Start at the corner of N. Davidson & 36th St
Location: Corner of N. Davidson and 36th Street
Artist: Jason Lee Parker
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @tinker_bird
Story: Artist Jason Lee Parker places the letters N-O-D-A in both English and American Sign Language on his trash receptacle. Self-described tinkerer, artist, and carpenter, he draws his influence from street art, skate culture and his time in a band. Parker skimmed the rough exterior of the pebble rock to make it smooth so that he would be able to apply his stencils. His message is meant to “celebrate diversity and inclusiveness.”
Key Formal Elements:
- Outline and contour lines on the hands
- Cool colors of the background
Make the Connection:
Nationally, 4.51 pounds of trash per person per day is produced. Overall there is a 35% recycling and composting rate.
NoDa is Charlotte’s historic arts district. Artists Paul Sires and Ruth Ava Lyons came to NoDa around 1986 and saw run-down buildings and a potential haven for artists. Check out www.noda.org to learn more.
Walk along 36th to Smelly Cat
Location: Corner of 36th Street and Yadkin in front of Smelly Cat Cafe
Artist: Pam Imhof
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @leftbrainedartist
Story: Artist and educator Pam Imhof found out about this project from a friend. She submitted proposals for animals and flowers and animals got it. Four sides of playful animals such as a salamander, a penguin, a giraffe, and a racoon entertain the viewer. Right before this project, Imhof painted a crosswalk in Plaza-Midwood and hopes to do more public art in Charlotte.
Key Formal Elements:
- Texture of the pebble rock included
- Patterns of color in the animals
Make the Connection:
Every day around 8 million pieces of plastic makes their way into our oceans.
Arts and Culture adds $877 billion in value to the economy, employs 5.1 million people and is 4.5 % of our gross domestic product.
Turn right on Yadkin, walk one block to corner
Location: Corner of 35th Street and Yadkin
Artist: Luvly Moon
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @luvlymoon
Story: Local artist Luvly Moon knew she wanted to be a professional artist by the age of 16. Influences for her art include street art, healing energy, and the desire to create uplifting messages. Connections to Charlotte are included in the colors of teal and purple and if you look closely, the cute characters wear crowns. The artist calls these figures “space beans” and they are characters that travel the cosmos looking for the answers to life’s questions and inspiration. Sounds like all of us.
Key Formal Elements:
- Use of outline on all four sides
- Lots of cool colors but some warm colors on the sides with the yellow stars and pink background
Make the Connection:
According to the EPA, paper and paper products make up 25% of all solid waste.
Charlotte has a long history of supporting the arts. Theatre Charlotte is the oldest community theater in NC, Charlotte Symphony is the first municipal orchestra, and the Mint Museum is the first museum in North Carolina.
Walk along 35th at alley
Location: N. Davidson Street and E. 35thStreet in the alley
Artist: Osiris Rain
Date: 2017
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @osirisrain
Story: We have to mention the original trash can art! One of the leaders of the artistic renaissance in NoDa, Paul Sires commissioned artist Osiris Rain to paint a mural on the private dumpster Sires installed behind the building he owned. Rain painted one of his trademark portraits in grey scale and covered one side with flowers.
Key Formal Elements:
- Realistic highlights on the tip of the nose and forehead
- Cool colors of the blue background contrast with the warm colors of the flowers
Make the connection:
In Oakland, California there is a community led mosaic movement to cover as many trash cans as they can. The movement started in 2010 and spread from neighborhood to neighborhood. School, libraries, recreation centers all participate in making Oakland beautiful.
“There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules. That is what invention is about.” Helen Frankenthaler, artist
Continue walking to corner
Location: At corner of 35th Street and N. Davidson Street
Artist: Grace Stott
Media: Ceramics
Artist Info: @stott_pots
Story: Artist Grace Stott places ceramic faces on three sides and adds lots of colorful neighborhood connections on the fourth side of her trash can. Stretched faces and profiles alternate with white tiles to create a pattern on the three sides that are the same. Make sure you catch the teeny masks made by @fiberess, a local textile artist, on the central figures of dancing girls. Pizza, rainbows, cats, bunnies…I mean what more could you want!
