Thursday, October 15, 2015

iT'S STreeT arT THurSDay iN eaST HoLLyWooD! - Thursday, October 15, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

You have seen the face before, but now I give the rest.

Artist "Cirli?," BLK STUCK 131, paint on brick.

I am sorry to report that this mural no longer exists, but that is the way of street art. You never know how long it will stick around.

This image was to be found on a little outcropping of wall along Hollywood Blvd. where on storefront juts out farther onto the sidewalk than its neighbor. This kind of jagged storefront construction tells a history of buildings that were built at various times in a neighborhood. And they also give you little bits of wall that artists don't mind filling up with marginal images.

Here we have the face of an African American man with mustache, rendered as it were as smoke and fire, illuminating this little piece of wall.

            You would think this might on the side of a hookah cafe, eh? But no, it's a bar called the Know Where bar. Clever.

The maker's mark seems to be a stylized form of Cirli, but I'm not sure. There's also a white paintover name too, but who knows if its related or a "hater."

Given that there's not much space here, it's not a complex production. Very atmospheric. demonic, black birds in silhouette against a fiery sky. Almost zombie like people indicated in the details, and outreaching hands at the bottom. The artist was going for a Hollywood-Halloween scare kind of vibe.


Somewhat conventional in this way, but it certainly caught your eye as you traveled along the boulevard westward past Western Avenue. There is a lot of stencil work as you will see in the details.


































OK! Are you starting to get in the mood for trick or treating yet? No?

Well no matter we still have time.



AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED SEASCAPE:



Just one big ol' layer of cloud this morning, nuthin' like yesterday.

But I think our heat wave has maybe finally broken. I did feel moisture on my face as I was walking up to my office from the bus stop.

I was sexually harassed on my way to the bus stop this morning. I guess I'm willing to put that word on it since I recently went through the statutory training modules that we do at work. A few blocks away from the bus stop there's a guy in short, a tank top, and a red baseball cap standing in the part of the street where the sidewalk curb driveway ends, waiting and looking out as if waiting for a ride to come pick him up.

He sees me look at him and he yells out a morning greeting in Spanish. I answer back neighborly Good Morning, followed up by Buenos Dias. He comes over and starts a conversation in Spanish, but I tell him I don't speak Spanish and so we switch to English. He says he's not working that day and he likes the early morning and we chat some more. I tell him I gotta get going to work, say goodbye and he holds out his hand to shake. I take his hand and then he takes it up to his mouth and starts kissing it, licking it and he smiles and says "You like?" I pull away, but he's not letting go so easily. I tell him goodbye and move on.

As I walk way and think about it, I am totally grossed out. The weather is humid and so until I get into the air-conditioned bus, my hand stays moist from his spit. I want to turn around go back home and take the "Karen Silkwood Shower" equivalent for my hand, but was shocked at myself that I was taken more by the emotion of surprise in the moment than outrage. My ex-wife and my daughters have told me in not quite as many words that they hate taking the bus because of getting greater exposure to incidents like these. And I'm really not sure that was about. I'm a short, fat, bald, middle-aged man way past any kind of physical prime (My wallet was still in my pocket, whew.), but they say these kinds of things don't really matter, although younger females do tend to attract more of this kind of attention. I'm guessing the "short" attribute of mine maybe makes me an approachable target. I'm going to have to remember this as I get physically weaker with age.

At age 57, I am certainly no stranger to encounters with boors who violate personal space or threaten physical harm. (Once a random young man came up and hugged and kissed me on the lips out on the street. More about that some day ... ) I suppose I should be thankful that they are far enough apart from one another that I haven't gone more reclusive and am a cynical curmudgeon as a default stance in life. Anyway, as soon as I got to work I washed my hands and am re-sensitized to the importance of personal boundaries and why we need to respect them in each other.

Be careful out there! But have a good Thursday nonetheless.

Love,
Pops


PS: And here is the context shot on the street, no longer there...






















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Be truthful and frank, but be polite. If you use excessive profanity, I'll assume you have some kind of character flaw like Dr. Wong. Tks!