The great Post Alley Art Wall

Between two giant tourist attractions in Seattle, being the Gum Wall and the Pike Place Market is my favorite thing in the area for all visitors to check out…the art on the wall of Post Alley.

You’ll find this in the side of a downwards driveway below the big sign to the left, towards the Gum Wall from the west end of Pike Street. It’s hard to miss, unless really tired. But, I love it any time as it is always changing. It’s full of social messages, with some politics. Also full of adverts, shameless self-promotion, heads up on local events, and some puzzling stuff.

That’s all for today. I think the imagery has at least a thousand more words that speak to the reader than I can put forth for now. Just click on to enlarge and explore!

– Orion T

Pictures of Today 4/24/16, Alley Cats Blue

A return to the ol Post Alley almost below and besides Seattle’s Pike Place Market front entrance, where the street art is ever-changing.

And a little more here..

with more around the corner..

And, that was the most to this otherwise quite and sleepy Sunday…

– Orion T

The Seattle Gum Wall Sticky Situation…

Behold, the great Seattle Gum Wall to its fullest potential.

For over 20 years, this small south Post Alley area within the Pike Place Public Market welcomed people to place chewed sugary bubble gum remains upon a large wall. Tourists and locals constantly added to it, enhancing its disgustingness into an old wall (now walls, as it spread to the neighboring surfaces and pipes).

Soon, all the sticky chewings shall be removed, and the walls will go through a massive cleansing, to remove chemical buildup and potential harm upon the aged building. The Seattle Times reports that an industrial steam machine till be used. “The machine will melt the gum with 280-degree steam; it will fall to the ground, and a two- to three-man crew will collect the gum in five-gallon buckets.”

I recently dropped by after work long after sunset. I admire how the street lights adds mystique to the germy area. I may return again before the final removal of sticky contents. But for now, here are some pics from I:

– Orion T

Picture of Today 4/12/15, Underpassed Art..

I took a short stroll under a bridge through the Northeast Campus Parkway, near the University District in Seattle. This after,I noticed notice some crazy colors to the side, at the end of a long bus ride.

And there I was, on this quiet day. The streets were still damp, from the heavy rains of past days. The walls seemed washed, cleaned. The street art, urban graffiti, whatever you want to call it..brought a sense of youthful expression to this area of higher education. I know little of the artists who add magnificent style in their signatures. I can appreciate their work, and enjoy the small messages and subtle details for those who really take time to visually explore these walls. I am also particular fond of inclusion of the 1990s comic character and MTV cartoon star, The Maxx (pictured below)

The mural’s origins can be traced back to 2004, with this article I G~~oogled~~ researched. Here, explains what began as the project of UW art grad Jill Rothenburger, who found the underpass previously “drab and depressing.” With encouragement and permission from the city, that was changed. City officials were worried this could be spread, or encouraged towards illegal “tagging.” Jill defended the bridge in her quote from that article:

“Vandalism is illegal, but how can a style be illegal?…Graffiti is a style. It’s the visual manifestation of hip-hop culture. Hip-hop is youth culture. Does the city really want to be against that?”

So, the city allowed. Over 10 years later the underpass mural continues to impress, though with some changes to the art over time (much of it painted over older art). Here below, are some shots of its current appearance..

– Orion T

Pictures of Today 3/18/14

Under the great Pike Market of Seattle, inner Post Alley…

You may notice ever-changing art; boggling and fantastic, ugly and beautiful.

Behind and further down, there is an entire wall of chewed bubblegum built over the past decades (pics for another day on that). Tourists tend to focus their attention towards the gum, while I feel this is more deserving of such appreciation.

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Picture by Orion Tippens. Note: Do not copy or use any of the images here or herein without written consent (contact Orion at travelingorion.wordpress.com). © Copyright 2014 Orion Tippens. All Rights Reserved

Picture of Today 1/27/14

“Overcome space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now.”
― Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

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Picture by Orion Tippens. NOTE: Do not copy or use any of the images here or herein without written consent (contact Orion at travelingorion.wordpress.com). © Copyright 2014 Orion Tippens. All Rights Reserved

The art of Clarion Alley – San Francisco, Mission District

Yay, picture share time!

I present below, this cluster of pics from a personal favorite spot in San Francisco’s Mission District. This location is full of color, creativity, messages, diversity, brilliance, amazement. Here, appreciate fine urban and graffiti art; all open to the public on the walls of doors, fences, buildings. All, mostly done by local artists.

This is Clarion Alley. It’s all free, just find the alley and take a stroll (during the day is brighter, safer).

The work of Clarion Alley is done by various artists with full permission by the city and the adjacent property owners. This collaboration is part to the work of CAMP (Clarion Alley Mural Project). Here, is a little more from the the CAMP representative Web page, www.meganwilson.com:

“Clarion Alley Mural Project has been a grass roots project from beginning to future, organized by a handful of individuals who have volunteered thousands of hours, and with the added generosity of many, many community members who’ve committed their time and energy to CAMP over the past 20 years. Its possible that such a project could only be done by a small group of committed friends. Big institutions with paid staffs, enviable office facilities, and large materials budgets also have institutional strictures, competing curatorial agendas, levels of prestige to be maintained, ponderous decision-making processes, star power and quota considerations in the selection of artists and bottom line revenue projections to be taken into account. Could a project based on the affinities of artists, characterized by a rejection of western fine art hierarchies, with no enhancement of the market value of stored artworks, ever make its way through that gamut?

In a city that is rapidly changing to cater to the one-percent at every level, CAMP is one of the last remaining truly punk venues in San Francisco.”

I visit San Francisco often, at least twice a year over the last ten years. I come back to Clarion Alley when time allows. Some of the art stays unchanged (perhaps touched up or repaired), while other art is fresh and new painted over the old. This presentation is very refreshing, and retains hope for the ongoing troubles of San Francisco’s local art community (rising rents, gentrification, the tech industry invasion).

Below, is my collection of images over the past few years visiting Clarion Alley. Pics are from various cameras, smartphones on hand. Enjoy, appreciate, make this place a must-see for your time in San Francisco.

For more on Clarion Alley, CAMP, and the artists involved with more pictures past and present – click here, and here, and here.