drug of forgetfulness
When they pulled the scaffolding down off this mural at Vine and 12th I was a little disappointed. I thought really? That's it?
But ArtWorks had invested time and money in this mural so I didn't want to discount it out of hand as it must mean something to someone.
I tweeted an Artworks contact and found the title is Grace & Nepenthe #7.
The original, by Art Academy Fine Arts Chair Kim Krause was one of a series of paintings done to explore Grace. Grace he defines as "is the challenge or process of achieving complete ease without the appearance of doing so."
After that he gets deep referencing Nepenthe. Nepenthe "refers to a potion in ancient mythology used to forget daily reality and to amplify good feelings."
There is art I don't get until someone explains the context to me then it makes more sense. It always helps to know what the artist was struggling through when the art was created. But this isn't one of them, I still don't get this artwork.
I'm starting to wonder if downtown/OTR is over saturated with murals now and they are running out of ideas. A few years ago it was always an unexpected surprise to see one of the rare murals downtown but now they so common they don't warrant a second look and that's a real shame.
I'm also tempted to go on a long rant on art snobs in academia, but I'll save the rant on how people are expected to consume art for another time.
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8 comments
Unfortunate that the beauty isn't more "accessible"? I think it's enjoyable like mardi gras where you can swing from bar to bar.
ReplyDeleteI can see folks complaining that it's drug related in a drug riddled area.
I like it - it has a whimsy that I think some of the others lack - many of the others...And the coolest thing about Art is that it has no homogeneity. I hate lots of stuff I'm sure you love.
ReplyDeleteAs to too many murals - no way we're there yet. Musing on that the other day I decided this is one of the truly great features of this city - in fact region because Artworks jumps the river.
Cheers,
K
I'm a bigger fan of "streetart", Artworks should let Higherlevelart compose one of these murals and I'd be happy.
ReplyDeleteYes, but would Higherlevelart want to do the work? One has to remember there is a lot that goes into the Artworks murals. There are building owners & sometimes city officials (in the smaller communities) that are involved. An artist has to be hired & has to be able to lead the project with a staff of teenagers. And, yes, don't forget all the teenager/future artists that are hired for the summer to produce art. It's a pretty complicated process & I think it is quite a commitment for an artist.
DeleteI certainly have favorite Artworks murals, as well as street art pieces. Regardless of whether it matches my esthetic, I say the more murals & artwork surrounding us, the better!
I'm generally hot a fan of "streetart", to me most of it is just public masterbation. having your Handle up in colorful letters and numbers don't do it for me. On the other hand, I do enjoy the stuff that looks like a carton or crazy design. I've seen several that I would slaphappy have on one of my walls.
DeleteI just saw this one over the weekend. My first thought, WTF. Just didn't translate for me. I highly agree that Higher Level Art would be fantastic.
ReplyDeletehas anybody tried sequential art - telling the epoch tales of Cincinnati?
ReplyDeleteLike the flood wall murals in Covington?
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