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Religious mural street art Nashville

 

The artist who goes by jamersonsgc and signs all his work #lowkeyart has been busy of late. You’ll see on his Instagram page linked above a lot of new work in an around the J.C. Napier Homes, and along the Lafayette/Murfreesboro Pike corridor. This home, found at the corner of Cannon and Claiborne Streets, on the southeast of the Napier complex, is an older work. The whole house is covered, primarily with religious themes. On the front, he quotes both Jeremiah 5:21 (thus the title of this post) and the gospel tune “Open our Eyes.” Here it is by The Gospel Chiefs, Earth Wind & Fire, and Funkadelic. There’s a Christ figure on one side, a giant “ELOHIM” on the other, and the apple and serpent in the garden on the back. The house itself is in bad shape. While gentrification is coming slowly to this neighborhood, this still should be considered endangered art. At the rate this artist is going, there will be plenty to replace it soon should it go.

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Located at 71 Cannon Street. There is street parking available. The house appears unoccupied, but still, be respectful.

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I see purple

BDonahueForrestPurple

Back when I blogged about the Mermaid House, the former owner contacted me. She let me know that there were more murals around back. Like the mermaid in front, this mural is the work of Brandon Donahue, who, like myself, is a professor at Tennesee State University. There is also something of a surprise here. For the most part, graffiti taggers are respectful of murals, but not this time. The style of the tag is one I’ve seen around East Nashville. “Editing” is always a possibility with outdoor art. The back fence of the yard of the house next door also has a colorful mural. (See the slideshow below.) It’s not signed and does not appear on Donahue’s website, so I’m not sure who made it. One notable detail on this second mural is the small “Hunter’s” sign. Hunter’s was an auto body shop that had extravagant signage a couple blocks from these houses, signage lost in the site’s recent renovation (though not completely – it does appear some of it is being saved).

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Located in the alley behind at 1205 and 1203 Forrest Ave. Street parking is available. These are private homes, so be respectful.

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A Fly Over Tennessee

FlyOverMain

I have driven by this mural hundreds of times, as I live nearby, and finally, I’m putting it on the blog. It’s easy to take the art you see every day for granted. “A Fly Over Tennesee” is an Andee Rudloff production. As she has done with other projects, she designed and drew the mural, and then community volunteers helped complete it. The mural was sponsored by Aerial Innovations Southeast, an aerial photography company that’s right next door. The theme seems to be all the great things you can see from the air in Tennessee. There’s a video of the production of this mural produced by Allie Sultan of Green Scoot Films, with still photography by Stacey Irvin and music by Fred Wilhelm.

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Located at 1626 Russell St. The mural faces the alley between and Fatherland Street, right across from Aerial Innovations, which is at 202 South 17th Street. The fence backs up on the yard of a private house, so be respectful.

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The Mermaid House

MermaidHouse

I live down the street from this house, and pass it almost every day. I’ve wanted to put it on the blog pretty much from day one (it first appeared around the time I started the blog in 2016), but I never knew who made it. And then I found it on a local artist’s website while researching another post. Problem solved – except, I forgot who the artist was. I searched every local artist’s site I could think of – and nothing. Tonight I was planning on posting about another of the Norf Wall murals, which turned out to be by Brandon Donahue, who, like me, is a TSU professor. So I checked out his website – and there was the mermaid. Well, Professor Donahue’s Norf Wall mural (which is education-themed) will have to wait. At present, the house appears to be unoccupied and is being renovated by Bootstrap Architecture and Construction. One would hope that they or a future owner would leave the mermaid in place, but now may be the time to get your picture made with it. I may be wrong about the house being unoccupied, so I can only recommend taking pictures from the sidewalk.

Located at 1205 Forrest Ave. Street parking is available. This is a private home, occupied or not, so be respectful.

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Down on the farm

EvergreenFarmFull

When people think Nashville, they think the glitz of Lower Broad, the hipness of 12 South or maybe the interstate traffic jams of all over. But Nashville is merged with Davidson Country, and there are plenty of rural areas, with actual farms, just a few miles from downtown, particularly in the north-central and northwestern parts of the country. Part of this is geography, where a winding river cuts off places far from a bridge, and a steep climb as you go north and west also restricts development. Farm country doesn’t produce a whole lot of outdoor art, but it’s not completely barren. I think this sign on the barn at Evergreen Farm on Brick Church Pike definitely qualifies. I thought about just isolating the sign in the main picture, but the real effect is with the full tableau. I couldn’t find a website for the farm as a farm, but apparently, there is a cabin you can rent.

EvergreenFarmSIgn

Located at 4412 Brick Church Pike. There is no street parking on Brick Church, but less than 100 feet away is the intersection with Jackson Road, and it is possible to park there. This is a private home, so be respectful. And wave at the horses!

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I believe in not standing in line

IBelieveShelby

One of the most talked-about and photographed murals in town is the “I Believe in Nashville” mural in 12 South by Adrien Saporiti of DCXV Industries. When it was vandalized and then restored, local news covered it. It even has its own Facebook page, along with other versions of the mural found at Basement East and Marathon Village. The one in 12 South, on the north side of Archangel Esthetics, is the champ, with people standing in sometimes quite long lines to get their picture taken. Only the wings mural by Kelsey Montague featured in Sometimes you have to be obvious rivals it for Instagram portraits. The Marathon and Basement East ones generally don’t involve waiting, though they can. (The Basement East version is the best one for taking a selfie because it’s up high, and so you can angle your phone and get a decent shot.) But for the one above, I think I can guarantee you no waiting, ever. I’m not sure if this was actually done by Saporiti – it isn’t signed, and it doesn’t appear on the DCXV Instagram page or the “I Believe in Nashville” Facebook page. It’s on a retaining wall in front of a private home on Shelby, and may simply be a homage by the homeowners. Regardless, I’m listing it under Saproriti on the Artists page, as it is obviously his design. So come and get your unique, ivy-framed “I Believe in Nashville” portrait and be the envy of all your friends. And don’t stand in line.

UPDATE: Per the comment below, the mural was done by homeowner Jason T. Ryan.

Located at 906 Shelby Avenue. There is street parking on Shelby and Ninth. The mural is right off the sidewalk, facing north. This is a private home, so be respectful.

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Perseverance

Perseverence.jpg

Or at least that’s what the dedicatory plaque calls it. But on the Norf Art Collective’s project page for this mural, it’s called “Family Matters.” No matter, it’s rather impressive either way. Put up last November, it honors Diane Nash, Curlie McGruder, Z. Alexander Looby, and John Lewis. I let the Tenessee Tribune explain who they are:

Curlie McGruder was a tremendous supporter of Nash and Lewis as they led the desegregation of Nashville lunch counters with sit-ins and organized the “Freedom Rides” in the Jim Crow South. E. Alexander Looby was a lawyer and in this capacity he protected many Civil Rights activists…John Lewis was a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement and has recently toured the United States speaking about his experience and the changes he played a part in making.

The small plaque on the right side dedicates the mural to Rev. Bill Barnes, a longtime affordable housing advocate who died just a few months before the mural went up. It’s fitting then that the mural is found on the side of an Urban Housing Solutions property, a private non-profit that builds and administers affordable housing. The mural is yet another project sponsored by the local office of Google Fiber.

There’s a video from the Norf Art Collective page showing the mural going up.

Located at 2615 Clarksville Pike. The mural is located on the Northwest side of the building. There is a fair amount of parking behind the building and much more at a small shopping complex across and south a bit the street on 26th Avenue. People live here, so be respectful.

 

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