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

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Woof woof!

DogfenceMain)

Sometime more than a year ago (this blog is nothing if not on the spot!), this whimsical piece appeared on the fence of the parking lot that adjoins the apartment building at Fatherland and South 10th. As it boldly proclaims, this is an Eastside Murals project, the business name of Ian Lawrence and Sterling Goller-Brown. The apartment building is by all appearances a low-income rental, something that used to be common in East Nashville but is much less so today. Hopefully, both it and the mural have a long future, as we need lots of both art and affordable housing.

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Located at 300 10th Street South. The mural lies right off the entrance to the alley that runs parallel to and between Fatherland and Boscobel. There is street parking on Fatherland, though you might have to walk a ways. Make it part of your Five Points crawl and enjoy the art!

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Heroes (Norf Wall gallery, part 11)

Heroes

Someday I will finish the Norf Wall gallery project. I had thought to just do one big post on everything that’s left, but I think I’ll save that for the ones I don’t know the artist and which have things stacked in front so the pictures aren’t great. This is not one of those. It’s signed “TA” and is obviously the work of Thaxton Waters, who first appeared in this blog in A Soul Break. The main panel includes images of Mahatma Gandhi, the Dali Lama, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. The last one really looks like Etta James to me, who would not be out of place given her role in bridging white and black culture.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 12

Located about half about half a block south of where 18th Ave North dead ends into Herman Street, and under Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Boulevard. Parking is very easy here. The tire company that occupies this space seems to be fine with people exploring to view the art. See the map post for Part 1.

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Flour Girls

FlourGirlsNossi

This is an easy one to write about, but there’s a twist. There’s a web page that goes into detail as to the origins of this mural in central Goodlettsville. Imagine Goodlettsville, a community association, partnered in 2014 with artists at the Nossi College of Art to produce this mural that graces the Flourgirls Cafe building. Mark B. Flemming, Nossi’s Illustration Coordinator, was the chief artist, with significant help from students Lance Askins and Chelsa Jeanne. So what’s the twist? Well, note the lack of a link for Imagine Goodlettsville. Their website is defunct, and there’s no sign that the group is still active. That’s a shame, because it seems this was supposed to be part of a “mural program,” but it doesn’t seem much else was produced besides this one. And the Flourgirls are a mystery, too. They left this building in 2015. The last entry on their Facebook page (October 17, 2015) says that they will open their new Madison location in a week – and then nothing. There’s no evidence the Madison location ever opened. The Goodlettsville building remains empty, though it still has a “Flourgirls” sign. The future of this piece is uncertain, with the original sponsors gone, the building inactive. A crack evident in older pictures (see the first link above) has worsened and had to be patched. This bright splash of color has to be thought of as endangered art.

Located at 201 South Main Street (Dickerson Pike) in Goodlettsville. The mural faces south, in front of a dirt and gravel lot where you can park.

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Long lost

SewingRight

This is a story about lost origins. The art is there, but its story is a mystery. There’s a neighborhood a little ways south of Rivergate Mall, on the west side of Gallatin Pike, that is unusual. It was clearly built as a residential neighborhood, but many of the houses have been converted into shops and offices, like parts of Berry Hill. Google Maps calls its Echo Meadows. And here we find the Goodlettsville branch of Sewing Machines Etc (there is also one in Knoxville). Besides selling and repairing sewing machines, Sewing Machines Etc has fabric and other sewing supplies and teaches sewing classes as well. What does any of this have to do with the mural of a fist grasping drawing and painting instruments? Nothing, as it predates the sewing store. Inquires inside reveal only that there was some kind of store that sold paint here in the past. Online tax records are no help either. The work is signed by Lee Long, which doesn’t lead anywhere. The sewing place opened in 2015, so the mural is older than that. It’s right across a driveway from some thick bushes, hence the angled shots. The current owners don’t seem inclined to remove it, and so it sits, testament to a forgotten store, and a hard to find artist.

SewingLeft

Located at 808 Meadow Lark Lane. There is parking in front and back of the store. Take a class or two and enjoy the art!

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From me to you

ZidekBrownMain2

Some unusual presentation for a (somewhat) unusual mural. This Nashville Walls Project mural across the street from the Gulch version of Barista Parlor is really two murals joined together, and is also found in a cramped alleyway where it’s impossible to get a full direct shot. Thus my header photo is a merged shot, one from the left, one from the right, each featuring one of the different artists. On the left, one of the colorful geometric math problems Nathan Brown is known for. On the right, a human figure in the characteristic style of Chris Zidek, who signs his work Zidekahedron. This mural took some time to complete. I went by several times to see if it was finished. If there were paint supplies left next to the wall, I figured it wasn’t. I did, however, catch Brown at work one day – you can see that in the slideshow of close-ups below.

UPDATE: This art has been replaced. There is now a Nathan Brown piece where the Chris Zidek work was located, and a hand-painted sign where the Brown piece used to be. You can find the new Brown mural in The new art of Patagonia. I’ll post about the sign at a later date.

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Located at 601 Overton Street. The mural actually faces Mansion Street, on the south side of the Turner Supply Company building. Mansion Street is not much more than an alley and has prominent No Parking signs. You can put some coins in the meters along Overton, but most of the nearby paid lots have one-hour free parking to encourage shopping in the Gulch, so make it part of your Gulch crawl and enjoy the art!

 

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Migration

MIgration

Nolensville Road is home to some striking outdoor art, and one of the most notable pieces is the colorful tile mosaic installation atop Casa Azafrán. Casa Azafrán describes itself as “28,800-square-feet of community empowerment, nonprofit collaboration and global grandeur.” It houses several non-profits, many with ties to the Latino community, notably Conexión Américas, which helps Latino families integrate into the Nashville community. The mosaic, titled “Migration” and unveiled in January 2013, was designed by Jairo Prado, a Columbian born Nashville artist. The design and materials are in keeping with the traditions of both Latino and Muslim culture (there are Muslim community non-profits housed at Casa Azafrán as well). Tile mosaics have a long history in Spain, stretching back through the Moorish period of Muslim rule and into the Roman era. When the Spanish came to the Americas, they brought their tile mosaics with them, where they encountered an already rich mural tradition in Mexico and Central America. Both art forms, often intertwined, spread across Latin America, and it is only natural that they have found their way in such a bold and bright manner to Nashville’s main immigrant corridor. The mosaic also represents the community focus of Casa Azafrán. More than 300 volunteers helped cut and install the tiles. You can see some of the process by which it was made in this video.

Located at 2195 Nolensville Pike. There is a fair amount of parking at Casa Azafrán. If the front lot is full, there is also parking at the back of the building. Get involved in some community non-profits and enjoy the art!

 

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Hair loss

HairLoss

At some point in time, there was a barber shop/hair salon at the corner of 12th Avenue and Clay Street in North Nashville. The store is long closed, but some internet sleuthing suggests it was called Final Finish Salon. Whatever the name was, it has since been erased, but whoever did that took the trouble to preserve the rest of the mural. The mural is signed $quirt and dated 2003. There’s a bit of damage, possibly from bricking up a window. There’s also a bit of trompe l’oeil, a little three-dimensional effect, perhaps suggesting flipping the pages of a style magazine. The fate of this mural is uncertain, given the loss of the business it once represented. Call it endangered art.

Located at 1233 Clay Street. The mural faces 12th Avenue, where there is substantial free parking. Sadly, you can not get your hair done while you enjoy the art.

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