Once there was a cow on the side of a supermarket. But an addition was built, which hid the cow, at least in part. But then a new cow appeared, and there was rejoicing in the land. Ok, maybe not. But it’s obvious from the picture above that there is a partially hidden mural at El Pueblito Super Mercado, which for better or worse was left in place when a storage shed was built in front of it. The shed advertises Los Potrillos Caniceria, which presumably provides meat for El Pueblito. To the best of my knowledge, “potrillo” means “colt,” but I doubt they are serving horsemeat. The Potrillos mural is signed by José F. Vargas, he of many other Latino grocery murals. The half-hidden mural seems to be his style as well. There is a display of meats and fruits on the front that is probably also by Vargas, but it isn’t signed.
Located at 948 Richards Rd, at the corner with Antioch Pike. The market has lots of parking. Fill up your grocery bags and enjoy the art!
Near the corner of Douglas and Jones Avenues, there is a market with a sign that very clearly says “Lucky 7 Discount Grocery.” However, it is apparently also known as Pharaoh’s Market. That’s what Google calls it and we know Google is always right, right? Either way, it has this impressive Fat Albert mural to liven up its parking lot. The purple tag on the left says “Fat Albert,” while the yellow/tan/blue tag seems to read ASAKA, presumably the handle of the artist or one of the artists who produced this. The south wall of the store also has a large graffiti installation, but a wall blocks access and the used car dealership with the fenced yard next door seems permanently closed, so you can only see the south wall from a distance. That car in the picture? It’s also in a 2015 Google street view shot.
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Located at 1303 Jones Avenue. The accessible mural is on the north side of the building, where there is plenty of parking. Load up on sundries and enjoy the art!
The population of bees, which has been in decline of late, is maybe coming around. Of course, if they were all as big as this one, that might not be a good thing! The Nashville artist who goes by jamersonsgc produced this bee for Eddie’s Cee Bee Food Store on Lafayette, a natural design as bees are part of Cee Bee’s logos. Jamerson, who uses the tag #LowKeyArt, also apparently designs clothing, among other things. I actually had to step out in the middle of Lafayette Street to get this shot. The things I do for art! It appears to be dated 2018, and I’m pretty sure I was on Lafayette earlier this year and didn’t see it, so it’s probably pretty new. And hey, there’s the Batman Building!
Located at 109 Lafayette Street. The mural faces Lafayette. Cee Bee is a grocery store and has plenty of parking. Load up on sundries and enjoy the art!
The mural from the single most popular post on this blog. It continues to get hits every day. Read about it in The Kind Way
It’s been two years since the first post went up on this blog. In that time, I’ve built a small following and learned a fair amount about the outdoor art scene in Nashville/Davidson County. The most obvious thing I’ve learned about is the relationship between local independent businesses and outdoor art. Corporate businesses, with very few exceptions, do not support local artists or allow their branding to be altered with local art. That’s why the area around Rivergate Mall has very little outdoor art, and Nolensville Pike has so much. If your neighborhood has a Panda Express, you won’t find much art. If it has a lot of immigrant grocery stores and local auto repair centers, you’re likely to get art.
Part of the mural responsible for the second most popular post on this blog. Ronald “Ronnie” Bobal, aka Betor, had a lot of friends. See Betor Forever
Another observation is that art breeds art. You see this in the distinction between Nolensville and Murfreesboro Pikes. Both have a similar mix of independent businesses with a good sized immigrant community, but outdoor art just hasn’t quite caught on on Murfreesboro.
Art you won’t find in any “Best Instagram Murals in Nashville” article. Art on immigrant businesses is a key part of the aesthetic landscape in Nashville. See In Old Mexico
And of course, there is a relationship between tourism and art. A Buzzfeed article by Anne Helen Petersen did a good job of linking the bachelorette phenomenon with the growth in murals. All those folks posting pictures of themselves in front of murals, tagging the location on Instagram and Facebook, well, it’s a lot of free advertising. The explosion of murals in the 12 South neighborhood is in part a response to this phenomenon. And certainly, theartfoundthereandelsewhereintownhasgottenalotofattention, including promotions to tourists and homebuyers. Most of the attention is focused on tourist-heavy areas like 12 South, Downtown, the Gulch, while work in the outer boroughs and non-mural art doesn’t get as much love, art that doesn’t drive as much tourism and isn’t as well known but is very much part of our local art scene.
