Street Art Walkabout

A couple weeks ago I was chatting with Hive account@tattoodjay and promised him that I'd try to find the time to walkabout Newark to take some pictures of some street art. I finally got aboot to getting this done, on Sunday, and spent a few hours on my feet covering just over 6 miles.

First up is not exactly street art, per se, but some sculptures and art in what will ultimately be a small "art park" beside Main Street.

I'm not precisely sure why, but I really like this first piece over the second. It lacks balance and seems to be chaotically put together, but that lack of cohesion makes it an interesting piece to me. This piece tells us that it is okay to not conform, that it's okay to wear different colour socks and eat taco's for breakfast. Despite it's patchwork nature, this piece of chaos brings peace to one's inner soul: we're all broken, and we can all be broken together. It's okay!

This second piece, however, doesn't speak to me in the same soothing way. This looks like something that I may have coloured in grade school when I was trying to be artistic but could not break out of balanced conformities.

After moving on from this small art park I made it to Main Street proper. To be perfectly honest and blunt, I think Main Street in Newark is an eyesore. Power lines are strung haphazardly everywhere, there are too many vehicles, and some of the buildings are just damn ugly. That said, this wall is not one of those buildings. One might not consider good architecture to be art. One would be wrong.

And then there is this. See the wires in the way of everything? Even this simple piece of art is covered by them. The State spent two years completely gutting all of the actual road on Main Street; this completely missed the opportunity to put all the wires underground.

A little further down the way, however, is this fun little lane. One side has a few tables right beside the coffee shop (one of which was holding my camera bag) and down the way are places to lock up bicycles. I really like the "Newark Community Bulletin Board," even if it really isn't in use anymore. Items like that make me nostalgic for days-before-digital, when one could find a roommate by putting up a notice, or advertise a local band's upcoming performance.

This globe seems to have been randomly placed in a spot that the city didn't know what to do with. Frankly, I think it should be moved to the art park, where it would probably be more appreciated.

This is a fun piece. I'm not sure why it didn't cover the entire wall, but I'm sure there was a good reason for it. I'm also not sure why the Subway sign is still there; Subway itself is not.

This wall deserves a little explanation. Perhaps obviously, it references the year 1758, which was the year Newark was founded. It also spells out Newark as two words, New Ark, which was it's originally spelling. To this day, the proper pronunciation of the city is "New-Ark," as opposed to "New-werk."

That leaves the picture of Poe requiring explanation. Local lore shares that Edgar Allan Poe spent some time in a local Inn - The Deer Park (which still exists) - and wrote at least part of The Raven there. Lore also says that he bet on a horse race down Main Street, lost, and cursed the city. I suppose, ever since, Main Street has remained butt ugly and full of potholes. Well play, Mr. Poe, well played.

Perhaps fittingly, the front of the building for the Newark Arts Alliance is glittered and colourful.

And the stylist shop right beside it likewise has some appropriate art.

There is a really, really large piece on the side of a building seen just as one enters Main Street from the nearby highway. Look at all the happy people! It's full of symbolism, including a representation of the old theatre that once called Newark home (now it is the Five and Dime) as well as the clock tower across the street.

I happen to like the image of the photographer looking back at me. I wonder if he ever gets bored taking the same picture?

I also really like the dancing figures off in the background. I have absolutely no idea what the rationale or reasoning for including them was, but I appreciate the addition. When I see a group of half-naked, blue-painted women dancing in a circle holding hands I am impressed, intrigued, enthralled, perhaps slightly confused, and would like to see more. Honestly, the more I puzzle about this, the more I'm convinced that it doesn't quite belong on a public mural; I'm fairly confident that the city was founded by Methodists and Calvinists, not druids or witches. Maybe the artist was trying to get a point across. Maybe I'm overthinking it. I'll probably never know for sure.

Lastly, I would be remiss to not photography anything on campus. Newark is home to the University of Delaware which is, by far, the most important economical entity in the city. The University is large enough that it has it's own police force that about rivals the City's in size.

(c) All images and photographs, unless otherwise specified, are created and owned by me.
(c) Victor Wiebe

About Me

Amateur photographer. Wannabe author. Game designer. Nerd. 
General all around problem-solver and creative type.

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