Tag Archives: Urban Art

Graffiti Marathon: 40th Street and Broadway

Posted on by annandmeg

On the East side of Broadway, at 40th Street, there is a significant stretch of wonderful graffiti.  Begin at the Open Fire Wood Burning Pizza shop.  The front and South sides of the building have a wonderful mural identified as “GATS Coast to Coast 2013”.  The reference to GATS sent me to the internet.  GATS (Graffiti Against the System) identifies a California street artist whose paintings are found throughout the country as well as European countries including Portugal, Germany, Italy and England.  While s/he claims to paint illegally, I cannot imagine many of these murals would be in existence without the approval of the property owners.

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Follow the mural into the adjacent parking lot behind the Highway 420 Smoke Shop.  There you will discover another series of panels created by  different artists.

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Much to my surprise, graffiti continues beyond the South edge of the parking lot through a stretch of alley that extends East to Central.

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More to come:  Graffiti under construction on 39th East of Broadway.

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Graffiti Marathon: Lost To Construction

Posted on by annandmeg

Graffiti is most often painted on deteriorated buildings, alleys and parking lots.  As a result it is highly vulnerable to destruction.  Last Sunday, Terry and I explored the River Market area in search of graffiti Terry and I remembered as a wonderful site of some noteworthy graffiti.  Terry remembered it was in the River Market area.  IMG_3660We found it, sort of!  In an alley just East of the Broadway Bridge, we found remnants of the art, most of it behind a high fence that obstructed my view almost completely.IMG_3659 (1)

Located between 2nd and 3rd streets, it is worth a visit, if only to record that which will soon be lost to us.  I do not begrudge Kansas City development activities, but will still miss this wonderful wall.

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As with much of Kansas City’s graffiti, these paintings in the River Market, exist on the fringes of our community.  They are, very much a part of our culture, proof that wonderful art is available to all of us.  Happy hunting!

More Fun With Wall Art

Posted on by annandmeg

Just North of Crown Center, in a parking lot on Broadway, I found a treasure trove of wall art.  Whether we label it graffiti or wall art, it is just as fun to explore Kansas City’s alternative art.  I know I have seen the artist before, but, as always, I do not know how to identify the artists.  I hope you enjoy the great images, both prehistoric and modern.

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Note the signature of the artist.  If you can read it, let me know.

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Graffiti On Broadway

Posted on by annandmeg

Graffiti can be found throughout Kansas City.  Recently I discovered another treasure trove of graffiti art.  Hope you enjoy it.

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IMG_2371Clever, don’t you think?  I wish I knew the artist, but you will see s/he is identified immediately below the shark in the third photograph.

Open For Business: Truman Road

Posted on by annandmeg

My visits to my dad involved a trip across town from Kansas City to Independence.  While my routes vary a lot, I often drive on Truman Road.  It is just wonderfully urban.

I particularly love this corner store East of downtown on Truman Road.  The storefront is covered with cartoon characters.  I never could figure out the name of the store, but it appears that it sells hats, CD’s and “skull candy”?  Seriously.  I don’t know.  The owners came outside to see what I was doing, but seemed pleased that I considered their art worthy of attention.

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These gentlemen were hard at work.  They appeared to be having fun as they worked. When they saw me, they waved and let me take their photographs. their work stopped for a moment.  They were in a good mood and so was I.

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xxx

Great Wall Art For A Winter’s Day

Posted on by annandmeg

Meg is gone.  Tough day.  Need to have some fun.  Drove down Troost in Mid-Town Kansas City.  Found wonderful art on the wall at the Kansas City Urban Youth Center.  I don’t know anything about the Center, but they have great art on their walls.  It made my day a little brighter.  Hope it does for you as well.

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Graffiti and wall art add color and life to our city streets. They are very much a part of the culture of our urban community. The artists deserve to be acknowledged.  But even  more, they deserve a wider audience.

More Wall Art from Kansas City’s East Side

Posted on by annandmeg

Meg and I agree we have a lot to celebrate.  Today I want to celebrate and share more of Kansas City’s graffiti.  My weekly adventures often provide we opportunities to find new murals throughout our urban community.  These paintings were found just barely Southeast of downtown.  The artist or artists plying their trade on this freshly painted wall obviously love color.  There were at least half a dozen individual paintings extending from one building well into the alley just East of Grand within a 7 minute walk to our center city.

“Feminines” is almost certainly the artist’s signature on this wonderful rendition of a mythical bird.

While renditions of death are very unusual on wall art, this skull seems to smile from the wall.

The shocking pink on this final mural adds to the festive nature of this block in Kansas City.

Live in a city?  Hope you enjoy the wall art where ever your route takes you.  It is, in the best sense, the people’s art.

The Art of the Wall

Posted on by annandmeg

In years past, teenagers snuck out at night with paint brushes and spray cans to create what was generally mediocre, if colorful, graffiti under bridges, on vacant buildings and sometimes the sides of churches and schools.

Without question the world of graffiti has changed.  The murals I see on my drives through urban Kansas City are often exquisite works of art that appear to have been the work of artists hired by business owners to create colorful displays on the exteriors of their buildings.  Even the texture of the bricks beneath the designs adds to the visual impact.  It is, in effect, graffiti “grown up”.

When I happen upon a particularly colorful design, I find I alter my route to and from work just to see the art over and over again.  I regret only that I am unable to identify the artist so I could praise them by name on this post.

At least I can honor these urban artists by sharing their creative designs with our friends.  In Kansas City, at least, art finds its form in these creative, incredibly colorful, urban designs.  Aren’t we lucky!