Local art that is under threat from gentrification and unlikely to be featured in tourist magazines. See Northside Auto Clean Up
Most of those articles probably get more traffic than this blog, but traffic is moving in the right direction – up. I have more than double the number of monthly page views than I had in 2017, at about 1200 to 1600 a month, though for this month, June 2018, the number is almost 2300. Small, but growing. Google Analytics tells me that my largest readership group is women aged eighteen to thirty-four, which is the principle demographic making up the bachelorette parties, so perhaps I’m part of the problem! (Or the blessing, if your job depends on them.)
The mural from my third most popular post. That the now-closed Cloud IX Hookah Bar had its share of crime stories probably explains that. This art has since been defaced. See Mysteries of Cloud IX
So yes go to 12 South and Five Points and The Gulch, but take a look at my map and explore a little (just check the link for each point to see if I’ve updated it as being “lost art”). There’s a lot out there, and more all the time. I’ll keep working to document it all.
One of my favorite works that you are unlikely to find on Instagram. See A bird in the bush
That’s what one of my professors in graduate school called Dr. Pepper. He is Texan, like me. Sure, we moved to Georgia when I was six, but I never lost the taste for Dr. Pepper. I drink the diet stuff now, and yes, I lost a lot of weight. Because I was drinking a LOT of Dr. Pepper. Wait, this is an art blog! This Dr. Pepper branded tank (presumably not a tank of Dr. Pepper) is at Tony’s Foodland, a grocery store in Joelton, on Clarksville Pike. Joelton is a very different part of Davidson County from what most people think of as Nashville. It’s much more rural, with actual farms, and houses with huge rural lots. But it’s as much a part of Metro Nashville-Davidson as Lower Broad, which is something that makes Nashville truly great. The Facebook page for Tony’s Foodland has only one picture of the tank with its current livery, which is dated July 13 of last year. I don’t think it’s much older than that, as I drove up there around that time and don’t remember seeing it.
Located at 5529 Clarksville Pike. This is just north of Old Hickory Boulevard. The tank is on the northwest side of the store. There is plenty of parking because it’s a grocery store. Grab a couple liters of Dr. Pepper and enjoy the art!
Carniceria Dominguez is a very new Hispanic grocery store on Nolensville, opened by Rose Dominguez, who also owns a similar store of the same name on Murfreesboro Road. The art is pretty new too, so new that it’s not made it to Carniceria Dominguez’s Instagram page yet. (Maybe it will by the time you read this). I’m using as the feature photo a mural from the south side of the store and not the front, mainly because I like it a lot and also because it has a cow in it and the art on the front is mostly vegetables and fruit. The name is “carniceria” after all, that is, “butcher.” The work is by José F. Vargas, who had done art for a lot of Hispanic businesses, such as the work featured in Gotta get that bling! and Mi casa es su casa. If you speak Spanish, this video from Nashville Noticias can fill you in on all the things you can get at Carniceria Dominguez. Very enthusiastically, I might add.
Located at 3709 Nolensville Pike. The grocery has a fair amount of parking. Load up on fresh meat and vegetables and enjoy the art!
Outside of Lewis Country Store on Ashland City Highway, you can find this metal gunslinger. It’s something of an ode to 2nd Amendment rights, as the plaque quotes the amendment and admonished us to “Come and take it.” The store owner, Renee Lewis, has been known for taking provocativestands. Regardless, it’s a fun piece, made by Ryan Barbour of Barrel House Metal and Woodworking in Clarksville. The materials are reclaimed scraps from Richmond Machine Service, also in Clarksville. Look close – you may have already figured out the snake is made of metal, but so too are the plants. The plaque also lets us know that the statue is called “The Dog” and is dedicated to the memory of Ronald Douglas Doggett (1948-2000).
Located at 5106 Old Hickory Boulevard, at the corner with Ashland City Highway. The store and the statue face the highway. The store has plenty of parking. Load up on food and sundries and enjoy the art!
