iT'S STreeTarT THurSDay iN eaST HoLLyWooD with Malibu morning pic of the day - Thursday, February 11, 2016

Dear Street Art Lovers and Assorted Spare Parts Out There,

Today we're back to a street of my roots, Mariposa off Santa Monica, where I spent seven years of my childhood during weekdays--yes, my elementary school is on this street. But we're not looking at that today. There is this mural across the street on the corner store, which as I recall used to be a laundromat when I was a pup.

Artist lOVE CREW, Kaps Zeal, paint on local business.

This mural is not grandiose; it's probably just name art along with the artist's favorite cartoon or video game character (I'm not familiar with this one). It's pretty small, but well executed and not offensive to the hundreds of school kids who must walk past it everyday--so it's a good choice. I also include the context shot.

Since the featured mural today is rather simple, I think I'll throw in some images from a light box I found downtown. I hope you like purple. It appears to be the artist who did the "Be the Change" series (2)  I showed you in earlier times.

Artist unattributed, Purple Love Revolutionary,
paint on traffic signal box.

If you're thinking the sidewalks look rather run-down in East Hollywood, you're right. They weren't so cracked and eroded with I was walking them in the early 1960s. Believe it or not, the area was predominantly white at the time. Kids I went to school with had the last names Grant, Stromer, Zeppenfeldt, Cochran, Lunstedt, Goddard, you get the idea. There were only two or three Chinese families at the school, so my brothers and I were always considered odd.

Remember her?
Sappy slogan on her chest
instead of oversized
mammary glands?

All the teachers were women. I think I even remember all of their surnames in chron order: Millman (K), Rivera (1), Haas (2), Granucci (3), Romano (4), Pauker (5), Museus (6), and the principal, also female, was Hinkle. Can you recall all of yours? Romano was a great proponent of corporal punishment.
I remember her hitting one boy with stick in front of class. I remember him yelling out "You're hurting me!" and her responding "No. Mrs. Romano never hurts anyone." Funny what memories stick with you. It had its effect. I never gave her any sh!t in class.  By the way, swats and spankings were legal back then, so don't think ill of Mrs. Romano for using a tool that was available to her for keeping order. We 4th grade boys can be real asshats.

I'm sure most of those women (except Haas and Museus, those two really had teaching hearts) would have chosen other professions had they been open to them. As I recall them back through the lens of my adult eyes, Pauker, Romano, and Granucci all seemed to have their attitude dial set to "pissed off." But maybe that was just a discipline tactic.

AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED SEASCAPE

'nuff rambling. Here's your blue-on-blue picture of the day as we continue our minor February heat wave in the 80s.

Serene ain't it? Hope you have peaceful, pacific day yerself.

Love,
Pops