I spent the day in two suburbs of Quito - Guapulo and Floresta. Went there by bus (.25 cents) in the rain. Went to see some street art that was prominent in the magazine I produced last year. Some of it (most!) has been brutalized. Those who know the publication might recall the two figures on the string telephone on the red fence. That has given way to construction and people flagrantly painting over stuff. The yellow Ronald McDonald - "We Love Meat" - has been replaced entirely. Only the "we" remains.
Stark reminder of the ephemeral nature of street art.
Then I walked on to a really nice experience in Floresta. I started taking pictures of a figure across the front of a small house. Some of the figure was broken up by open shutters, so I went to the door to ask a man if I could close them.
He came out and closed the shutters and the door because the figure covered the whole area.
He explained that he painted it. His name is Juan Llumiquinga, a prominent Ecuadoran artist.
We had a very nice visit and before I left the area he shared some info about himself and the museums that hold his paintings.
My next magazine on street art is likely to be an illustrated story of my discovery of the art, what I like and why, and what it seems to mean in our culture. I'm asking myself, "What if Miro was a street artist?"
I guess I couldn't go a whole blog without some pictures.
Location:Guapulo and Floresta
Pop--
ReplyDeleteI just got a chance to spend some real time reading and viewing. What adventures, the trip seems to be building as it goes. Certainly your store of street art is remarkable now. Things here are good--the commute is mundane and a bitch, but otherwise Pawtucket is great, as odd as that sounds.
My favorite new phrase, which I came up with but which is likely on a bumper sticker somewhere, is "RI is at the Center of Intrigue"
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