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Side of giant Big Dig ventilation shaft proves perfect for giant mural
By adamg on Thu, 07/26/2012 - 6:00pm
Two Brazilian artists are transforming the plain brown side of that thing in the middle of the Greenway in Dewey Square into a mural - which will stay up until it gets to faded and ugly in the weather to stay up any longer.
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Comments
It looked better before
That's really a shame. I much prefer the look of unblemished by grafitti or mural, marble (or marble simulcra).
i definitely disagree. It's
i definitely disagree. It's nice to see the ICA continuing to push out into the city (i still fondly remember the julian opie LED installations on the Northern Ave Bridge), and in a big way. We have a couple dozen of these vent towers, none of them are particularly attractive (though at sunset I do like looking across the harbor at the ones in East Boston). I for one am not saddened by one getting painted, especially in such an engaging way that is unique to this city. And while our typical neighborhood murals have their place, I'm really happy this isn't some hodgepodge of historical scenes or faces of Bostonians. Too often (in fact, almost always) Boston sells itself on what HAS happened here, so its nice to have something that hasn't happened before. This city needs shaken up, the greenway needs something jarring and exciting, and this makes me quite happy.
It looks better now
That's really cool. I much prefer the look of the mural to the blank and dreary wall.
"Too faded and ugly"
Jesus, Gaffin, you remind me of my father.
You want the truth?
YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
OK, now that I have that out of my system, here's the more exact quote from the Greenway press release:
Some say "compromised by weather," I say "faded and ugly."
Nice
That looks like it will be beautiful when finished.
Granted, this particular mural is to my aesthetic taste, but I don't get people who would rather have blank walls than something.
Blank walls = Architecture.
Blank walls = Architecture.
Decorated walls also = Architecture
Decorated walls also = Architecture, you mook.
Sometimes they are simply blank walls
Lots of buildings leave a blank wall with the expectation that something else will happen there. This city is filled with buildings that are architecturally interesting on three sides yet blank on the other, which usually means it was built to the property line. Very often another building ends up hugging against the wall, so it would be a waste of architecture to do something more elaborate. When nothing materializes, such walls are used for advertising or art (and arguably sometimes both). This is all a normal and appropriate part of the built environment.
Vide Boston Garden
OK, I just wanted to use "Vide."
Also that new building on Boylston that houses Fenway Community Health - or whatever it's called. All of Boylston, actually, is like watching a game of SimCity in slow motion (same with the Seaport area).
Wasn't Dewey Square where the Horticultural Society's giant greenhouse was supposed to go?
Understanding is sometimes hard to come by.
I don't understand people who can't be happy with what they have. In this case, what they had.
Change
This one is temporary, different, gets people talking.
Why is it so hard to "understand" that we live in a living and modern city? I've been to a number of US cities where these things go on all the time, and I like it even if I don't like a particular piece. I've often wondered why there wasn't more of this sort of thing in Boston, instead of blank foreboding walls that just get uglier and dirtier by the year.
Even zoo animals get their habitats changed around to benefit their mental health. Think of it as "enrichment".
Right on
I don't like every statue or painting that has gone up in the city, but I do enjoy the fact that Boston has public art.
Blank walls.
I actually have no problem with blank walls. I do like murals and public art as well. I understand why some people would prefer a less busy piece but I think its fine. I would, however, would like to see some of these blank walls simply painted and kept up. Some cities use colors that are more vibrant than what this city uses on their infrastructure. I'd like to see a combo of murals and blank, nicely colored/painted walls. I think the only thing that is depressing is chipped paint and dirty walls, and strait grafitti.
What is it?
Couldn't they have gotten someone to do a mural of a historic event in the city's history instead of that vandalism? Only doing the "artwork" that Americas refuse to do.
Both a museum AND the
Both a museum AND the organization that exists to support the park and property support this art. Calling it "vandalism" is insane.
I agree!! This art may not be
I agree!! This art may not be for everyone (just as what hangs in museums or galleries may not be for everyone), but it is incredible. These guys are actually world-famous, and it's absolutely amazing that they are here in Boston.
Degenerate Art, eh?
O-FISH-L would probably agree with this program to remove art that people like him didn't "get" from circulation in favor of "historic" or "glorious" works: http://painting.about.com/od/artglossaryd/g/defdeg...
That didn't take long.
Godwin's Law was put into effect quite early in this exchange!
Well it looks pretty creepy -
Well it looks pretty creepy - is that a pair of eyes peering out of a balaclava? Bring on the weather and make it go away already.
Good, bad and ugly?
From what I've seen it may qualify to meet a standard of both interesting, possibly funny and simultaneously garish, egotistical and silly. Whether it really has value can not be determined except by putting it up there and seeing if anyone salutes.
But it does remind me that much of contemporary art is as significant and worthwhile as the Emperor's new clothes. Many may swoon over it - much the way Jeff Koons' ceramic sculpture of Michael Jackson and Bubbles is worth millions to anyone fitting Mr. Barnum's description - and yet insipid is as insipid smiles.
The advantage of the plain wall is that it does not demand attention. The stone facing is enjoyable and pleasant. The colors and patterns are pleasing but not screaming "LOOK AT ME." But the plain wall supports the already present activities instead of competing for attention.
Is this the best place for the mural? The area is already active: the garden along Purchase Street is a brilliant idea, plus the farmer's market, the food trucks and the everyday activities that happen on the lawn already make that plot used. So will the mural add a positive or negative feeling to an area that has grown to embody a relaxed energy?
Or is the actual intention of the mural to dissuade people from engaging in another occupation?
Just saw it
I would probably like it better if it was an actual picture of something. It looks like an egg, or a deflating balloon. Why do murals have to be bizarre? Just leave it blank if you can't paint something nice.