Mar 152024
 


The mural above is a reproduction of Masumi Hayashi’s Edgewater Park no.2, Cleveland, OH. The mural is located in Cleveland and is one of the many public art projects organized by LAND Studio.

From the information plaque next to the mural about the artist-

Masumi Hayashi (1945- 2006) was a visionary fine art photographer who taught at Cleveland State University for 25 years. During her time in Cleveland, she lived in the Gordon Square neighborhood in the first residential development project of the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization. Dr. Hayashi was a beloved neighbor, friend, and local artist. She achieved global success with her signature format, the panoramic photo collage.

Hayashi was born in the Gila River War Relocation Camp in Rivers, Arizona, which was one of the U.S. government’s Internment camps for Japanese-Americans during World War II. Hayashi created her striking panoramic photo collages by assembling individually shot color photographs into a composition, like tiles in a mosaic. She shot photographs in a meticulously ordered sequence using a completely manual, non-digital film camera on a tripod. A single piece could take four to eight hours to shoot, and she might not see the results for days or weeks. When working at a site, she had to imagine the composition she desired from a location, and then create the individual photographs, while considering factors like time of day, weather, and location of the sun, through the entire shoot. Many of her large panoramic compositions involve more than one hundred individual photographic prints.

Much of Hayashi’s work explores socially difficult subjects, like the Japanese-American Internment camps, abandoned prisons, and EPA Superfund cleanup sites. She was able to create artwork that makes difficult subjects approachable. Her earlier work includes many significant sites in Cleveland, including the Cultural Gardens, RTA stops, Lake Erie and Edgewater Park (as seen in the artwork shown to the left). Later in her career, her artwork reflected a deep interest in culturally significant spiritual sites in India, Nepal, Japan, and Thailand.

Mar 092024
 

The mural above, Celestial Tigers, located outside the Oceanic Market building in Tampa, is by Florida artist Michelle Sawyer.

She is currently showing recent paintings at Parachute Gallery, located in the Kress Contemporary building in Ybor City.

Also check out her Instagram for recent work.

Mar 012024
 

This mural is by NYC artist Chris Stain and was spotted in Bushwick, Brooklyn in 2020. It is part of Bushwick Collective’s ongoing street art project.

For Chris Stain’s most recent work, check out his Instagram.

Feb 272024
 

This mural was created by Mwanel Pierre-Louis for the 2021 edition of the SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

For his most recent work, also check out his Instagram.

Feb 222024
 

Judy’s Hand Pavilion by Tony Tasset is located outside the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (moCa Cleveland) and was part of the 2018 FRONT International Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art.

The 7-ton, 21 foot high sculpture is an enlargement of a cast taken from the right hand of his wife, artist Judy Ledgerwood.

Feb 222024
 

It may not be spring quite yet but these blooming magnolia trees created by artist Tony Tasset may have you doing a double take. For this work he created two bronze trees with hand painted flowers that sit among five live trees located in a small park in downtown Pittsburgh.

Magnolias for Pittsburgh, 2006, is the latest art installation in the park, organized by Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Feb 202024
 

Cannaday Chapman created Flora, the mural seen above, for Hingetown Culture Works in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2018. He has created illustrations for The New York Times, The New Yorker, as well as a Google Doodle for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

For more of his work also check out his Instagram.

Feb 162024
 

This mural was created by Jose Mertz for the 2017 edition of the SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

For more work by the artist, also check out his Instagram.

Feb 112024
 

“1958 Championship Game ( Colts/NY Giants )” by artist Jack Howard-Potter

“Formation of the American Football League (1959)” by artist Katherine Stanek

The sculptures above are two of The ELEVEN, a public art project created by The Pro Football Hall of Fame and Arts in Stark, located in downtown Canton, Ohio. The commissioned art works each represent one of the eleven greatest moments in professional football.

The first sculpture pictured, Colts/NY Giants Championship Game (1958) is by Jack Howard Potter. The 30-foot tall steel sculpture celebrates Baltimore Colts player Raymond Berry.

The second, Formation of the American Football League (1959) is by artist Katherine Stanek. The concrete sculpture represents the founders of the league and the use of television as part of its growth. On a nearby information plaque the artist states that she “wanted to celebrate the AFL founders by putting eight giant heads on top of 1960’s TV sets, as if they were ancient heroes in some Roman ruins”. Stanek also runs her own gallery in Philadelphia.

 

Feb 062024
 

These two murals, created by artists Dasic Fernandez (left) and Werc Alvarez (right), are located in the Gowanus neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.