NoDa is the historic arts district of Charlotte and on this walk there are some of the earliest murals to some of the most recent art. The artwalk is mostly murals with a couple of sculptures. There is a "Worth the Walk" to Can Jam CLT which takes you under the light rail as an option if you don't mind the additional walking. Cross at crosswalks and tag us @artwalksclt and the artist if you take any photos.
Title: "Als ich Chan: A Tribute to NoDa"
Location: 3205 N. Davidson Street on side wall of Jack Beagle’s
Artist: William Puckett
Date: 2010
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @mr_puckett
Story: This is a fantastic starting place for a walk in NoDa. One of the original NoDa art projects, William Puckett put out a call for volunteers to be included in this mural. 274 community members showed up and each one is included in the mural. Puckett is one of the first mural artists to produce substantial work in Charlotte. He estimates his murals cover over 30,000 square feet of Charlotte walls. Puckett recently moved to Scotland to purse his doctorate.
Key Formal Elements:
The title of this artwork, “Als Ich Chan: A Tribute to NoDa” is a nod to Puckett’s interest in art history. “Als Ich Chan” is from an inscription on a painting by Flemish Renaissance painter Jan Van Eyck. It translates to “As Best I Can.” Puckett received no commission for this work, working on it for 18 months before finishing. It covers roughly 1200 square feet. Wait. Is that a water tower?
Location: On N. Davidson Street
Artists: Brenda Pokorny
Date: 2020
Media: Ceramic tile and glass
Artist Info: @bapokorny,
Story: NoDaRioty, the arts committee for the Historic North Charlotte Neighborhood Association, partnered with the City of Charlotte and the Neighborhood Matching Grants Program to commission artists to design existing trash receptacles. A call to artists was sent out and eight artists were chosen to produce their designs.
Key Formal Elements:
Eight artists and eight different designs.
With a nod to the spiritual, Brenda Pokorny created beautiful mosaic mandalas on hers along this street.
Find all eight in the business district by taking the NoDa Trash Can ArtWalk.
Location: 3215 N. Davidson Street front wall of Stu’s Barrell Shop
Artist:
Date:
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info:
Story: Salvador Deli is the former business located in this building and the original commissioner of the mural. The name of the deli was a play on the name of famous Surrealist artist Salvador Dali. You can find the face of Dali, with his signature handlebar mustache, incorporated into each of the wine bottles on the upper part of the wall.
Key Formal Elements:
This mural is an appropriation of one of the more well-known Dali paintings. Dali challenges the usual view of elephants as symbols of strength and stability by giving them thin, spindly legs. This encourages the viewer to question our assumptions and enjoy the playful and illogical schemes of the Surrealist artists.
Title: “Watering Hole”
Location: 3221 N. Davidson Street
Artist: Matt Moore
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @puckmcgruff
Story: Muralist legend Matt Moore worked for weeks in NoDa on this large commission for the new Bargarita restaurant. With a stage set for a muralist on display, Moore painted and interacted with passerbys. The love was real and NoDa adores its artists. With a change in ownership from the former Solstice Tavern, three existing murals were removed at this site. Art Walks is keeping the three former murals on this building in the artwalk as a nice record of the history of this prominent site. They are noted as “Removed.”
Key Formal Elements:
Diversity. Unity. The message is simple and powerful. From the artist, “no matter where you’re from, or what you look like, or what you do…we all require the same bare necessities and collectively are one beating heart.”
Which figure are you? Which figure do you want to be? And remember to celebrate all of us!
Location: 3221 N. Davidson Street side wall of former Solstice Tavern
Artist: Jonay di Ragno
Date: 2017
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @jonaydiragno
Story: This mural is part of a collaboration between three artists and Brand the Moth, a local non-profit creating community-based public art projects. Jonay di Ragno completed the mural on the far left of the side wall. Di Ragno describes himself as an Abstract Expressionist artist and was raised in both Spain and the Caribbean. Fibonacci refers to the Fibonacci Sequence, a mathematical series of numbers. The numbers are often expressed in nature and are seen to have divine or perfect meanings.
