Strange and Beautiful Las Vegas

Sunday morning was beautiful out. Not too hot and no wind! And we wanted to get out of the house. First breakfast, of course, then we drove towards downtown Las Vegas. I've been reading about some of the new stuff and murals down there and wanted to check them out. I guess the guy in the old car wanted to see things too. Fremont street looking west towards the Fremont Experience.

 Just a painted utility box I thought was cute. 

 We turned a corner and there was the old car parked at the curb. Picture isn't good as there was a lot of reflection on the windshield. 

First a couple of things we were looking for. I'd read about them on the Internet.
Downtown’s 15-foot-tall hydrant is attached to the Hydrant Club, a private dog park that also features daycare, boarding and training services. The Hydrant Club is across from the former Western casino. According to the Hydrant Club's web page the big hydrant actually works. This is at Fremont and 9th St. 

And this I'd read about a year or so ago when it was built for The Burning Man Festival. Just discovered exactly where it was downtown. It is in an abandoned motel parking area on Fremont between 10th and 11th. Some info about it. 
The Jig, created by LA artist Mike Ross, was built from two tanker trucks for Burning Man 2007. With one truck bent and balanced atop another, the massive sculpture appears graceful. And you can explore inside of it. “The work serves both as a sculpture and an architectural space,” Ross’ website says. “Visitors may enter the lower truck, climb through the tankers and emerge through a portal at the top. The rear axles of the upper tanker serve as a viewing platform, 42 feet in the air.”
From what I could see there is no exploring in it. It is behind a chain link fence. The trucks are real trucks. Pretty amazing. 

New York City painter Jason Woodside produces kaleido scopic large-scale murals of bright geometric patterns, in this case adorning two of the shipping containers that have become a fixture of downtown's development. Fremont and 8th Sts.

"Meerkats" - Bordalo II  To spread his message about endless waste production, Portuguese street artist Bordalo II (Artur Bordalo) creates stunning animal sculptures. However, unlike most artists, Bordalo doesn’t buy his material – he scavenges it. He seeks to portray nature (animals) with the materials that threaten the environment.  Click here to read more about him and see more of his work. Amazing stuff. 

This is located at Fremont and 8th streets. 

A closer look. 

I was all over the Internet to find information about the works and artists. Here is "
Eagles and Rabbit Under the Moon" by Ana Marietta Orti. She is a Puerto Rico born artist based in Houston. Her melancholy animal and humanoid forms are influenced by the animal sciences she studied in school. 

The front of the building the bunnies are on.

"On 7th Street between Stewart and Ogden avenues is Felipe Pantone’s mural, created for the 2016 Life Is Beautiful festival. The Argentine native, now based in Spain, incorporates bold graphics into his work. 

The combination of geometric shapes and bright monochromatic colors make the shapes practically jump off the wall." 

The east side of same building."Portuguese street artist Vhils is known for his oversized portraits. This one covers a wall of the parking garage at the El Cortez hotel-casino."

Norwegian artist Martin Whatson’s untitled mural covers two walls of a building on Stewart Street between 7th and 8th streets in Las Vegas. His mission is to bring beauty to forgotten spaces. He painted two 4-story murals on the sides of a parking garage. One side depicts a man kneeling in front of a wall of graffiti while the other side features a hand unveiling the same graffiti wall.  The two pieces seek to make one wonder which is the wrongdoing, the graffiti itself or the threat of covering self-expression.  Colorful yet subdued, this is truly a powerful piece that stands out among many."

And we continued on. I could not find any thing on this whole wall mural. But anything with chickens on it has to be included.

 An interesting look. Both front and side of building are painted.

 The side of it. 

There is a ZAP program - need to find out more about it - but they are the ones who paint a lot of the utility boxes.

 Could not find out anything about this one, very unusual and lots of details, notice the eyes.

 Other side of the same building. 

 “Corner” by Borondo Created for Life is Beautiful, this mural occupies the corner of a downtown parking garage. Seen head-on is a somber looking man dressed in disheveled clothing, who looks dirty and rumpled. However, when looked at it from a different angle, a portion of the piece is then hidden. A mural that is captivating and moving.

Mural by D*Face – 7th St. and Ogden Ave. This modern and unique mural was originally painted for the 2013 Life is Beautiful festival. The half skeletal looking man sitting in despair with a drink in front of him, very obviously in despair with the thought bubble reading “I gave her my heart and she left me for…” plays to everyone who has ever been in pain over losing their love to another. It’s sad and dark but also intriguing and relatable.

“Love Forever” by D* Face –  7th St. This masterpiece was created for 2014’s Life is Beautiful.  Although this mural mimics the same 80’s-esque, comic type character as in his 2013 piece, in this piece there is a certain sex appeal that is very obviously present.  Provocative, compelling and of great interest. Hard to get a good picture of this.

[need to get a drone picture of this.]

Mural by Mark Drew – Fremont St. (between 6th St. and 7 th St.)  This piece, created for 2016’s Life is Beautiful, can be seen the side of the El Cortez parking garage. The Australian artist created a mural that incorporates Linus, the likable Peanuts character that we all know and love and a Wu Tang Clan lyric, “Life as a shorty shouldn’t be so rough!” 
Whoops I cut of the most important letter - there is a Y at the end of the word SHORT behind the palm tree. 

And I am going to stop here and leave the rest for the next blog. Hope you are enjoying them. Hope it wasn't too much information. 
Got up early this morning - a little after 5 - thought I'd take a walk. Opened door and shut it - already in low 90's. 
Cooked dinner last night, first night I've felt like eating and I didn't want to pick. Fixed chicken tetrazini - comfort food for sure. Tasted good, but added to the heat in the house. Left overs for tonight.