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Greensboro has been garnering an abundance of attention due to the murals and street art lining midtown and downtown, There are over 300 peices ranging in all kinds of sizes from large to small and there are absolutely no signs of slowing for businesses and creative minds alike.
There are however two sides to this story, speaking for the business side, the murals have been an unbridled success with tourism and coexisting with businesses to bring in more patrons, Marty Kotis and the city council have done an excellent job maintaining and expanding the spread of these murals.
My take on this, This is a rather interesting topic, for me, I’ve always been into street art, it adds character and personality to otherwise drab and bare structures, a vastly needed breathe of fresh air to an otherwise overlooked thing. Given a new chance at life do to speak.while abroad in japan, I witnessed some of the absolute best street art I have ever seen in my entire life, so it’s nice to know that I don’t have to travel far to experience that again.
However, As an artist myself, I am also blown away by the sheer amount of dedication, attention to detail and scope of all of these murals, while some share a deeper meaning than others, they’re all welcome, expression is passion, people want to be heard, so their art expresses what they may not be able to, I absolutely love it, I also love that businesses and the city it’s-self Are backing these local and international artists to do what they love.
I agree that it adds a lot of character and beauty to the city's landscape. There's been a bit of criticism for it not being totally organic - some (well, much) of the art is officially given the okay or strategically placed to attract attention to business by surrounding owners. There is certainly some organic art in the mix, however. Nonetheless, I love seeing art around the city, no matter its origin.
I agree that it adds a lot of character and beauty to the city's landscape. There's been a bit of criticism for it not being totally organic - some (well, much) of the art is officially given the okay or strategically placed to attract attention to business by surrounding owners. There is certainly some organic art in the mix, however. Nonetheless, I love seeing art around the city, no matter its origin.
There is a new piece going up currently on the side of mattress warehouse on battleground it’s by a French mural artist who came down from Paris, so far it looks stunning and I cannot wait to see it completed.
To be perfectly honest though, some of the ones pictured just aren't my favorite because of some of the themes, but I guess that's the subjective part of art that doesn't apply to everyone's tastes equally. I wouldn't see these going over well if they were to be painted in say, Pleasant Garden or Summerfield.
Honestly, I would hate to live across from a few of these and have to look at them everyday, especially the 5th one from the bottom (the unbuttoned jacket lady with the handgun), and even the "Weightless" guy with what appears to be piercings all over his face who looks like an anti-drug PSA by looking like he just passed out from a drug overdose, or the guy with the gang looking and heart tattoos and on his fingers and hand covering his right eye.
Sorry to be the critical voice, and maybe it's just me, because I'm sure the people who painted them are talented artists. Some of them do appear to want to convey a positive message and are quite a colorful addition sprucing up a blank wall, but others...geez.... are just plain drab and dreadful, and I'm just not into bleak stuff that overwhelms a scene!
To be perfectly honest though, some of the ones pictured just aren't my favorite because of some of the themes, but I guess that's the subjective part of art that doesn't apply to everyone's tastes equally. I wouldn't see these going over well if they were to be painted in say, Pleasant Garden or Summerfield.
Honestly, I would hate to live across from a few of these and have to look at them everyday, especially the 5th one from the bottom (the unbuttoned jacket lady with the handgun), and even the "Weightless" guy who appears to have some kind of piercings on his face and looks like he just passed out from a drug overdose, or the guy with the gang looking and heart tattoos and on his fingers and hand covering his right eye.
Sorry to be the critical voice because I'm sure the people who painted them are talented artists. Some of them do have a positive message and are quite a colorful addition sprucing up a blank wall, but others...geez.... are just plain drab and dreadful!
If you painted a few of those murals in lets say Archdale or Thomasville, it would be the town scandal and there would be petitions to try to remove them lol. The most controversial which is really not controversial at all in Greensboro is the mural near the train station with the naked lady lying down. Nipples and pubic hair are clearly visible and its one of the first things visitors see coming into Greensboro by train. Some may say its distasteful. Some say its art. I say it's an example of Greensboro progressing. You see these kind of murals all the time in cities such as New York or Boston.
New one on battleground, this peice is stunning, it’s by a French muralist.
Jowel all I have to say is, art is art, and any publicity is good publicity in this day and age, if you want to stand out you have to be bold, also businesses and the city are the ones commissioning these peices. The master plan is battleground midtown will be a public art display.
And I mean, from a business and tourism standpoint, it’s working rather well, it’s a win win situation.
I love all the street art. It gives the city some character. One newer one you left out is the Greensboro Four mural located on the Windsor Recreational Center building off of East Lee St.
If you painted a few of those murals in lets say Archdale or Thomasville, it would be the town scandal and there would be petitions to try to remove them lol. The most controversial which is really not controversial at all in Greensboro is the mural near the train station with the naked lady lying down. Nipples and pubic hair are clearly visible and its one of the first things visitors see coming into Greensboro by train. Some may say its distasteful. Some say its art. I say it's an example of Greensboro progressing. You see these kind of murals all the time in cities such as New York or Boston.
You're probably right if they were painted there along with the two places I mentioned. And I'm sure there's some people in Greensboro who don't like what's there, but Greensboro's social vibe is just a little different from some of its surrounding communities.
Like I said, overall I like murals and think they're normally a positive, and for the most part I would strongly prefer them to a monotone beige cookie cutter look. There were a few in that selection that I simply would not want to stare at day in and day out if I lived right across from them or that I would not think twice about painting over if I were buying a building, but I'm not calling for censorship. It's just like some people liking coffee and other people thinking it's nasty.
I'm not gonna lie. At first glance it looked like he was getting ready to roll up a blunt lol.
lmao that’s the first thing I thought when I drove past.
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