Key Formal Elements:
** This mural was removed as of August 2020 and a new mural is being painted in its place.
Di Ragno uses the familiar form of the spiral. The spiral is one of the oldest known symbols in art and is often associated with suggestions of life, death, the rising and setting of the sun, and creation. Here the loose bands of the spiral draw you into the center to suggest an energy source and connect to the name of the former Solstice Tavern. This mural has its own Instagram @noda_charlotte_mural_fibonacci. Take your picture and post it!
Location: 3221 N. Davidson Street corner of former Solstice Tavern
Artist: Georgie Nakima
Date: 2017
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @gardenofjourney
Story: This mural is part of a collaboration between three artists and Brand the Moth, a local non-profit creating community-based public art projects. Georgie Nakima completed the mural at the corner of the building. Nakima’s background in math and the sciences is often expressed in her work through the use of geometry, patterns and nature.
Key Formal Elements:
** This mural was removed as of August 2020 and a new mural is being painted in its place.
Nakima has the toughest task of the three artists in this collaboration with the job of connecting the other two around the corner of the building. She connects to the side wall painting through the use of some circular patterns but opts for a strong and dominant goddess figure at the corner to balance the equally strong profile to the right of the door by Napoletano. What similarities can you find that connect or unify all three of these separate paintings?
Location: 3221 N. Davidson Street front wall of former Solstice Tavern
Artist: Nick Napoletano
Date: 2017
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @napoletanoart
Story: This mural is part of a collaboration between three artists and Brand the Moth, a local non-profit creating community-based public art projects. Nick Napoletano completed the mural on the front facade facing N. Davidson Street. Classically trained and educated both in the United States and Italy, Napoletano works in Charlotte and other cities all over the country.
Key Formal Elements:
** This mural was removed as of August 2020 and a new mural is being painted in its place.
This painting is an exploration of contrasts. The stability and anchor of the stationary portrait of the young woman is contrasted with the free-flowing movement of the bluish, purple ribbons. Perhaps that is a metaphor for the neighborhood. Look closely at the ribbons. Small, outlined symbols are scattered in the ribbons. Their designs came from a social media call put out by the artist. Napoletano’s interest in “Augmented Reality,” or AR is evolving and eventually these murals will move.
Location: N. Davidson Street at TAC Gallery
Artist: Poet Was Taken
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @poetwastaken
Story: Los Angeles-based street artist Poet Was Taken combines stencils, paste ups, and text to create a type of guerilla lovefare. All in the color PINK. NoDa just had a @poetwastaken take over and three pieces were created in the central business area and one new mural was created at CanJam across the railroad tracks.
Key Formal Elements:
This installation by the artist uses the front façade of the TAC Gallery even incorporating the small floral rosette medallions in the text. Each street art installation by this artist has some sort of text written as love poetry. The text celebrates love or a message of love in some way.
Title: Evening Muse Mural
Location: 3227 N. Davidson Street
Artist: Stencil Spray, Jbird.the.vandal
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info:@stencilspray, @jbird.the.vandal
Story: Commissioned by the owner of Evening Muse, a live music venue, @jbird.the.vandal and @stencilspray painted this mural as an homage to music. @stencilspray is founding member of the Tough Ass Crew, an artist’s collective and @jbird,the.vandal is one of their artists. Step around the corner and pop into their gallery located at 3225 N. Davidson Street. You can see more of these two artist collaborations at CanJam CLT, one of the next stops on the artwalk.
Key Formal Elements:
The owner and the artists brainstormed about a mural of a musician from the Carolinas. Dizzy Gillespie, born in South Carolina, is pictured in one of his iconic poses. Pouched cheeks and bent instrument, Gillespie is known for his musical innovations, creation of Bebop music, and as a trumpet virtuoso. Enjoy the art of stenciling on this large wall!
Title: “Self Love”
Location: 416 E. 36th Street
Artist: Abel Jackson with assistance from Big Trouble Studios
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @artbyabel
Story: Local arts organization ArtPop Street Gallery worked with Sales Force to commission this large-scale mural (24 feet by 80 feet). Abel Jackson executed a captivating mural in his largest scale mural yet. Jackson has several other murals across the city including one on the Mad About Murals artwalk in uptown.