Key Formal Elements:
- Texture
- Free standing sculpture
Make the Connection:
The percentage of residential waste that is recycled has increased from 23% in 2006 to almost 32% in 2013.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania demonstrated that a high concentration of the arts in a city leads to higher civic engagement and a more connected community.
Cross N. Davidson, then cross 35th
Location: In front of Protagonist, corner of 35th and N. Davidson Street
Artist: Ken Knudtsen
Media: Acrylic paint on construction board
Artist Info:@kenknudtsen
Story: Artist Ken Knudtsen is a writer, illustrator and cartoonist. While in art school in NYC, Knudtsen created his graphic novel titled “My Monkey’s Name is Jennifer.” At ComicCon his first year right out of college, he found a publisher and an audience. On his trash can, characters from his book appear as well as John Wick from the action thriller movie. Knudtsen participated in the first year of Can Jam in NoDa and hopes to do more murals.
Key Formal Elements:
- Outline
- Interplay of positive and negative space
Make the Connection:
66% of total material solid waste that is recycled is paper and paper products.
NoDaRioty is the arts committee of the Historic North Charlotte Neighborhood Association. They also commissioned the artist-designed bike racks scattered around the business district.
Walk back up N. Davidson
Location: In front of Jack Beagles on N. Davidson
Artist: Brenda Pokorny
Media: Glass, ceramic tile
Artist Info: @bapokorny
Story: With a nod to the spiritual, Brenda Pokorny creates beautiful mosaic mandalas on her trash can. Mosaics use small individual pieces of tile, glass, ceramics or other materials to create an image. Mosaics are an art form known to the early Greeks and Romans and Pokorny is inspired by her love of the ancient mosaic form. A mandala can represent the cosmos or spirituality, often refers to wholeness and is used in many spiritual traditions.
Key Formal Elements:
- Cool colors of blue
- Functional art
Make the Connection:
According to a 2014 report, 5 million pounds of solid waste is sent to Mecklenburg County landfills every day. That equates to each person producing 2000 pounds of solid waste per year.
Students engaged in arts learning have higher GPAs and lower drop-out rates. And they score higher on standardized tests.
At corner cross 36th
Additional Information
Location: Corner of N. Davidson Street and 36th Street
Artist: Torian Parker
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info:
Story: Perhaps artist Torian Parker was inspired by roads and maps or maybe Mondrian, the Dutch modernist painter.
Key Formal Elements:
- Abstract
- Primary colors plus green, black, and white
Make the Connection:
Recycling rates increased from 6% in 1960 to over 35% in 2017
.In Charlotte there are many organizations that support public art in a variety of ways. Check out www.artsandscience.org, www.brandthemoth.org, www.artpopstreetgallery.com as a starting point.
Cross N. Davison, walk to Neighborhood Theatre
Location: At the corner of the Neighborhood Theatre
Artist: Evan Plante
Media: Vinyl wrap based on screen print
Story: Graphic designer and local business owner, Plante was encouraged by a friend to submit his proposal for the NoDa project. Plante’s idea was to celebrate North Carolina musicians. Images of Thelonius Monk, born in Rocky Mount, George Clinton, born in Kannapolis, Nina Simone, born in Tryon and John Coltrane, born in Hamlet cover the four sides of this trash receptacle. The layered color blocking in a pop vibe inspired by Andy Warhol was digitally printed on vinyl so they would last longer.
Key Formal Elements:
- Highlights on each face
- Abstract use of color
Make the Connection:
In 1960 each person produced 2.68 pounds of material solid waste. By 2005, each person produced 4.69 pounds of material solid waste per day but decreased to 4.51 pounds per person in 2017.
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Edgar Degas, artist