Sunday, June 16, 2013

Hwy. 80 at Metrocenter

UPDATE: I was at Metrocenter today for something else, and noticed that this box still hasn't made any progress beyond the side panel. It could be that the artist hasn't had time to finish it yet, but there is also another factor to consider. Jackson has a new mayor, Chokwe Lumumba, who was just inaugurated about a week ago. According to an artist friend who spoke with the Greater Jackson Arts Council about the traffic box project, the project is on hold until Mayor Lumumba gives the word that the  project can continue. This means no new applications are being taken for artists to paint boxes, but I would imagine the existing boxes on Hwy. 80 that were already assigned could still be finished. I was looking forward to seeing the rest of this one at Metrocenter. Mayor Johnson's vision was for all traffic boxes in Jackson to eventually be painted. How cool would that be?

I am hopeful that Mayor Lumumba will want this beautification project to continue. Not only does it create a better-looking Jackson by sprucing up the many intersections around town, but it provides an opportunity for the city to celebrate and showcase her local artists. So, if you live in Jackson, or care about Jackson, do me a favor? Write to your city councilman/woman, and write to the Mayor to request that the city continue this project. I am going to do the same - in fact, I'm planning to write to all of the city council, not just my councilwoman. If you care about this project and want to see more "Easter Eggs" around the city, please help!


Pascagoula and Farish - Don Jacobs

On my way to the Mississippi Museum of Art recently, I spotted a new box on the corner of Pascagoula and Farish streets. This one features people dancing up a storm, with dance steps marked out on the base of the box. The artist is Don Jacobs, a graphic designer, painter and mural artist.





Terry Road and Raymond Road - Scott Allen

This intersection is special to me.

My grandmother, Mary Jean Coor-Phillips-Agnew-Terwilliger (Maw Maw was a looker and fun to be with, but had horrible luck with her first two husbands), lived just off Raymond Road, on McGee Street, a few blocks west of this intersection. It was at this red light that we turned to go to her house. My dad and his sisters grew up here, and my grandmother lived there from the 1950s until 1997, when we had to move her to a retirement facility because of Parkinson's disease and the unfortunate decline of her neighborhood. Maw Maw Jean has been gone for 8 years, but when I'm in this part of town it is like she's right beside me. Another tidbit about my ties to this area (which I'm sure nobody cares about but me) - my grandfather, Edward Agnew, Sr., worked for the U. S. Postal Service. He worked at the downtown branch until he had a heart attack. After that, he transferred to the branch that used to be in the Mart 51 shopping center, right near this intersection. Another heart attack took his life a few years later, and I never got to meet him. Sad story, huh? I'm sorry... on to the traffic box.

It's only fitting, that another South Jackson-er should get to paint this traffic box. You've seen Scott Allen's work on the box at Court and West streets, the street-art style featuring a bluesman on guitar. He's a friend of mine, owner of A+ Signs, and a great artist.

Scott has been branching out in his artwork lately, trying out a style reminiscent of Walter Anderson. Lots of line-drawings with heavy black outlines. This box seems to be sort of a cross-breed between the Anderson style and street art. It's glorious no matter how you look at it. And it pretties up this long-neglected corner like nobody's business. I just wish Maw Maw Jean could see it. She probably wouldn't know what to think!





Hwy. 80 and Wiggins

There is a story that goes along with this one. I'm not sure who the artist is for the current work on this box, but previously it was assigned to an artist named Norman Sisson. I didn't get to see Norman's work because it had already been painted over with primer the first time I came through to document the traffic boxes. I met Norman at Figment Jackson on May 18, when I noticed this wooden "traffic box" that various Figment-goers and children had painted throughout the day. I stopped to talk to Norman, and when I told him about this blog he told me what happened with his box.





(Disclaimer: I am reporting the story as Norman told it to me. I am not taking sides. There was an article in the Clarion-Ledger about it, with a picture of the box. I think it could have been a lot worse, but I am not black and won't even pretend to speak for black people. I can imagine how it might have been seen as offensive. My opinion is that it would've been worse had it been fried chicken or watermelon, but perhaps ribs could be listed in 3rd place in the racial stereotype list with regard to food.)

It seems that Norman was originally assigned the box at Hwy. 80 and Wiggins, after he submitted his idea for the box. He said it was supposed to be themed around Southern cooking. On one side of the box, he had a man cooking barbecue on a grill. On another side, he had a woman eating a barbecued rib. The problem (according to some passers-by) was that while the man cooking was white, the woman eating a rib was black. Some saw this as a stereotype, and complained to the mayor's office, so the city decided to paint over it and give the box to someone else. Norman claimed the primary complainant was mayoral candidate Regina Quinn. This was just a few weeks prior to the primary election, and Norman thought it was a political move. He said she drove by and stopped to talk to him about it, and she was upset. He said she not only complained about what she deemed the stereotypical nature of the artwork on the box, but also that the city was spending its money on this project. Was this a political move? If so, it didn't help her much. Also, the funds for this project come from the Greater Jackson Arts Council (who, by the way, really need to update their website - I love the GJAC, but get some web nerd on that, pronto!) so it's not as if it is taking money away from our much-needed pothole repair budget.

