Art Murals in Central Phoenix. (neighborhood, residential, property)

[Burning Madolf]

Originally Posted by locolobo13

Art is always subjective. Some of the murals I love, some I like and some I don't care for.

BTW downtown in the alley between Washington & Adams, 1st St & 2nd St, are a lot of murals. Some good ones there.

Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner. E.g. above picture, some people see 2 bears and pretty colors while others see two bears being horribly transformed into giant gummy bears.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Very easily. You don't see any of this so called art in the heart of downtown (Central & Washington), but more in the areas where there are old, abandoned, or run down structures. To me, it's nothing more than elaborate graffiti. My question to the property owners is: why keep the old, dilapidated buildings in place when they could easily be replaced with something nicer and more modern which don't need painted murals to draw attention? A lot of those buildings are not exactly historic or worth saving. The above photos might be artistic to some, but I see an opportunity to tear down those buildings and put up some nice midrises or highrises in their place!

Of course you do, look at the alley between 1st Street and 2nd Street, south of Adams and north of Washington. It adds character along with something interesting and stimulating to look at, a downtown full of generic modern looking buildings is the last thing that would catch anyone's interest. Phoenix has been recognized for it's mural's for years and it's one of my favorite traits of the city, many pay homage to our past such as Wallace and Ladmo. The new Prince mural is another gem for the city as well.



Not following this logic at all.

[kytoaz]

Originally Posted by locolife

Of course you do, look at the alley between 1st Street and 2nd Street, south of Adams and north of Washington. It adds character along with something interesting and stimulating to look at, a downtown full of generic modern looking buildings is the last thing that would catch anyone's interest. Phoenix has been recognized for it's mural's for years and it's one of my favorite traits of the city, many pay homage to our past such as Wallace and Ladmo. The new Prince mural is another gem for the city as well.



Not following this logic at all.

Maybe because calling public works of art "blight" is illogical.

[timothyaw]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Very easily. You don't see any of this so called art in the heart of downtown (Central & Washington), but more in the areas where there are old, abandoned, or run down structures. To me, it's nothing more than elaborate graffiti. My question to the property owners is: why keep the old, dilapidated buildings in place when they could easily be replaced with something nicer and more modern which don't need painted murals to draw attention? A lot of those buildings are not exactly historic or worth saving. The above photos might be artistic to some, but I see an opportunity to tear down those buildings and put up some nice midrises or highrises in their place!

I understand what you're saying. But a lot of times it's too expensive to tear down and build new, as the owners wouldn't have the capital to do that.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by timothyaw

I understand what you're saying. But a lot of times it's too expensive to tear down and build new, as the owners wouldn't have the capital to do that.

I like seeing old buildings being incorporated into new things. Creates diversity

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by locolife

Of course you do, look at the alley between 1st Street and 2nd Street, south of Adams and north of Washington. It adds character along with something interesting and stimulating to look at, a downtown full of generic modern looking buildings is the last thing that would catch anyone's interest. Phoenix has been recognized for it's mural's for years and it's one of my favorite traits of the city, many pay homage to our past such as Wallace and Ladmo. The new Prince mural is another gem for the city as well.

I can see having these murals in the alleys, but having them on the buildings at full street view is a different scenario. Admittedly, some of them are pretty creative, but all they really do is hide some of the blemishes ... however, they don't hide the fact that a good share of them are on structures which otherwise should have been condemned or demolished. Now you tell me: which of the two photos below is not only more aesthetically pleasing, but is actually livable?

https://live.staticflickr.com/3876/1...8ac85fc5_b.jpg

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&sour...66458843857142

Originally Posted by timothyaw

I understand what you're saying. But a lot of times it's too expensive to tear down and build new, as the owners wouldn't have the capital to do that.

With the higher demand to build downtown, property values have increased to the point where the owners could make pretty substantial profits by selling to developers. In turn, the developers would replace the dilapidated structures with something which be much more desirable, as well as a money maker. More new development in the central city usually translates to more urbanity, more amenities, and a better caliber of people.

[Jnvlv247]

Think we need a photo thread for the murals

[gliu953]

Good responses.
I like most of the artwork but I agree most of all with locolobo13, there's some fantastic murals but some are kind of meh and there's a few that, well the artists should keep their day jobs.

[Angelino19]

I was visiting Phoenix a few weeks ago and went to see the murals. I loved them !!! I wish they had more.

[pbenjamin]

The Phoenix Mural Project website is a handy guide to existing murals. Last year there were murals added to some residential neighborhoods, including the historic districts. In our neighborhood (Willo) there was a fair amount of controversy. In particular, a mural was added to the block wall of a home which sided along 5th Ave.



As a (then) member of the Willo Board, I didn't think we had any business telling people what they can and can't do with their property. One person's treasure is another person's eyesore. Unfortunately I was in the minority.

The city is currently working on "best practices" for murals.