iT'S STreeT arT THurSDAY! with Malibu morning picture of the day - Maundy Thursday, April 2, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, Gentle Readers, and Street Art Lovers,

As we head into the holiest of weeks of the year for Christians, what better image to show than of course the Buddha?

Artist: unattributed, Enlightened One at Prayer, paint on stucco.

This gorgeous mural of the serene Buddha is to be found on a wall facing a D.I.Y. car wash place on the eastern side of Western Avenue, just north of Melrose Avenue. A veritable symphony of cool blues, smartly complemented by orange and yellow curlicues in an asymmetrical mandala-like form behind the subjects head, make you both calm, peaceful, but gives your eyes plenty to roam around and not fall into sleep.

Artist: unattributed, Spartacus the Dog, paint on utility box.

The treatment of the background looks like impasto and brown tile, but NO, it's all fool-the-eye paint treatment. This painter surely knows what he or she is doing to achieve these rendering effects.

A perfect accompaniment to the task of cleansing one's car, you are inspired to empty your head as well, freeing your consciousness of all of that mental detritus.

Coming up in my story is allusion to a Zen koan that asks the question: "Does a dog have the Buddha nature?"

This is a stupid question (or rather self-evident question) because everything has the Buddha nature.

But even so, let's let artistic depictions speak for themselves. I came across this utility-box puppy last night while switching trains in Downtown L.A. There's a City Target right at the 7th and Fig/Metro stop, perfect for running small errands on the way home.

I ask you, is Spartacus here any less Buddha like than the traditional depiction of Siddhartha Gautama above? You're going to have to ponder that koan for a while folks. In the meantime I've got papers to grade...


Love,
Pops


BUT NOW, HERE IS YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED MALIBU MORNING PICTURE OF THE DAY:

Oh hell, look at two pictures. It's nice out here.