#13 A RIOT OF MOSAICS

Fusterlandia:  A Riot of Mosaics

WHERE I WENT AND WHY
Fusterlandia was an addition to our Arts and Architecture tour in Cuba.  I had read about it and was going to ask our guide, Elvis,  how David and I might go there in our free time when he announced we were going there!  I told him he had read my mind!

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO
Fusterlandia is in the suburb of Jaimanitas about 30 minutes outside of Havana.  I read that you can take a bus or a $20 taxi, or it can be a requested extension of the hop on hop off bus (not every one of them goes there so check).  The house is open from Wednesday through Sunday from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm.  My guide book said, "It is beyond description, JUST GO!"  

WHAT I SAW

View from the 3rd floor deck

Thirty years ago Jose Fuster bought a modest wooden home in Jaimanitas, a poor suburb of Havana.  He began covering his home with mosaics and soon he was building sculptures, a swimming pool, and adding on ad infinitum!  He has also decorated parts of the homes of over 80 of his neighbors and has added murals, decorated the bus stops and all parts of the neighborhood.  The way his work has effected the entire neighborhood reminds me a little of Pearl Fryar's topiaries in South Carolina. His enthusiasm for Picasso, Gaudi, cubism and riots of color, has transformed the neighborhood.  It is now a beacon for artists and a tourist stop.  He sells tiles and original art in two galleries on the property and his neighbors have set up gift shops in their driveways near his home. 

Even the bottom of the swimming pool reflects cubism!

The tile shop on the second level

David inspects a taxi on the streets of Fusterlandia

    
IF MON$Y WERE NO OBJECT...
Absolutely, I would love to have any of the sculptures, murals, or tiles.  In one of the earlier blogposts I conjectured about putting a fresco on the parge wall along 10th St.  Fuster's mosaics would be even better!  They have the color and whimsy I adore.  In fact I bought 3 tiles and a concept drawing! 

#12 Muraleando

WHERE I WENT AND WHY
Muraleando was a stop on our Arts and Architecture tour of Cuba.  It is an example of how one or two folks can make a difference in a community.  Not only is it a collection of murals, but it has become a community center with more than 60 artists, musicians, and instructors.  It serves 262 children in after school programs including 32 children with special needs.

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO
Muraleando is the in the Lawton neighborhood of 10 de Octubre, a suburb of Havana.   It seemed hard to find.  Get a map and a trustworthy taxi driver if it is not on your tour!  Make an appointment and ask for Victor to be your tourguide.  If you google images of Muraleando, he even comes up on them!  He is their best cheerleader and speaks great English.

Victor, making sure we all had fun at Muraleando

WHAT I SAW
Muraleando is a spectacular collection of murals, sculptures from found materials, artists' collective, a venue for performance art, and a cultural center for children's art classes afterschool.  We were entertained by a salsa band and dancers (and invited to dance!) while we ate an especially prepared lunch.  Then Victor gave us a tour of the classrooms, galleries, sculptures and murals.

Salsa dancing at Muraleando

Owls made from '52 Buick parts!
Murals in the background - they are working on
embellishing them (similar to the one at the top of the blog)

Victor ends his tour by giving Maxine a gallant kiss!

WHAT I LEARNED
Muraleando began about 20 years ago as a project to improve the neighborhood.  Manuel Diaz Baldrich and Ernesto Quirch Paz were able to secure an old defunct water tower (used for steam trains).  Over-flowing with garbage, they hauled off 65 truckloads of garbage and salvaged many car parts and other items to use in their "found art" sculptures.  Using "sweat equity" they started the arduous task of transforming the tower into a community center.  Today it is a vibrant place and a monument to how a few people with vision can change their environment.  What was a poor suburb is now a vibrant community.

Every part of Muraleando is decorated with art

IF MON$Y WERE NO OBJECT...

I loved the sculptures from found objects!  I'm not sure if they were for sale, but this would not exactly fit in my suitcase and shipping was not an option!  Victor explained to us how expensive and hard acrylic paint was to get for their murals.  We of course made a donation.

