On Sunday, August 6, the weather was nice enough for me to take Jan out for more public art hunting. I write these posts mainly to share our experiences and introduce Rhode Island public art to a few more eyes. They are fun to locate and view, not to mention to photograph. The Avenue Concept announced a few more new murals, and we covered three of those and another we have been meaning to see for a while. But wait! There’s more!
Table of Contents
Public Art in Two Outings
Yes, plural, because we added another one because we were nearby. Instead of writing a separate post, I included that mural with the four we visited that Sunday.
Fun and Funner
The first stop was Fun and Funner by Brian Butler. Because it was located on a one-way street and partly due to my car’s navigation system being about nine years old, we got close enough and parked near our destination. It was a short walk, and we made it comfortably.
This piece proved to be a challenge to photograph. First, our timing put the sun directly behind the mural wall. There was a stretch of the shadow of the building, but that distance did not give a wide enough field to cover the entire mural. Second, a car was parked in the middle of the wall art. And the wall on which the art piece was created was not a single stretch but two walls at a very slight angle.
We did our best to photograph the public art which depicted known elements from Rhode Island life. You would see references to the burning of the Gaspee, the state slogan “Hope,” lobster rolls, and even the big metal bug on Rt 95. I photographed a series of frames and stitched them to show most of the mural. The awning over the door covered a small section of the mural, but you will see that in the small set below.
Click on the images to see them larger, uncropped, and read their titles.



Parade
The next stop for public art was Weybosset Street. There the old building facade that separates a parking lot provided mural space. The last time we were there, both sides had different artwork.
The street side now features Parade by Michelle Perez. In five segments, the mural depicts action, life, and fun, symbolized by bikers and skaters who seem to carry a long paper fish float. This was not much easier to photograph. Despite the day being a Sunday, a car was parked on the street in front of the mural. I managed to get a few frames to stitch, and Jan got a few details. She photographed not only the mural but the upper parts of the wall itself with windows that show through as there is no building behind. This is what we saw.






Fire Season
On the wall facing the parking lot side are pieces making up the Fire Season by Marius Keo Marjolin. According to the write-up on the TAC site, the art pieces on the wall were “… inspired by Khmer art forms such as dance, theatre and shadow puppetry.” Their warm, red tones catch the eye and retain the focus with intricate designs.
The view is cut off by the support beams that hold the wall up. So, we photographed the pieces separately, but you imagine them all side by side to get a sense of their unity. Public art on both sides of the wall!






Still Here
We were getting tired and decided to return home. On the way back, Jan noticed one we have been meaning to visit for quite some time, Still Here by Gaia. I quickly parked the car on the street, and we spent time photographing the large mural.
Luckily, the parking lot was empty, and a few cars parked next to the wall did not block any part of the mural. I photographed my usual series to present the complete piece. Some details like the blackbird, the lady slipper orchid, and the running deer caught my attention. We photographed the last public art piece for the day and returned home.





Hope
We had to run an errand on Friday, and I realized we would be close to the mural, Hope, on Hope Street. After we finished what we had to do, I drove a couple of blocks, and we were there.
Hope by Joanna Vespia (Instagram) was on the wall of Not Just Snacks, next to Ballet RI. I parked the car in their parking lot, and we photographed the colorful mural. The live flower bed in front of the depicted one in the mural added to the overall feeling of nature. The mural carries several connotations. It refers to hope in general. The state motto of Rhode Island is also “Hope.” It even references the upper-class neighborhood on Hope Street. The square format image is an interesting one. I realized we both photographed a similar frame with slightly different angles. I stitched the two together to end up with a greater vertical angle. Talk about being a couple!
We enjoyed photographing the mural and decided to drop by to say hello to the people at Ballet RI, which used to be Festival Ballet Providence. It was a special event day with a performance for the children. We said hello to the receptionist, told her we would stop by again, left greetings to all, and returned home.






Locations
Below is a map I created to show where we have visited and what remains to be done. The green circles with a camera icon are places we have seen so far. The black circles indicate the ones we plan to visit. There are still a few left in nearby Providence.
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Haluk Atamal
Very interesting and awesome artistry, captured at its fullest beauty by you. Thanks for sharing.
I have always wondered how people can paint such big murals without losing continuity of the details. The paint they use – must be strongly UV resistant not to fade away by time. Each one must be a big project by itself.
I liked the last set, “Hope”, most.
Best regards to you both!
Haluk
A. Cemal Ekin
Good morning, and thank you, Haluk. The mural art is a puzzle for me too. There is some limited information on the organizing entity Web site, which is linked by the art piece’s name. There is more to come, more public art, and more from our garden. Take care,
Cemal