Thursday, July 26, 2012

Indoor And Outdoor Art In Fort Worth, Texas





Anybody who know me well, is aware of my feelings about Outdoor Art.  It has to be very traditional and done by someone highly skilled for me to accept it.  Very little non traditional Outdoor Art works for me.  For example, in Seattle there is a huge, Million Dollar mechanical silhouette called Hammering Man.  I think it is the biggest waste of money in a city known for money wasting.  It wasn't even well made.  When they first tried to mount it on its base, it fell off.  Which did have one benefit - it took 6 months to repair it and for 6 more months, we didn't have the huge black cartoonish eyesore cluttering up the downtown sidewalk.  For another thing, it was The Hammering Man!  Not a Seattle thing - make it the fish throwing man, the airplane building man, or just a fishing man - that I could understand.  Another piece of outdoor art is the confusing 30 foot tall Typewriter Eraser, with its mangled bristles,which no one under the age of 50 understands.  Don't get me started!
But this Cutout Man in Downtown Fort Worth, Texas just blew me away!  It's perfectly executed and germane to the neighborhood.  Briefcase and cowboy hat - love it!  It helps that John's handsome face graces one of the cutout legs.
Speaking of John, there he is next to a Jumbo Cowboy and Horse statue in the downtown Barnes and Noble.  You all remember how I picked him out for his looks, don't you?  He's still got it!
(Tomorrow's my birthday!!) 

7 comments:

  1. Happy, happy birthday dear Beryl! Hope it is the best one ever...
    Great street art in Fort Worth (we have visited and have friends there), especially the cow art. The cut-out cowboy is great fun. I am happy to see any public art, abstract or figurative, as long as it looks good and adds a vibe to the precinct.
    PS Yes, he is v.good-looking!

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  2. I remember looking into your crib, and with youthful excitement, announcing to our brother Mike ... "Beryl's one year old today, Mike!" You smiled back. Happy Birthday Sis!

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  3. Hi Patricia! Fort Worth is where I would like to live if I needed to move to Texas. It reminds me of Portland, Oregon, without the grey skies.

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  4. Hi Don! Weren't we living in the trailer parked by the orange grove then? Good Times! You have always been a terrific brother! Thanks for helping to keep me alive through all those accident prone years!

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  5. The cut-out man is interesting! In KC, they have a new sculpture outside the Nelson Gallery that is a stainless steel full-height tree trunk...and it captured DH and my imaginations!

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  6. Hi Terri - I'll have to check that out in September. Sometimes that outdoor art really resonates. As with indoor art, of course.

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  7. I follow you on the 'art'. We have the Angel of the North, which is not really anything to do with anything. On the other hand, people are used to it now and it's a landmark that says you are now in the North. People have a hard time believing me when I say that cowboy hats and boots were standard business wear (with a suit) in OKC when I was growing up. They think I'm pulling their leg. Very appropriate piece that cutout. Thanks for sharing.

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