#11 CELEBRATING QUIRKY PEOPLE

There's a fine line between quirky, crazy, and just plain weird.  I guess it all depends on your definition.  But if someone is a "little" crazy and harmless, we tend to celebrate them.  Such it is with Charlotte's Gold Man, and Havana's Brass Man, both celebrated with public art.

WHERE I WENT AND WHY
I had already taken some pictures of Charlotte's Gold Man when he returned after a major make over due to a car crash and had planned an art blog about him.  Then when we were in Havana, we came across their version, called the Brass Man.


WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO...
Charlotte's Gold man is at the infamous corner of Queens, Providence and Selwyn Avenue across from the Harris Teeter and Myers Park Methodist.  Havana's Gold man is on San Francisco Square and is named El Caballero de Paris.

WHAT I SAW...

I was delighted to see that the statue of Hugh McManaway in Charlotte has returned and was reinforced with a pedestal. I took my granddaughters there to celebrate its return.

 
When we were in Old Havana, we passed by the statue of El Caballero de Paris several times, and each time folks were gathered around either posing for pictures or hearing his story from a guide.

WHAT I LEARNED...

CHARLOTTE'S GOLD MAN..

In the 60's and 70's Hugh McManaway would direct traffic despite the intersection having a stoplight.  It is just what he did.  He grew up in a Victorian mansion a few blocks away.  He was the quirky man in the affluent neighborhood and often spoke in rhyme.  "I work for Jesus and not for pay.  My name is Hugh Pharr McManaway."    When he died in 1998, 2 sisters from the neighborhood raised money for the statue.  Falling far short of the $65,000 needed for their design, they were rescued by the former CEO of Bank of America, Hugh McColl who put in the rest.  

While Mr. McManaway stood in the intersection off and on for over a decade and was never hurt, his statue has not fared as well.  It has been knocked over several times and the last time, the city kept it for a year, reinforcing it with steel and forming the substantial pedestal.

When Ella was in preschool, we had to drive past Charlotte's Gold Man everyday.  We always hoped that he was dressed for a special occasion.  When he was, I would have to drive around the block several times so that Ella could memorize every detail.

HAVANA'S BRASS MAN

The Caballero de Paris was actually a Spanish immigrant to Havana named Jose Maria Lopez Lledlin  who was imprisoned in the 20's for a crime he did not commit.  This left him mentally impaired. He had some restaurant jobs and a benefactor in a sugar plantation office. He was best known for riding the city buses and dressing as a "musketeer" in a long black silk cape.  He loved to stop and talk philosophy, politics, and current events and was well known as gentle and well respected.  He never begged for alms and would often give folks small gifts or change.  He would sometimes sleep on park benches. He and Mr. McManaway died just 10  years apart.

The statue of El Caballero is of him as pedestrian and it is said to bring luck to hold his hand and beard.  They have become polished over the years as folks continue to seek good luck from him.

THE CHEERLEADER OF MURALEANDO

We encountered another quirky and delightful man in Cuba in Muraleando (see future blogpost).  Victor teaches Russian, but most of his time is spent giving guided tours of Muraleando, a Cuban cultural center known for its murals, sculptures of found objects, and art classes.  His enthusiasm was contagious and I predict one day there will be a sculpture of him in Muraleando!

#10 FINDING FINE ART IN CUBA

Our docent at the Fine Arts Museum
beside a coffee house made of coffee pots!

WHERE I WENT AND WHY
On our trip to Cuba our first week was devoted to arts and architecture.  We visited the Cuban Fine Art Museum on our first day of the tour.

  

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO
There are two fine art museums in Havana, one completely devoted to Cuban artists and another with an international collection.  We went to the one by Cuban artists.  It is in Old Havana directly across from the Military Museum and the boat Fidel Castro used in their revolution.  The building was renovated a few years ago, but be careful.  Not all of the renovations "matched up" with the old building and you'll be walking along and suddenly there will be a 1-2 inch unmarked step!  The day we were there they were setting up for a concert in the atrium and the band had blown a circuit.  The docent kept apologizing for the "poor illumination."  The museum has many windows with natural light, so this did not deter us, and some rooms were lit.

