Signs and Wonders, Jena Edition

A collection of interesting things I've seen around Jena:

Lichtenhain Feuerwehr (volunteer fire department) mural

Commemorative plaque at Jena West train station for the Holocaust victims who departed on trains from there

Walpurgisnacht witch effigy burning at the top of Kunitzburg

Graffiti of Pikachu as Totoro

Warning: bat house! (Old house in the woods transformed into bat sanctuary)

Driveway entrance passed while hiking up Am Herrenberg

Vegalize it.. food truck

"American-style table dance bar"

Napoleonstein commemorating Napoleon's Jena victory in 1806

More Mobile Art

As in, art in Mobile (moh-BEEL), not art on your phone.

I'm not sure the Dude "roll tides" as this street art would suggest, but it was still cool to see in downtown Mobile.

Part of a larger street art/graffiti work on Dauphin Street. Never forgett-i.

Signs and Wonders, Gulf Coast Edition

I love graffiti, weird signs, and cool old artwork, and the Deep South has not disappointed on any of those fronts. Check out my collection of signs and wonders!

Not sure who wanted everyone to know about Resa Burden's cheating heart, but they put the message all over downtown Mobile, Alabama.

Beautiful artwork built into the sides of the "new" capitol building in Baton Rouge

Old entryway downtown in Baton Rouge

Who dat Buc-ee?! I haven't been to a Buc-ees, but I hear everything's bigger in Texas, including Buc-ees. (It's like a Flying J trucker stop times 10.)

Cracker Barrel: the gas station that has more than you'd expect. Allegedly.

MSG "for sell" in the Mobile Winn Dixie (Note: words in quotes are mine, not Winn Dixie's)

One of my bros and I created this masterpiece in the sand in Florida.

This person loves their family... heartwarming graffiti from Bellingrath Gardens, I think.

No smoking during meals on the USS Kidd.

Are there interesting augers?

Y'reckon God's in this church? at the Rural Life Museum

Another message from Mobile, Love has returned!

Open your eyes, by the Baton Rouge lakes overpass

Graffiti Walk

Something I've noticed about Europe is that graffiti enjoys a very different status within the culture than it does in the US. Whereas in the US, graffiti is generally something frowned upon, to be cleaned off an afflicted building immediately, and generally located in less-than-savory areas of town or signaling the presence of crime, European graffiti seems to be a point of pride. It doesn't get painted over quickly (if ever), and it can be found in abundance in any location. There are even some spots specially reserved for artists to come practice their spraying art.

As expected, many sprayers are angsty teenage boys searching for an outlet, some advertising anarchy or other political messages, but sometimes the art is cute, sweet, or even poetic. Here's a collection of some of my favorite, most noteworthy small graffiti works I've seen over the past few months. (My favorite one, due to its striking contrast, was mentioned in an earlier post.)

Oerlikon Nord train station

Choose Your Leader

Not graffiti, but nonetheless interesting building; I like to think it's home to anarchist squatters

"She's My Baby" in Verona. See if you can spot it!

Zurich tram

Stuttgart artist, photographing his work

"The rock of truth and the water of righteousness form life for eternity." outside Zurich

Though I don't have a picture of it, one of the most inspirational graffiti works that I often think back on is painted on a sidewalk on Euclid Avenue in Berkeley. It's a simple, blue, stenciled-looking work with a picture of a small tree branch with leaves on it and the message "breathe, you are alive."