NoDa Fat City Mural ** Removed as of 1/20
Location: 3123 N. Davidson Street side wall at Fat City Lofts
Artists: OBSOE, REBUS, ALOHA, JAFAR
Date: 2008
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @joeyobso, @bigtroublestudios
Story: On the side wall of Fat City Lofts condominium complex, four artists created a mural with connections to the former Fat City Deli. Look closely at the N. Davidson Street facade and you can see the historic storefront of the iconic neighborhood deli and music venue incorporated into the new building. The deli’s original side wall was covered in graffiti but was destroyed during a severe storm.
* As of 1/2020 this mural is painted over in anticipation for another mural. Stay tuned.
Key Formal Elements:
- Heavy use of outline
- Polychromatic color scheme
Make the Connection:
Fat City Lofts developers used a unique process to choose the artists for their project. Knowing that they wanted to honor the graffiti art heritage, they designed a ballot with images of graffiti examples by local artists. Voting took place during a NoDa gallery crawl night when they distributed the ballots. Rather than pick just one artist however, the developers settled on all and paid for their painting expenses. The artists branded themselves as #bigtroublecollective.
NoDa Fibonacci ** Removed 8/20
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:
- Focal point in the center of the spiral
- Loose, expressive splashes of warm and cool colors
** This mural was removed as of August 2020 and a new mural was painted in its place.
Make the Connection:
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!
NoDa Mural ** Removed 8/20
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:
- Geometric patterns evoke African art
- Saturated use of warm colors of the sun creates focal point of the goddess
** This mural was removed as of August 2020 and a new mural was painted in its place.
Make the Connection:
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?
NoDa Mural ** Removed 8/20
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:
- Complementary colors of yellow and violet produce a dramatic effect
- Symmetry is provided with the orange sun at the left and the yellow sun at the right thus linking Nakima’s and Napoletano’s work
** This mural was removed as of August 2020 and a new mural was painted in its place.
Make the Connection:
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.
NoDa Mural ** Removed 9/20
Location: 3306 N. Davidson Street side wall at Salud Beer Shop
Artist: Nick Garris
Date: 2013
Media: Acrylic paint
Story: In a second mural on the side wall of Salud Beer Shop, Artist Nick Garris celebrates this art-supporting business.
Key Formal Elements:
- Symmetrical balance
- Strong use of outline and contour lines in “faces” of beer bottles
** This mural was removed in September 2020.
Make the Connection:
Two beer bottles with faces and arms tilt slightly outward to frame a sign for the beer shop. Their “hands” raise a toast to connect with the meaning of salud. Why might the “eye” of one of the beer bottles be falling out?
NoDa Mural ** Removed 3/20
Location: 453 E. 35th Street side wall of The Blind Pig
Artist: Rosalia Torres-Weiner, with David Merck
Date: 2014
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @redcalacastudio
Story: Artist and activist Rosalia Torres-Weiner is a native of Mexico. Commissioned by The Blind Pig, a popular NoDa bar, this mural juxtaposes episodes from NoDa history with images of its new emergence as an arts area.
** As of 3/20 this mural is painted over in anticipation for a new mural to be painted.
Key Formal Elements:
- The large scale of the white spindle of cotton and the artist’s hand and paint brush balance each side of the painting
- Note the one-point linear perspective of the streetscape
Make the Connection:
On the left side of the mural, Torres-Weiner draws upon Charlotte’s textile manufacturing history. In the early 20th century, North Charlotte became Charlotte’s largest mill village. Highland Park Manufacturing Company Plant No. 3, just down the road, housed 30,000 spindles and employed over 800 laborers. Torres-Weiner skillfully draws attention to the oppressive working conditions in the mill with the bent-over woman laborer surrounded and engulfed by white cotton spindles. Is the artist making a statement connecting mill history and the emergence of the New South skyline above it? Oh, and yep, it is another water tower.
Uptown ArtPop Street Gallery
Check Out ArtPop Street Gallery on the Newsstands!
Charlotte, NC based non-profit ArtPop Street Gallery features the work of local artists on media space and makes art accessible to the community. Since 2014 #ArtPopCLT has promoted 130 local area artists on newsstands, billboards, mixed use development digital displays, the CLT Airport and more! Local artists who may have gone unseen are now receiving commissions, selling more art and making art accessible to ALL.
Holt A Harris is an artist and art teacher at Gaston Day School in Gastonia. Harris find Inspiration at the family farm, Red Boot Ranch, in Clover.
Josh Henderson is a painter and illustrator born and raised in Charlotte. Henderson puts his art on shirts and hosts pop up shops around the city.
See more about the ArtPop mission and work at www.artpopstreetgallery.com or follow them on Instagram at @artpopstreetgallery.
Uptown "Helix/R" ** Removed 9/18
Location: 101 Independence Center
Artist: John Rietta
Date: 1983
Media: Polished stainless steel
Story: American artist John Rietta created this large, abstract sculpture for the plaza of the new twenty-story Independence Center. The site was the original location of Independence Square, where Mecklenburg County was established in 1763, and the town of Charlotte was created in 1768. Independence Center replaced the historic skyscraper called the Independence Building that was erected in 1906 and demolished in 1981.