WHAT I SAW
A docent took us through the museum.  We saw colonial, revolutionary, and modern art.  With a few exceptions, much of the art had fairly dark content.

This was entitled "The Happy Farmer"

WHAT I LEARNED
Cuban artists are chameleons.  They were easily influenced by the art movements in Europe.  We were shown several examples of an artist's work before visiting Europe and then just a few years later, their style would change radically to reflect the Cubism, or Expressionism they encountered on their trip.  

Much of the revolutionary art has only surfaced since 2000 when restrictions on artists were lessened even though much of it was done in the 50's.  

After visiting Andy Warhol in New York, the artist came back and did this painting of Fidel.

My favorite was this painting done after a visit to New York and Andy Warhol.

Among the faces are San Marti, the artist, his mother, Camilo Cienfuegos, Che Guevara, Lenin, Ho Chi Min, Castro (under the star) George Hamilton from the Beatles, Carl Marx, and Bogart .

After completing my tour and reflecting on the collection, I realized that the modern and contemporary art can also be defined by what is missing.  There was no art influenced by or using computers, video, or internet media.  Cuba is still in its internet infancy and artists have yet to adopt any of this new technology.  I guess that will be the next big influence when artists begin to travel outside of Cuba again.

IF MON$Y WERE NO OBJECT, WOULD I BUY IT
Most of the art was too political for my taste, and would require more history and context than I know.  With just a few exceptions, most of it had very dark content.  I did love this paper mache sculpture of Latin instruments.

WE LIKED IT SO MUCH WE BOUGHT IT
We actually bought the museum print/poster of the Warhol-type piece for $3!  A museum print would never cost that little in America!  Of course, let's not discuss how much it is costing me to have it framed!!

#9 TALKING WALLS

Artist Owl and Arko don masks to paint.
Their mural is in the entry to the
Mint Museum of Craft + Design

WHERE I WENT AND WHY...
I had wanted to go to the "opening" of Talking Walls at the Center City Campus of UNCC last week, but it was outside in the rain.  Later I found out that 2 of the murals were inside the gallery, so they may have moved it.  But the weather over the weekend was glorious and 17 murals were painted around the city.  I just visited the ones in the center city on my segway.

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO...
The murals I saw were all over the center city along Tryon, on a wall at Hal Marshall, and in the Mint Museum of Craft and Design and the UNCC-Center City gallery.  There are more in the other corridors of the city and I hope to visit them as I'm out and about on errands. Hopefully they will be around for a while.  Here is a map and addresses:

WHAT I SAW...
Organized by Queens professor Mike Wirth and Kevin Taylor, Talking Walls is an effort to put Charlotte on the Mural/Outdoor art map like Miami and LA.  They brought artists from Mexico City, Miami, Portland, New York, Brooklyn and Charlotte together for a weekend blitz of mural painting.  

The mural on the Hal Marshall building was closest to my house and I was able to watch it grow over 3 days.

One of my favorites is in an alley at 200 S. Tryon near Ruth Chris Steakhouse.  I wonder why the balloon isn't round.

I was a little disappointed that several of the murals were inside, making them a little less accessible to folks and more likely to be painted over as the galleries change.

These were at UNCC - Center City

This was painted by the artists at the top of the blog and is in the Mint.

These were by Spirit Square and on Trade Street

A festival was held Saturday afternoon and artists were invited to paint panels of which one will be selected to be the poster for the re-invention of Charlotte Shout next year.  This was my favorite, though most of the artists were just getting started when I was there.

Here are 2 others that had promise...

As I was taking my final walk to see the murals Monday morning, noticed a few others around town not associated with Talking Walls.  I love the one on the side of Connley's.  It has almost every symbol of Charlotte around.  And the "rug" by the Blue Line near the Convention center really makes you feel like the sidewalk gets "softer."

