing misc instruments, exploding TV’s, a card game, and lots of other peculiar things. I like it and think it is fun. The best part (which unfortunately can not be seen in this shot) is a tag line that says “people without murals are demuralized people.
Oh and it was taken with my new Lomo Fisheye camera that is a lot of fun. CVS did a wonderful processing job on this roll that gave everything a nice red tint….booo CVS booooo!
Albus Cavus
November 10th, 2008
Yesterday we walked over to 11th and Park Ave. to check out a street art project called Albus Cavus (meaning white cave in Latin). The basic premise is to beautify streets in need of some prettying, in this case, they had a construction fence that was surrounding a run down liquor store. The developer donated the fence space to these artists for the next 6 months, until the new project is built.
It looks like the artists were out there for most of the day Sunday, painting and cutting out their designs. By the time we got there in the afternoon, they were just starting to hang the images on the fence.