Key Formal Elements:
- Highly polished texture of the steel
- Shape - curved and delicate shapes of the sculpture contrast with the geometric solidity of the building
** As of 9/7/2018, the sculpture was removed by the development company completing renovations of the plaza. It's location is unknown.
Make the Connection:
Abstract art of the 1970s and 80s sometimes is critically referred to as “plop art.” “Plop art” is a pejorative term used to describe art made for government or corporate plazas that lacks any connectivity to its site, therefore appearing to have been “plopped” down without context. Is there some way to connect this sculpture to its location by considering its potential meanings?
Uptown Charlotte Shout Mural ** Removed 3/20
Location: 101 N. Tryon Street
Artist: John Hairston, Jr.
Date: 2018
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @jagolactus
Story: Artist John Hairston, Jr. grew up drawing superheroes, comics, and cartoons. His Instagram name is a combination of his name and Galactus, a Marvel supervillain. This mural was completed during a live painting competition at the end of Talking Walls, a city-wide mural festival held in 2018. His mural won the competition and became the featured artwork for Charlotte Shout. Charlotte Shout is a celebration of art, music, and ideas that coincided with the commemoration of Charlotte’s 250th anniversary and was held in May 2019.
Key Formal Elements:
- Asymmetrical balance
- Lack of negative space
** As of 3/20 this temporary mural was removed.
Make the Connection:
In this energetic and colorful composition, the artist gives us a larger than life superhero surrounded by symbols of Charlotte. For instance, can you find a sly reference to a hornet or the handlebar top of the Duke Energy building? Notice the many dogwood blossoms dotting the canvas. The flowering blossom of the dogwood tree was designated as the North Carolina state flower in 1941. Look around the 4 corners of this intersection to find one more iconic symbol of Charlotte in the mural. Hint: It tells time.
Plaza Midwood ** Removed 9/20
Title: "Elemental" Mural
Location: 1226 Central Avenue
Artist: Georgie Nakima
Date: 2018
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @gardenofjourney
Story: Georgie Nakima is a Charlotte-based artist who completed this mural for the inaugural Talking Walls Mural Festival in 2018. Three larger-than-life-size female faces boldly occupy the main space of the mural along the side wall of the hair salon. Nakima creates strong and fierce women in her art as a way to empower women of color and all womanhood.
Key Formal Elements:
- Complementary color scheme of the orange background and blue figures
- Use of light blue outline at each edge
** As of September 2020, the mural was removed.
Make the Connection:
The women in her mural suggest the cultural aesthetic of Afrofuturism and its emphasis on examining African culture and technology. Think Black Panther. Nakima’s background in math and the sciences is often expressed in her work through her use of geometry, patterns and nature which connects her art to ancient artistic cultures. Which features of the faces demonstrate strength to you? Which features look futuristic?
Plaza Midwood ** Removed 8/20
Location: 1217 The Plaza, side wall of the former Sushi Guru restaurant
Artist: Darion Fleming
Date: 2018
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @da.flemingo
Story: On a large side wall of the restaurant, a massive fish entices you to dinner.
Key Formal Elements:
- Color – primary colors of red and blue make up the fish
- Space – Lack of negative space brings the fish to the forefront
** NOTE: This mural was removed in August 2020.
Make the Connection:
The artist creates a humorous connection to the type of restaurant formerly located in the building. How specifically does he design the fish?
South End ** Removed 11/20
Location: 1501 S. Mint Street
Artist: Rosalia Torres-Weiner
Date: 2018
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @redcalacastudio
Story: On the side wall of the former Max & Lola Bodega, Torres-Weiner creates a distinct pair of artworks by dividing the wall in two. The upper part features our very recognizable skyline with the Duke Energy “handlebar” tower and the crown of the Bank of America. Look at the wall and then turn the other way to see the skyline in full view. The lower half of the wall features four pairs of angel wings and colorful flowers.
Key Formal Elements:
- Complementary colors of blue and orange in the upper half of the mural create a strong contrast
- Black is used as an outline for shapes in the lower half of the mural
** As of 11/20, this mural was removed.
Make the Connection:
Step into the angel wings. Yes, put on your pair of angel wings. There are wings for adults, for children and even dogs. Be encouraged to seek your dreams with the inscription, “What good are wings, without the courage to fly.”
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South End Yarn Bombing ** Removed 3/20
Location: Charlotte Rail Trail
Artists: Kia Jones, Amy Reader, Sydney Sogol
Date: 2015
Media: Yarn
Artist Info: @amyreaderartist, @sydsthread
Story: This is another Charlotte Rail Trail project and was funded through an Art Place America grant. The artists are three fiber artists. Reader was a local artist who just moved to Portland, OR, Sogal is Durham based.
** As of 3/2020, the yarn bombing was removed as part of the construction at this site.
Key Formal Elements:
- Texture
- Pattern
Make the Connection:
Yarn bombing is a type of graffiti or street art that uses colorful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fiber arts. The artists were inspired by the textile history of South End and the movement of people and cyclists on the Rail Trail.