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Nashville murals, street art, graffiti, signs, sculptures and more

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Mmm, pizza!

Italia

There are signs, and there are better signs. Italia Pizza and Pasta, known to everyone just as “Italia,” recently acquired an impossible to miss mural advertising its scrumptious pizza. Seriously, you have to look hard to find bad reviews of this place. Most people love it (and I say for good reason). Once housed in the old Dairy Dip (now occupied by the Urban Cowboy Public House), Italia has been at 16th and Woodland for several years now. Maybe success has paved the way to art, but it’s also true that right across the street is Lockeland Table, one of the very best restaurants in town, in Tennesse for that matter, and which also serves pizza. In fact, they are very different places and both very much worth a try if you haven’t yet. Italia has tables but is more of a take-out place, while you should get reservations for Lockeland. The mural is signed “MCM/Music City Murals Tomasek.” That would imply that Dean Tomasek, who works with Anthony Billups under the Music City Murals moniker, did this alone.

Located at 1600 Woodland, at the corner of 16th. There’s parking in back and some street parking. Order up a pizza or maybe some lasagna (or both!) and enjoy the art!

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New Life Records

NewLifeFull

Sometimes large things can hide in plain site. I have driven past this mural many times since it went up 2006 but only noticed it recently. And it’s very visible from a busy stretch of Charlotte, ensconced on the east wall of New Life Record Shop. The brain is a peculiar thing. New Life sells vinyl records, posters, shirts, and various music-related equipment and paraphernalia. It’s been in business since 1976, and the interior has a certain throwback vibe. The owner says that he allowed the mural to be put up, but was a little disappointed it mostly featured the tags of the artists. The duck in sunglasses is, however, the New Life mascot. There is a second mural/tag on a recessed wall next to the main mural (see below).

Located at 5343 Charlotte Avenue. There is parking at New Life and neighboring businesses. Grab some vinyl and enjoy the art!

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Quiero dulces, por favor!

ColmenaFull

This is a tale of two murals, side by side. One is a sign, done in a cartoon style, while the other is an abstract play with colors. La Colmena Mexican Candy has had a presence in Global Mall (formerly Hickory Hollow) for a couple of years, but they recently moved to Nolensville Road, offering, as it says, baked goods, ice cream, and candy. So, diet food! (As I like to say, I had kale for lunch – it was shaped like a patty melt and fries. Here, the kale is shaped like candy.) The beehive mural bears a strong resemblance to images you find if you do a search for “beehive clip art.” (“Colmena” means “beehive.”) If you are not familiar with Mexican sweets but like all things sugar, give it a try! Some of it is quite different from what is typical in the U.S., so you might find something new you love. (The title of this post come from a Spanish version of “trick or treat!”)

Located at 2424A Nolensville Pike, about a block south of the 440 exit. If you are driving south, the double mural, on the north side of the building, is very visible. There is parking in front of La Colmena, and makeshift parking around back where you’ll compete with the neighboring auto repair place. Grab some pan y dulces and enjoy the art!

ColmenaSignColmenaAbstract

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Going, going gone

MainOuterWall

I had intended to post about the graffiti installations on the small building next to Plaza Art a few days ago. If I had, I would have posted about it while the art still existed. I drove by yesterday, and the building was in the process of being painted blue, with just a little of the graffiti art still visible. Some of this art was fairly old, old enough to have started peeling at least, though there is also a 2016 date on one piece. The tags KOG, 3XM and N86 were once visible here. KOG is a graffiti team out of Los Angeles and San Fransico, while the other tags are associated with Nashville artists. I’m not sure if the art on the fence wall is also being painted over, but I imagine it is. Archiving art before it disappears is part of the mission of this blog.

Located on the south side of Middleton Street, next to Plaza Art. The art is gone, but there is a major mural next door (at least for now) that I plan to post on soon, and Plaza Art has acquired a large mural of its own. Plenty of parking.

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All the stars in the sky (Norf Wall gallery, part 10)

Norf Wall One Drop mural

There are certain projects I haven’t quite finished on this blog. I have learned to avoid when I can setting up a series of posts (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, etc.) as it’s easy to leave them behind. But some venues have so much work, there really is no other way to go about it. Case in point, the old tire factory on 19th Avenue North, near Herman. Read Part 1 to learn about the festival that made all this art happen. Above is a work by Elisheba Israel, owner of One Drop Ink Tattoo Parlor and Gallery. Like what you see? I’m betting Israel would be happy to set you up with a tattoo based on this mural!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13

Located at the north end of the 800 block of 19th Street N., at the corner of Herman Street. It’s impossible to miss. Street parking is very haphazard. There is a lot to see here, and also a lot of overgrown weeds (depending on the time of year) so wear the right shoes! See the marker for Part 1 on the map.

UPDATE: This mural has been painted over.

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The forgotten factory of 17th Avenue

Boanes

I don’t know much about the abandoned factory on the 800 block of 17th Avenue just south of Herman Street. I know the original deed is dated 1920, and that the property currently belongs to Fisk University. I know also the county assessor’s office values the factory itself at exactly zero dollars and zero cents. The land is a bit more — $326k. It makes sense. The building is probably prohibitively expensive to repair. It’s a shame though – people once made their living here. Now it’s abandoned, crumbling down by the railroad. It’s the kind of place both the homeless and graffiti artists can sometimes be found. I encountered no one when I visited the site, but it is obvious that people sleep here, including in the smokestack, in the very place workers once shoveled coal into the fire. The factory and nearby walls are plastered with tags, mostly from the UH crew, a prolific Nashville group. There’s at least one Betor memorial, so at least a little of this is fairly new (Betor died last December). There are more tags under the adjacent bridge. I’ll feature them in a later post.

Located by the bridge over the railroad tracks on the 800 block of 17th Avenue North. The factory is on the west side of the road. There is a fair amount of vegetation, and if you venture very far, you’ll be out of sight of the road quickly. Street parking is available.

FactoryMachinery

 

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Shelby Second Line

ShelbySecondLineMural

Not many murals come with their own Facebook page, but this one does. Check it out – there are some much better pictures than mine on there. “Shelby Second Line” is an Andee Rudloff project. There is enough of her work in town that I need to create a Categories tab for her. Her style is unmistakable, though she seems to rarely work alone. The sign says that the mural was facilitated by Rudloff with support from Adam and Heather Yockey. This means that Rudloff sketched out the mural, while the Yockeys (who are the homeowners), neighbors and friends helped paint the mural. This seems to be Rudloff’s usual M.O., as is the QR sign down in the bottom right corner.

Located at 1520 Shelby Avenue. The fence and the mural actually face the 500 block of 16th Street, right off Shelby. Street parking is available. This is a private home, so be respectful.

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