WHAT I LEARNED...
I truly enjoyed the murals with their variety of styles and subjects.  They truly make the Center City more vibrant.  I can't wait to encounter the ones outside the center city as I travel the city.  A few of the artists were not very friendly to talk to, but I just chalked that up to temperament!  LOL

I remember we used to have a mural on the old First Union (now Wells Fargo) building of a Hornet.  It got to be a joke around town.  As soon as a player was put on the mural they would get traded!  They finally just settled on Hugo the Hornet so that it didn't have to be repainted so often and then the team left for New Orleans!  Cam, I know you're an icon here, but I'd be nervous if I were you!!

IF MON$Y WERE NO OBJECT WOULD I PUT IT IN (OR ON!) MY HOUSE....
ABSOLUTELY... I think it would be great to have a mural on our "parge wall" that links our townhouses on 10th St. OR... we have several empty cement block walls at Park's Peak.  David was just asking me how he should paint them... mmm...

WE LIKED IT SO MUCH WE BOUGHT IT...
We have nothing in our collection close to the size of a mural!

Dave had just finished our patio downstairs before we went on an RV trip out to San Diego.  We found this tile piece called 2 Moons Over the City in old San Diego and have it outside on our patio.  It along with 2 sculptures compose our "yard art" as my mom used to say!

#8 COFFEE SHOP ART

This blog is helping me see art all around me...
but this is not what I'm writing about!!

WHERE I WENT AND WHY...

On Wednesday four of us decided to meet at Queen City Grounds for lunch and several games of bridge (cards).  We had a delightful time.  The cards and company were fun, and the coffee, tea, and lunch were yummy.  While we were playing upstairs I noticed two pieces of art for sale.  

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO...

 Queen City Grounds is open from either 7 am or 8 am and until 9 pm or 10 pm depending on the day (6 on Sunday).  It is at the corner of 10th St. and Church.  Of course we walked (though Diane took the train in from UNCC), but there are parking meters on the street and 2 hr parking in the neighborhood.  The art will be there for 3-4 more weeks.

WHAT I SAW...
While we were playing cards upstairs I noticed 2 pieces of art for sale and with an artist's explanation.  The double portrait I really liked and found intriguing.  The portrait of the young man watched over us during our games, and several of us found him just a little creepy... though he did keep us honest!

The artist, Emily Furr, is working on her MFA at UNC-Greensboro.  She originally painted the portraits in oils on a green acrylic background and then surrounded them with the red.  She finds that helps each create its own mood.  The red made the art stand out from the industrial "decor" of the coffee shop and is what drew me in to notice it.

WHAT I LEARNED AND OBSERVED...
I think displaying art in coffee shops and other public spaces is a great way for new artists to display their work, hopefully sell some.  It lets the coffee shop support local arts and change its decor regularly.  It will be fun to see something different in that space in a few weeks.

The up and down side is the casualness of the setting.  It is fun to encounter art in a casual setting and writing this blog has made me more observant to the art around me.  However the casualness makes it easy to dismiss it as decor. While I find the gallery opening scene a little pretentious, it is great to be able to talk to the artist and dig a little deeper into the meaning of the pieces.  This wasn't possible in the coffee shop.  I would have loved to find out more about the subjects and why she did the one as a double portrait, back to back.

IF MON$Y WERE NO OBJECT, WOULD I PUT IT IN MY HOUSE?....
At $400 the art was what I consider reasonable and accessible, but portraits, especially portraits of folks I don't know, are just not my taste.

WE LIKED IT SO MUCH WE BOUGHT IT...

A Rather Odd Myopic Woman Riding
Piggyback on One of Helen's Many Cats

This is as close to a portrait as we have in our art collection.  A lithograph by Theodore Geisel (Dr Seuss), we purchased it in Sedona, Arizona.  I had wanted to add a nude to our collection, and as I often write rhymed stories for my granddaughters, I sometimes see myself as a frustrated (and not nearly as talented!) Dr. Seuss.  This piece fit me perfectly!  During a writing class I even wrote a poem in Seussian rhyme with MY story of how the piece came to be.

If you are going blind trying to read this and are curious,
ask next time you're at my house!