Thursday, April 11, 2013

Urban



"The car has become the carapace, the protective and
aggressive shell, of urban and suburban man.” ~ Marshall McLuhan

I could tell you some stories about my travels from here to there, but there's really not enough room and we'd all question whether they were relevant. With this week's IF challenge, we're traveling back a few years to a public art project that was installed around the newly renovated downtown, a series of banners that depicted local artists' views of life in Vista, California. This was my contribution, the view of the busy road from behind chain link, slightly glamorized so as not to fully reveal my tongue in cheek intentions and play on my town's name. As luck would have it, they installed this in front of my favorite ice cream haunt, so I softened my attitude a bit and went out for a "soft serve."
Eventually, another highway project replaced the increasingly battered chain link fence with a concrete barrier topped with something a little more durable, so this piece is now an unofficial artifact, perhaps just a bit like the person who painted it!


5 comments:

  1. What a great piece of art those ice cream customers enjoyed Michele. Cars are indeed both the good guys and the bad guys we just can't live without them. Your art is brilliant. ...lucky Vista - I wish it graced my urban space xx

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  2. Love it! Maybe the people choosing the art appreciated your sense of humor? At least you gave them some flowers and trees to go with the car exhaust :)

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  3. What a cool project! And how wonderfully you gave your own special meaning to it. Bravo!

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  4. Very clever. A perfect picture for Urban!

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  5. WHAT!! We need to go for Ice Cream and you need to show me this!!!

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