I was going to take pictures of murals when I got the idea for an essay on public paintings but pretty soon I realised that public art in Key West is more than paintings on walls, though there are a fair few of those too:
The effect of this one is spoiled by the tape fencing and plywood- all made necessary following last months big blaze that displaced three businesses from this building on White and Virginia Streets. There's a tiled mural at the airport:
I found this fearsome depiction midway up, or down, Duval Street:
Whatever else it is, it certainly is something other than the usual depiction of sweet tropical flora and fauna. Like that found at Higgs Beach, decorating the public loos next to the Salute restaurant:
This is a popular hang out for our residentially challenged residents. However on my visit to the beach I found fewer than usual, occupying the decorated pavilions. I'm never sure if the groups of homeless really notice or appreciate the delicate pictures painted on their temporary shelters. I do:
Next to Higgs beach there's the White Street Pier, often jokingly referred to as the former bridge to Havana. The entrance is another form of public art, the Aids Memorial, a depiction of the island chain and lists of names etched into black marble.
Unlike the dork in the photograph you aren't supposed to ride your rented scooter on the memorial. Further up white street animals come to life. I seem to recall in my misspent youth acquaintances of mine bought clay animals that sprouted leaves when watered. I think they called them Chia Pets and the inventor made a fortune similar to the one made by the inventor of the Pet Rock. Indeed there was a time when people wasted money buying "pet" rocks. But I digress, there's a giant Chia outside the NOAA weather station:
Weird huh? Across the street is an older landmark, a tiger welded out of metal in front of Glynn Archer School. It happened in dispatch one afternoon I took a call from an agitated Spanish speaker and in response to my "Adonde estas?" she wailed "El Tigre!"I turned to my colleagues and asked where the hell the tiger is. Once learned never forgotten. It is kind of obvious on White Street:
Graffiti is not the worst problem Key West suffers from but scrawls show up from time to time and get residents incensed. This I saw on Seminary Street and I couldn't figure out what it meant. A lamentation? An accusation? A boast?
And on Catherine Street not too far away some creative soul long since painted a tree stump to resemble a technicolored octopus. However the ravages of time and inconsiderate drivers have taken their toll:
I figured I'd better photograph it before it vanishes... Pineapples are supposed to be a symbol of welcome in the islands,perhaps because they are sweet, perhaps because they are barbed and rough or perhaps because they were a bugger to grow in Key West and expensive to import from Cuba. You will see lots of pineapples carved in gingerbread style all round the island, some more graceful than others:
This rather brash example was on Duval Street.
In New Town i have long admired this piece of artwork on a garage door on Northside Drive:
A neighbor watched me stop and park the Bonneville and after I took the picture told me the actual vehicle is parked inside. An added and unexpected touch.
On Smathers Bach I wanted to take a picture to illustrate the colorful mosaic along the cement wall holding back the beach, but the camera could only snatch a small portion at a time. Then I saw a man with his tripod pondering some vista out on the sand and water:
It would be nice if he got what he was looking for, because I only got a piece of the red mosaic for my trouble. I made a spectacle of myself at the triangle stopping in the median to take a picture of the no-longer-new sign at the entrance to the city. They managed to park it right behind a road sign on the way in making it almost invisible. On the way out its clear enough:
A few years ago my wife was in the checkout line at Publix when an anxious tourist came by and asked the cashier how many more miles to Key West? The city never did care much one way or the other and it was left up to the Rotary to plant the welcome sign. And there it is.
My last picture is neither public nor strictly speaking Art, even by my rather loose definitions, but I think its pretty enough to be:
Outside the Stock Island Hilton at 3 am. That by the way is the jail, in jest so please don't call asking to make a reservation- its like one of those other hotels where you can only get in, not out. And the artwork inside is mostly shades of cream and gray.
The effect of this one is spoiled by the tape fencing and plywood- all made necessary following last months big blaze that displaced three businesses from this building on White and Virginia Streets. There's a tiled mural at the airport:I found this fearsome depiction midway up, or down, Duval Street:Whatever else it is, it certainly is something other than the usual depiction of sweet tropical flora and fauna. Like that found at Higgs Beach, decorating the public loos next to the Salute restaurant:This is a popular hang out for our residentially challenged residents. However on my visit to the beach I found fewer than usual, occupying the decorated pavilions. I'm never sure if the groups of homeless really notice or appreciate the delicate pictures painted on their temporary shelters. I do:Next to Higgs beach there's the White Street Pier, often jokingly referred to as the former bridge to Havana. The entrance is another form of public art, the Aids Memorial, a depiction of the island chain and lists of names etched into black marble.Unlike the dork in the photograph you aren't supposed to ride your rented scooter on the memorial. Further up white street animals come to life. I seem to recall in my misspent youth acquaintances of mine bought clay animals that sprouted leaves when watered. I think they called them Chia Pets and the inventor made a fortune similar to the one made by the inventor of the Pet Rock. Indeed there was a time when people wasted money buying "pet" rocks. But I digress, there's a giant Chia outside the NOAA weather station:Weird huh? Across the street is an older landmark, a tiger welded out of metal in front of Glynn Archer School. It happened in dispatch one afternoon I took a call from an agitated Spanish speaker and in response to my "Adonde estas?" she wailed "El Tigre!"I turned to my colleagues and asked where the hell the tiger is. Once learned never forgotten. It is kind of obvious on White Street:Graffiti is not the worst problem Key West suffers from but scrawls show up from time to time and get residents incensed. This I saw on Seminary Street and I couldn't figure out what it meant. A lamentation? An accusation? A boast?And on Catherine Street not too far away some creative soul long since painted a tree stump to resemble a technicolored octopus. However the ravages of time and inconsiderate drivers have taken their toll:I figured I'd better photograph it before it vanishes... Pineapples are supposed to be a symbol of welcome in the islands,perhaps because they are sweet, perhaps because they are barbed and rough or perhaps because they were a bugger to grow in Key West and expensive to import from Cuba. You will see lots of pineapples carved in gingerbread style all round the island, some more graceful than others:This rather brash example was on Duval Street.In New Town i have long admired this piece of artwork on a garage door on Northside Drive:
A neighbor watched me stop and park the Bonneville and after I took the picture told me the actual vehicle is parked inside. An added and unexpected touch.On Smathers Bach I wanted to take a picture to illustrate the colorful mosaic along the cement wall holding back the beach, but the camera could only snatch a small portion at a time. Then I saw a man with his tripod pondering some vista out on the sand and water:
It would be nice if he got what he was looking for, because I only got a piece of the red mosaic for my trouble. I made a spectacle of myself at the triangle stopping in the median to take a picture of the no-longer-new sign at the entrance to the city. They managed to park it right behind a road sign on the way in making it almost invisible. On the way out its clear enough:A few years ago my wife was in the checkout line at Publix when an anxious tourist came by and asked the cashier how many more miles to Key West? The city never did care much one way or the other and it was left up to the Rotary to plant the welcome sign. And there it is.My last picture is neither public nor strictly speaking Art, even by my rather loose definitions, but I think its pretty enough to be:
Outside the Stock Island Hilton at 3 am. That by the way is the jail, in jest so please don't call asking to make a reservation- its like one of those other hotels where you can only get in, not out. And the artwork inside is mostly shades of cream and gray.