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Capitol relics, Bicentennial Mall

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Walk down the Walkway of Counties on the east side of the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park and at the halfway point you’ll find these mysterious fragments of limestone Ionic columns. There is a stela nearby that tells the story of these fragments. They were part of the original facade of the Tennessee State Capitol building. The Capitol, built between 1845 and 1859, was designed by William Strickland. It was built out of limestone pulled from a quarry near what is now 13th and Charlotte. The limestone deteriorated over time, and the original columns were replaced in a major renovation in the 1950s. The old columns were stored near the state prison on Centinneal Boulevard until the construction of Bicentennial Mall in 1995. Some were taken to the northwest side of the Capitol building and arranged by Charles Waterfield, who had worked on the original restoration. Others came to the Mall, though there’s no indication who arranged this set. Both the stela at the Mall and a sign at the Capitol say the arrangements are a tribute to those who built the Capitol. What neither acknowledges is the role of slave labor in constructing the Capitol. According to an article by Thomas Joseph Broderick IV:

In the spring of 1846, fifteen slaves, all men, were loaned to the state government by A.G. Payne, a Nashville stone mason. For nearly a year they carved out the Capitol’s cellar, their skilled labor worth nearly twice as much as the unskilled labor of free men.

In all the discussion of monuments and who we should and should not recognize, one thing is clear – there are many missing monuments. It would be a simple thing to add a sign at each site noting the labor of these fifteen men, leaving us with one fewer missing monument. See below for views from other angles, and for the four capitals that are found around the central column fragments.

Located on the 900 block of 6th Avenue North, about halfway between Harrison and Jefferson Street. There is plenty of parking in the park, including free two-hour parking almost directly across from the columns.  (The ones on Capitol grounds can be reached by entering the parking lot at Charlotte and Rosa Parks Avenues and driving to the very end of the lot.)

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Perseverance

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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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Another departure

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In what seems to be a new, ongoing series, yet another entry to file under “artwork endangered because the business is moving.” While the first two entries are from Yazoo Brewery’s building on Division Street, this time we are at Grimey’s New and Preloved Music, which will be decamping from 8th Street and moving to Trinity Road this fall. The building Grimey’s is in sold to a new owner, whose plans do not seem to include the iconic record store and music venue. All of which puts the future of this mural in question. Found on the patio of what used to be a branch of Frothy Monkey that shared space with Grimey’s, it’s a DCXV production. DCXV is the business home of Adrien Saporiti, whose best-known murals are the “I Believe in Nashville” murals scattered around town. Here we see a stack of amplifiers, maybe some turntables, and a couple of plastic crates filled with records (one of which has the DCXV signature). If you look close on the far right, you’ll see a coffee cup with the Frothy Monkey logo on it. File all of this under “endangered art.”

Located at 1604 Eighth Avenue South. The mural lies on the south side of the building, easily visible from the road if you are driving north. There is limited parking in front, more in back. Grab some records and some souvenirs while there is still time and enjoy the art!

 

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Yazoo Brewery, Michael Cooper edition

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This giant Yazoo Brewery tank is something of a landmark on Division Street, but it’s a landmark that will be gone soon enough. Yazoo announced some time ago that they would be moving to a new site, and now that they have purchased land in Madison, all that’s left is finalizing the sale of their Gulch property. It’s unclear what will happen to this tank, painted by Michael Cooper of Murals and More, or the Herb Williams panels on the west side of the building. Hopefully, they will make the move as well. The logo on the front of the building, also by Cooper, will, of course, be lost. (See below, along with shots of the tank from other angles.)

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Located at 910 Division Street. Yazoo has a small amount of its own parking, and much of the paid parking in the Gulch area is one hour free. Get your last call at the Division St. site and enjoy the art!

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Four Roses

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Ah, the obtrusive fencing. Not every work of art comes with clean sight lines. This mural is found at the Germantown Pub, where you can also find the mural featured in Now I know my ABCs!. That mural is on a long board overlooking the parking lot on the south side of the building, while this mural is on the northern end of the building. It’s a Music City Murals project, business home of the artists Anthony Billups and Dean Tomasek. It is part of a promotional campaign by Four Roses Bourbon. That’s what the #HandCraftTheMoment is about. More and more businesses are figuring out that promoting art that someone might use as a backdrop for their next selfie is a good use of advertising dollars. There’s also a rose painted on the ground a few feet in front of the mural, shown below.

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Located at 708 Monroe Street. The mural actually faces Rosa L. Parks Boulevard. There’s plenty of parking at Germantown Pub, so grab some grub and enjoy the art!

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Gotta get that bling!

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Of all the people producing outdoor art in Nashville, I think some of the least appreciated, certainly some of the least written about, are the people who decorate businesses that cater primarily to our international community, notably Latino businesses. Virtually every Latin grocery and convenience store in town is covered in art, usually advertising the wares inside or evoking images of Mexico and Central America. The pattern also sometimes extends to other kinds of businesses, like Bling Mart Jewelry (for which I can find no internet presence). Often, this art is found in places one doesn’t think of as arts destinations, like commercial clusters in the outer parts of the county. The artist for this signed it only as “Vargas,” but as is common with this particular art scene, there’s a phone number, and it matches the one for José F. Vargas, who produced the work in Mi casa es su casa. Bling Mart is on Antioch Pike and Mi Casa is on Dickerson Road, so Vargas gets around!

Located at 1708 Antioch Pike. The trailer sits in the parking lot of Doña Mari Tortilleria Carniceria, itself covered in art which I’ll post about at a later date. There’s plenty of parking, so fill up on tacos, get you some fine jewelry, and enjoy the art!

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We build Nashville

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This blog is not the only database of outdoor art in Nashville. Metro Arts Commision has both an actual dataset and the Explore Nashville Art website. They seem like they might have more listings than I do, but it’s hard to tell. (Ok, I’m biased, but they don’t seem very user-friendly.) I’m pretty sure though that they don’t have this because this isn’t what they do. This blog (nashvillepublicart.com) is not just a blog about pretty pictures – though don’t get me wrong, I think there is both a beautiful symmetry and a wonderful simplicity to the sign/mural above. It isn’t though what most people think of first when they think “art.” However, this blog is strongly ecumenical about that word, and the slogan around here is “No Art Left Behind.” The work here is signed with a Facebook symbol and “Artist Contact Mural Ruben Torres.” That doesn’t lead anywhere but I’m pretty sure this is the Ruben Torres of Frutas! and And another market. Torres is one of the artists who decorates Latino markets and other businesses. His website, Facebook page, and Instagram only advertise some of his work. He updated the murals featured in Frutas! dramatically a few months ago to include a map of The Nations. Maybe someday when what is obviously some employee’s car isn’t parked in front of it I’ll update the post. As for how Torres’s work wound up on the front of Hartert-Russell, HR is a building firm, so I’d hazard a guess that the connection was made through some of the many Latino construction workers in town.

Located at 2221 Bransford Avenue. There’s no street parking, but there is some parking in back and at Santa’s Pub next door, which has much more exuberant murals.

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