Anyway, I know there are two sides to every story, so I am certainly not taking Norman's side, per se. I asked him if he was going to try again, but he said he was pretty much done with the traffic boxes. He complained that someone had gone and painted ducks on the box that was originally his. When I went back down Hwy. 80 a few weeks ago, I saw what he was talking about.

They're very nice ducks, albeit not the most interesting traffic box in the collection. Also, City of Jackson, you could stand to weed-eat around this box. I nearly got poison ivy trying to get to it. Most of the boxes on Hwy. 80 actually have really nice landscaping around them. This one seemed to be neglected.

What do you think? Was Norman's original artwork a racial stereotype? Was it just art? How do you feel about the ducks? 





Saturday, April 20, 2013

Tombigbee and Jefferson

Found one more in the latest series of boxes! I discovered this one after one of my recent trips to Hal and Mal's. I usually take Jefferson home to Belhaven because it's less traffic-y than State Street, and I spotted this brightly painted box on the corner of Tombigbee and Jefferson, next to the on-ramp for I-55. There doesn't seem to be an artist's signature, so if anyone knows who this one is by please leave it in the comments!

I love the bright colors and depiction of some Jackson landmarks. The red and yellow checkerboard pattern makes me think of when the Coliseum was red and yellow. Since this box is near the Fairgrounds, I thought that was appropriate! There is a lot going on on this box - the Governor's Mansion and the Old Capitol are featured, as well as a magnolia bloom, a catfish, a bust of Andrew Jackson and a large orange 3D Mississippi with a red star for Jackson. I love that this artist painted the block that the box is sitting on, too. Definitely go find this one and see it in person - photos don't really do it justice. And while you're down there, check out the freshly painted/spruced up Naval Reserve Center, which is now in use by the Dept. of History and Archives.








Saturday, March 30, 2013

Hwy. 80 and Shaw Road - Jeanette Jarmon

Just before you hit the Clinton City Limits, you'll find one last box by Jeanette Jarmon. This box shows off one of Mississippi's greatest exports, the catfish, as well as many other colorful, happy fish swimming above the Fat Cat. The catfish looks so happy hanging out at the bottom of the river! This box made me happy, too.

Jeanette Jarmon is a Clinton resident, so it makes sense that she got to paint this box. She is an art teacher at Chamberlain-Hunt Academy, and she has taught at Mississippi College and Whitfield. She has been very active in the arts community around Jackson and in Mississippi for many years.











Hwy. 80 and Westhaven - Jason Triplett aka Ming Donkey

I recognized this box as soon as I saw it. I don't think he's quite finished with it, but it's already incredible. Featuring Ming Donkey's iconic Worker characters on both sides, on top of their heads is a tiny rowboat with three little happy guys in it. The message is "Make Voyages," and I think that's exactly what these guys are doing. I can't wait to see this one once it's finished. Jason makes great use of bold colors in his work. This box already stands out, but it will really pop once he's finished with it.









UPDATE: I am really excited to show you the finished product. I just really love Jason's style:





Hwy. 80 and Robinson

There are a few traffic boxes along Hwy. 80 that are obviously primed for painting, but have not been painted yet. Skipping Lynch Street, we move on down to what used to be a really popular area - Highway 80 and Robinson Road, at Metrocenter Mall. This traffic box just happens to be close to the old BeBop Record Shop, so of course I had to park there to get my photos (and snap a few of BeBop too). I miss BeBop so much. This particular store was the one I frequented most in my teen and college years. It was where I got my concert tickets and browsed for the latest Dave Matthews, or Beastie Boys, or whatever I was listening to at the time.

This box is signed, but I can't really figure out who it is. It looks like the initials are "POW," but I'm not 100% sure. If you know, please help! You can leave it in the comments below.

I think the idea behind this box is showing progress, in a way. One side has a man on a tractor, plowing in a field, and it looks like he's stirring up a cloud of flowers. The artwork wraps around the box to reveal a more modern car driving through the city, the same cloud of flowers streaming out the windows. I really like the wrap-around boxes, because I think it's more challenging for the artist to come up with something that is continuous. Photographing them is also a challenge, trying to get the right angle to show the "big picture."

Below the pics of the box are a few I took of good ol' BeBop. May she rest in peace.













Hwy. 80 and Ellis

As you travel down Hwy. 80 toward Clinton, you will notice that some of the traffic boxes are on your right, and others are on the left. When I was photographing these, I actually went all the way down 80 to Clinton and then came back to hit the ones on the other side of the street. But for continuity's sake, I will post these in the order you see them as you travel west on 80.

This one is on the corner of Hwy. 80 and Ellis. At one time, this was a very busy intersection. Sack & Save was up the hill on this corner (and later, also a Wal-Mart), and many of the area's popular restaurants were located here. Now it is considerably less congested, but still a relatively well-traveled intersection.

It's unsigned, but as far as I can tell this box is finished. It features a bird-like creature on one side that reminds me of a woodpecker, and a goldfish - at least I assume it's a goldfish - on the other side. I love the sharp lines the artist uses here, and the yellow is a stark contrast to the muted tones in the background. It definitely adds an eye-catching pop of color to this corner.