Key Formal Elements:
Jackson paints three super realistic portraits against a gray geometric background with the words Hear, Imagine, Be, and Love. His positive messaging and portraits inspired by his friends and family bring hope and kindness to our community. Which figure do you feel most like today or most days? Pro Tip: Make sure that you walk up the stairs to really appreciation the true scale of this mural.
Location: 416 E. 36th Street
Artist: Brett Toukatly and Mike Wirth
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @B_twokat, @mikewith
Story: Brett Toukatly and Mike Wirth collaborated on this massive mural on the side of Wooden Robot’s The Chamber. Toukatly, an illustrator and muralist, was the winner of the inaugural Battle Walls competition in 2019. He was also a featured artist in the Mint Museum’s ConstellationCLT exhibit in Fall 2019. Wirth, founding member of both the Southern Tiger Collective and the Talking Walls Mural Festival, incorporates his signature flow fields.
Key Formal Elements:
What’s in a name? Breweries often have fun names and Wooden Robot does not disappoint. With the opposition of tradition and innovation in the wood and robot combination, the name reminds us to keep both present in our lives and to attempt the impossible sometimes. I mean, can you build a robot out of wood?
Also, Toukatly’s powerful, slightly menacing robots contrast with the fun, colorful patterns and shapes of the flow fields.
Title: Can Jam CLT
Location: 3224 Benard Ave at Unorthodox Studios
Artists: Varies Each Year
Date: 2016 - 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Event Info: @canjamclt
Story: Can Jam CLT is a street art experience. Started in 2016 by local artist Osiris Rain, Can Jam CLT brings local artists together to paint an entire wall of a building. It is an invitational event, meaning artists are selected and curated by the organizer each year. Its goal is to connect the street art community, celebrate the artists and street art family, and increase awareness about street art in the community.
** Note: In 2020, due to COVID-19, the artists are practicing social distancing and only painting one or two at a time instead of a large public event. If you visit, be aware of current safety guidelines and stay safe.
Key Formal Elements:
The back wall of the Unorthodox Studio building facing NoDa proper is divided off and each artist is given a space to work. Viewing from the light rail platform or The Chamber is spectacular. You often have to travel around the city to see a lot of work by different artists. The best part here is that you can see all the artist’s styles, tendencies, and trademark features in ONE place. There’s a Rain female portrait with eyes closed (trademark feature), Mike Wirth flow fields, a Matt Moore wolf, a Jen Hill pop art female. And so many more. Go get to know your Charlotte artists! And make sure you walk all the way around the building to see the graffiti wall!
Location: 424 E. 36th Street Parking Deck Panels
Artist: Holly Keogh in collaboration with Goodyear Arts
Date: 2017
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @hckeogh, @goodyeararts
Story: Developer Crescent Communities commissioned artist Holly Keogh to cover the side of the parking deck located at the NoDa light rail station and the NOVEL Noda Apartments. The parking deck provides much needed parking for the mixed-use development as well as public parking for the neighborhood. Keogh created the design and worked with artists from Goodyear Arts, a local non-profit providing artist residencies, to implement the mural.
Key Formal Elements:
In this design, Keogh considers a familiar, yet nostalgic image of two people talking on the phone as a way to suggest connection. The artist suggests both the newly found literal connection provided by the long-awaited light rail line and the connection provided by a new community. The iconic NoDa water tower is included. Can you remember how many times artists have used the water tower in their work in NoDa?
Title: Confetti Stripes Mural
Location: 424 E. 36th Street next to Jeni's Ice Cream
Artist: Evelyn Henson
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @evelyn_henson
Story: Charlotte artist Evelyn Henson captured our hearts with her “painting happy art to brighten your day” recent South End project. Now we are seeing stripes in NoDa! Henson started painting 6 years ago and this mural marks her second public art project. I’d say she’s found success at this mural thing.
