Carlsbad’s growing collection
of murals is starting to turn heads and arts advocates want to take
visitors on a tour of some of the most notable works around town.
The
Carlsbad Village Association is sponsoring the free, guided tour of a
half-dozen murals at 6 p.m. Aug. 9 to coincide with the annual Art in
The Village festival. Many of the murals have come to the area through
individual collaborations between artists and business owners, but the
New Village Arts organization — with a 2014 grant from the Carlsbad
Charitable Foundation — sponsored four new murals.
“The
Village is definitely a place where artists like to express
themselves,” said Ashley Westman, a spokeswoman for the Carlsbad Village
Association. “I think the murals especially put Carlsbad on the arts
map.”
The four murals
founded through the grant include the popular “Catnap” on the north wall
of the Witch Creek Winery at the corner of Carlsbad Boulevard and Grand
Avenue. The 18-foot tall mural depicts two tigers under rainlike
drips of vibrant color. One of the tigers is sheltered by an umbrella
while another sleeping animal is covered by the colors. Tourists and visitors often stop by the mural to take pictures and admire the work. (NOTE: Mural by Michael Summers)
Kristianne
Kurner, director of New Village Arts Theatre, said she hopes the tour
will allow people to experience the art as a community. And she hopes it
inspires other artists. “I
hope that it encourages more public art,” said Kurner, whose State
Street property also houses the multi-artist Foundry studios.
Other
murals have already started popping up around The Village. A few months
ago, the two-story “The Robot” mural was finished at the corner of
Carlsbad Village Drive and State Street. Painted by Jason Markow, the
mural features a whimsical robot turning on a spigot and a cascade of
painted water flowing down the wall to the real-life vertical wall
garden below.
Markow, who
is also known as Tekstartist, often incorporates words into his art. In
the Robot mural, the water streaming down the wall has letters that
deliver subtle messages about eating healthy, sustainably and
organically, he said. The robot watering the garden is also part of the message. Markow said robots are sometimes used as symbols of pollution. “The whole idea behind the robot is that it doesn’t matter what your history is, you can choose to make a difference,” he said.
Markow also painted a mural at 2690 State St., where he used block-like words pieced together to create images.
As
part of the tour, participants will visit six murals, including some of
the largest and most visible and some of the smaller “hidden gems,”
Westman said. It will start with a stop at “The Robot,” followed by a
look at the “Four Stages of History” mural on Roosevelt Street painted
by Chicano artist Victor Ochoa of San Diego.
The
other murals visited during the tour will be: the “Owl” on the side of
the 83 Degrees Restaurant; “Waiting for the Sandman” at the Carlsbad
Yoga and Fitness building; “Village Words” at the Carlsbad Cabinet Co.
building; and the “Catnap” at the Witch Creek Winery.
The one-hour tour will be followed by an artist meet and greet wine reception at the winery.
Article by UT San Diego: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jul/31/tp-carlsbad-village-highlights-murals-newshedcp/ (corrections to "Catnap" 2 tigers, not 3, a capitalization added to beginning of sentence & artist credit added to this story.)