Mystery of Jesus Dreams Solved... kind of

Here is why you should go to CBID meetings. Look who one of our neighbors spied the other day. BOOM

So here is the scoop (hat tip to Mr. Owens who lives in The Holston), Ricky, the "artist", is actually some kind of religious zealot. Not sure if its a particular sect or something he just came up with, but this is psuedo-christian missionary work apparently.

 Now it gets interesting. Ricky puts up the "Jesus takes away bad dreams" and the other variations because #1 it is Gods message and he can put it on Gods property and since God owns everything he can put it everywhere. And #2... wait for it... the message itself is aimed at the Jews. Apparently a jewish person will understand this code language and perhaps be converted. Any of our semitically inclined readers care to comment on that part? Gentiles don't feel too left out, he has started a new line of all inclusive art (see the bottom right corner of the picture) a picture of the bible that says Jesus loves you.

So if you see Ricky around putting up posters feel free to call the police as he is defacing public property, and generally being a creeper. The things you learn by going to the CBID residents meetings.

Also the Pol has been nominated to be one of the CBID board members representing the residents downtown. So all you property owners please vote for Cullin Spellings or assign him as your proxy for the June 25th meeting. You'll be getting your ballots in just a few days. Thanks!

Is it art? round 6

Walking the dog the other day, I saw this along the greenway. Now of course the "tags" are harder to defend as they are less expression of an idea and more like a dog peeing on a tree, but the pictures...

It takes a talented hand to produce something on that scale. I know I can't do that.












If you want some previous takes on this topic, please see here.

Also, if you want my favorite webcomics take on it, please see here. (if you have never read these and you consider yourself a dork in any way, you are cheating yourself immensely)

What the crap is this!?

Has anyone seen the crazy graffiti on the fireproof storage building in the Old City? I saw it evolve into its current state a few months back and every time I look at it I honestly get a little creeped out.

I mean... kudos to the artist because there is a lot of detail in there and I'm sure it took a long time. This is definitely one of the most elaborate graffiti pieces that I've seen in town.




Anyone care to take ownership?


For some reason the centerpiece kind of (emphasis on KIND OF!) reminded me of this childhood favorite from Zelda: Link's Awakening on GameBoy... Don't ask why.

knawksville

[via Drinking Knoxville]

A candid assessment of our city's geography. Note the wig on top of the Sunsphere. I may start spelling "Knoxville" this way!

Fun with Stencils!

Hey, are you interested in an exciting career in art? Want to make your 'mark' on the world? Well create a stencil and any urban landscape can become your canvas! 

Seriously, I like these little fellows, but a note to the artist: less is more! One 'installation' per block is probably a bit much.

More Classic Knoxville Graffiti

I've collected a few shots of interesting graffiti over the last few weeks/ months. Enjoy. [Ed. note: many eons ago we had a series of posts about graffiti in Knoxville, including what may be the what may be the best love note on an alley wall ever.]











OK someone has to know the back story on this. Who uses a walrus as a tag? Must be a Beatles fan.










Now I think this may be a little harsh










"Ichabod," well at least our teens are versed in the classics.









still a little unclear on this one.







unicorns, weed, and cobras, the jungle wall of Knoxville.

devil squid

After a long hiatus, "Weird Knoxville" is back...
I noticed this "mural" on my way back from work one day, once again confirming that Broadway may be the weirdest street in Knoxville. It's over by Ray's Market (a whole other Weird Knoxville post in itself) near where Broadway goes under I-40 and dozens of homeless people play "Let's See If This Car Will Hit Me While I Walk Slowly Across The Street."

Is it a squid or octopus? I'd say squid, except that it's shooting ink- out of some sort of nozzle, no less. And is that a halo? But what about the devil horns? Do they cancel each other out?

Discuss: this is either a messed up fantasy mural or an illustration of the end of the world from the Bhagavad Gita. Either way, it's weird. Talk amongst yahselves.

More "Interesting Graffiti" in Knoxville

Well, Stan and The Pol (while on their Sunsphere excursion) stumbled upon some more gems of that truly public art form/ misdemeanor. This graffiti was found on the side of a house being renovated near Henley St. It's the cool-looking Victorian behind the Hampton Inn hotel. Anyways, enjoy.

graffiti archive

This site has a cool collection of the random stuff people have written on walls (among other public surfaces). I don't know what makes us have the urge to put our thoughts in writing where others will read it. It seems to be a very common urge (I'll admit to writing on the occasional bathroom stall), based on the sheer amount of graffiti documented at this site.

graffiti in knoxville film

Knoxville Graffiti

The word around Market Square today was that the police had caught a graffiti [artist?] suspect. I didn't find any news reports on it yet, but it did lead me to an article on two guys who got caught last year: Christopher "Bantr" Jones and Seth "Mind" Calehuff. On the same google search the above video came up on MySpace video (wth?) and it's interesting. It brings up some of the same points made by our commenters.

Is graffiti art? Is it a crime? Is it both at the same time? Is there "art graffiti" and just mere tagging? Is urban blight fair game for artistic expression? "Mind" and "Bantr" (the guys interviewed in the film) got the smack down from the powers that be for expressing themselves as they saw fit. They knew the risks. Mayor Haslam has basically declared war on graffiti.

It's good to see some other Knoxvillians examining these issues and producing a pretty decent documentary about it. Get out of MySpace world, though, where the rest of us are. 
My personal position is more ambiguous. For the time being I'm looking at it like a war photographer: I want to record and document something that i think is interesting and noteworthy, yet I don't condone nor condemn what I'm documenting.
Let's keep the dialog going. What do you think?

ghost

Now for something hopefully less controversial...
This is a new tag to me, might be old. This is in the alley behind Marie's and Tennessee Valley Bicycles. There's some good graffiti on the concrete barrier by 40 east, right before the Broadway exit. Check it out. It's in the middle of all that traffic! Those dudes were committed.

a public service announcement

not in knoxville, but one of my favorites of all time.

graffiti in knoxville

Some call it vandalism, some call it art...
I thought it would be interesting to start a new series that documents our own local "artists." On a short walk around Market Square I found that "GAME" "STUCCO" and "KRIME" had been hard at work tagging our town, among many others. So here is the first installment of "KNOXVILLE graffiti" (like the fonts, stan?):
suckaz

Mike gets some thoughtful advice on the alley wall (this one is worth zooming in on).

Graffiti artists are very concerned with originality, apparently.

This masterpiece was found near the back of Preservation Pub.