Key Formal Elements:
Instagram walls. Who knew we needed them. Henson makes the transition from her brightly colored more intimate scaled art to work on a public mural and enter the popularity of Instagrammable walls. This spot may eventually rival the “Fibonacci Mural” in NoDa as Charlotte’s most popular Instagram mural. Which is your favorite? Make sure you use the tag #confettistripeswall and #artwalksclt if you take a selfie.
Title: Meta
Location: 424 E. 36th Street entrance
Artist: Ruth Ava Lyons
Date: 1995
Media: Glass tesserae and concrete
Artist Info: @ruthavalyonsart
Story: Ruth Ava Lyons and partner Paul Sires are artist legends in Charlotte. The artists found studio space in the NoDa area in the early 1980s, invested in properties and artists, and started the artistic renaissance of the neighborhood. Their gallery was called Center of the Earth Gallery and was located on N. Davidson Street. Lyons created her mosaic piece in 1995 but it recently found a new home in a permanent location in NoDa.
Key Formal Elements:
Lyons works in the mosaic method which involves placing individual, small, squares of glass in concrete to create an image. The individual pieces of glass are referred to as tesserae. Lyons includes a butterfly as the central image as a sign of transformation and connection to the NoDa renaissance. She encircles the butterfly with symbols of the area’s past as a textile mill village. What symbols can you find? A textile mill? A spindle? Cotton?
Location: 436 E. 36th Street
Artist: Mike Wirth with Brett Toukatly
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @mikewirth, @b_twokat
Story: Mike Wirth is often working behind the scenes on projects, so it is fun to highlight his work in front of the building this time. As a co-founder of the Talking Walls city-wide mural festival and a co-founder of the Southern Tiger Collective, Wirth is a local leader in the mural scene. He also teaches graphic design and digital arts at Queens University of Charlotte.
Key Formal Elements:
On the side wall of the Industrious NoDa location, Wirth wants to “represent that energy, action, and richness of the NoDa neighborhood” as the foremost arts district in Charlotte. The abstract colors and shapes bounce across the side wall and create movement and activity. Wirth’s signature flow fields unify the composition.
Location: 424 E. 36th Street loading dock mural at Novel NoDa Apartments
Artists: Matt Hooker, Matt Moore
Date: 2017
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @hookermedia, @puckmcgruff
Story: Matt Hooker and Matt Moore are some of the more prolific mural artists working in Charlotte. They bring diverse styles to each project. Here the artists cover loading dock doors with a hyper-realist portrait of a real woman @amandataylor80 and a writing quill. The mural was commissioned by @liveNOVELnoda.
Key Formal Elements:
Look closely at the face of the woman. The shadows of the face are created using delicate cursive writing. In the painting of the writing quill, notice the same technique in the band of red. In descriptions of the work, the artists use the hashtag “#writeyourownstory. How does this hashtag help the viewer connect with potential meanings of this piece? Now can you connect that to a sense of place in NoDa?
Location: Along E. 35th Street in front of parking lot
Artist:
Date:
Media: Metal
Artist Info:
Story:
Key Formal Elements:
The artist incorporates a variety of tools, blades, pipes, rebar, chains, and sheets of metal to visually connect the viewer to the industrial history of NoDa. With the textile mills and machinery parts being reused in the area’s renaissance, the neighborhood’s industrial history lives again. This time it is a simple, functional screen to hide vehicles in a parking lot.
Location: On N. Davidson Street
Artists: Ken Knudtsen
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic Paint on construction board
Artist Info: @kenknudtsen
Story: NoDaRioty, the arts committee for the Historic North Charlotte Neighborhood Association, partnered with the City of Charlotte and the Neighborhood Matching Grants Program to commission artists to design existing trash receptacles. A call to artists was sent out and eight artists were chosen to produce their designs.
Key Formal Elements:
Eight artists and eight different designs.
Artist Ken Knudtsen is a writer, illustrator and cartoonist. On his trash can, characters from his book, "My Monkey's Name is Jennifer" appear as well as John Wick from the action thriller movie . Knudtsen participated in the first year of CanJam and hopes to do more murals.
Find all eight in the business district by taking the NoDa Trash Can ArtWalk.
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