Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Continuing our quest for murals

AC came on this morning before I got up. Had heavy wind [had to bring my flowers inside again] last night with lots of lightening and thunder and rain during the night. Very,very muggy again today. I went out pulled a couple of weeds and walked to trash can. Very "dewy" by time I got back inside. Might - might go to the market but for sure nothing else outside. 
So glad I took lots of pictures Sunday.
Even more murals from downtown. Most just off Fremont and between 5th to 12th streets. 
This one is amazing, couldn't find anything about it online. Full picture and then some close ups of parts of it. 
Love the colors and geometric designs.




Should have walked over further to take this picture.
This is an old abandoned motel. The inside courtyard is amazing and I didn't take a picture of it. Will have to go back.
Bill asked me if I'd looked at the inside, I said yes. But I'd just taken this picture of  the doorway leading in.
With the sun where it was it was hard to get a photo of this one without reflection. Lots and lots of work went into it. 
Just caught this one in passing. 
We drove around The Container Park but didn't stop. This big grasshopper shoots fire at night. It also was made for one of the Burning Man Festivals. Several years ago we stopped and visited the park. All the buildings in it are made from old shipping containers. If you are interested CLICK HERE to see that blog. Interesting place. 
The backs of some of the containers. I wish people wouldn't park in front of them. And come on city, don't put your signs right in front of murals. 


Back into the downtown area again. Saw this...“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” by Ruben Sanchez – Las Vegas Blvd. and Fremont St.  Created for 2015’s Life is Beautiful, this cubist style painting uses colors associated with the desert to incredibly depict the offbeat, kooky main character in the 1998 film of the same name.  At ground level and full of life and energy, some great shots can be taken here.
Didn't notice this one until I was looking at my pictures. So it is not very good. Both on the El Cortez Hotel “The Meaning” by Pixel Pancho – 
This mural also created for 2015’s Life is Beautiful, depicts life by way of two robots.  This piece is sweet and intimate but also thought-provoking.  Meant to inspire people to think about their reliance on and obsession with money and the fact that “we (do) not own this planet, we are a part (of it).”  Any couple could take away their own message from this mural and capture these feelings in incredible photos.
This is across the street from the Container Park.  The whole one and then some close ups of portions of it. 



Another painted utility box. The Zap! program, funded by the Clark County Department of Parks and Community Services and the Las Vegas Centennial Committee, has artists painting utility boxes. Each artist is paid $2,000 and receives $250 for supplies. "The theme has to have some connection with the past, present and future of Las Vegas, and we told the artists that if they want to use the colors of Las Vegas, they can," Gaffey said. Part of the hope is that the art will help deter taggers. Click here to read more about the program. 
Heading south on Las Vegas Blvd just crossing Fremont street. "Nine restored historical neon signs from the Neon Museum’s collection have been repurposed into public art on the downtown segment of Las Vegas Boulevard. In 2009, the same stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, between Sahara Avenue and Washington Avenue, became one of only three urban streets in the United States to be named a Federal Scenic Byway by the U.S. Department of Transportation. If you let the signs be your guide from Fremont to Washington, you will end up at the Neon Museum."

Looking towards The Fremont Street Experience.
The next notable feature we passed was the Pawn Shop from Pawn Stars. We also visited it a couple years ago. CLICK HERE to see the inside - so small!
"The shop is open every day from 9am - 9pm, only closed on Christmas and Thanksgiving, and the Pawn Window is open 24 hours a day. It is always free to visit the Pawn Shop and parking is also free.  " Quote from Web page. 
There are people standing in line to get in to the place. 
Discovered something about this paintbrush sculpture on line. "Once planned to share the same corner, the two paintbrush sculptures now stand at different sentry points, separated by circumstances. (The project did not work out as artist Dennis Oppenheim had planned.) The two paintbrush sculptures, designed to beam light as a paint “stroke, 1,600 feet long, going into darkness, thus echoing an artist’s excursion into the unknown,” as Oppenheim initially hoped, are just an echo of the original concept." [will have to look for the other paintbrush.]
After reading about so many of these on line, I want to go back and really check them out. We missed a lot, not knowing what we were looking for. 
From here we drove around the Arts District some and then on down the strip. Next post.

2 comments:

Barb said...

Do they turn those old neon sign on at night?

Prod UA said...

As a full time traveler , I completely 100% agree with this article!! One of the best tips to see impressive LAS VEGAS murals