I'm always on the look out for some decent street art when I travel. When I go anywhere really. I just don't leave the house that often. Anyway, I saw a few nice murals in the Carribean while wandering around Willemstad Curacao on our cruise vacation back in February of this year. Let's take a look at what I saw, shall we?
This first one is the most simple but it's actually my favorite. It's just a gnome running but the placement of the rake on the wall adds so much humor and fun to the piece. I don't know if the rake being there is intentional or if it occurred by accident, but the idea of running away from yard work makes me smile and also seems very fitting for a vacation island in the Carribean.
The next one is by the same artist - obviously and was seen near it. It's a nice use of space on the wall and it almost looks like there is some sort of message being conveyed there - flying eyeballs around a cell phone and a "holier than thou" lecture taking place... There is meaning in the piece, I'm sure of it. Actually I just noticed that the cellphone says "Disconnect" on it so that explains everyhing - duh. I can't figure out who the artist is but I think that they are Dutch and from the Netherlands. There are a lot of these gnomes and eyeball figures in the Netherlands and Curacao is a Dutch colony so I'm quite confident in my guess. Okay moving on.
The next one is more of a realism style of art that feels very Carribean inspired in its colors and subjects. At one point the man's face was covered by a piece of wood or something, which was subsequently removed at some point. The door must have always been there though which makes me wonder if the woman's face painted on the door at one point and then some A-holen came along and painted over top of it at a later date. Who knows... okay moving on.
Iguanas were a bit of a theme in town. We saw a large statue of one outside a restaurant along with this colorful mural. We didn't see any real ones though. That was unfortunate. Okay moving on.
I don't have much to say about these skeleton dancers. It looks like it was done with paper and glue more so than paint. It's a little boring for me but that's okay. I don't have to like every piece of artwork that I see... I won't say it.
This last one was a really well done mural with a very Carribean look and vibe about it. It looks like it was probably commissioned by a local artist or something amd paid for by the city. It's a nice piece but its not my favorite by any means. It's too "safe" to be interesting and reminds me of wallpaper a little. It just a little boring in my opinion... did I already say that? So its not my style of art but it is nice and it definitly serves a purpose. It adds some nice color to the walls and brings out that Carribean tropics feeling... Okay I'm done.
