During Art Basel week 2009, Shepard Fairey created a magnificent one block wide mural on wood panels facing NW 2nd avenue for Country Club Gallery. After it's completion, my route to work slightly changed so that I could look at this mural on my commute to the gallery. Two blocks down, the now famous Wynwood Walls. Slowly but surely Wynwood is becoming a beautiful urban landscape, graced by the world's best artists and their murals. Shepard's piece was incredible. Beautifully big and perfectly designed with enough visual impact for a viewer driving by at 30mph and detailed enough for those who stopped. Fairey is one of my favorite artists, so many times my coffee breaks became strolls that went from his piece at Wynwood Walls to the grassy area in front of the Country Club mural. In my opinion the Country Club Gallery sponsored mural was the strongest piece Shepard Fairey created during his visit to Miami last year. It was so amazing to look at, until what I feared would be inevitable in a post Art Basel Wynwood happened. One day a panel was missing. A few days later, another one. Then another one, and in less than three weeks the rest was gone.
For a while I felt like dropping nukes, but now just wonder where those panels are; as if scheduling a visit to their captors den would be a possibility. Wonder if it was a single thief in repeated attacks or was it multiple unrelated takers? Curious if the panels are together or in multiple living rooms across the city. Those curiosities most likely will never be answered, all I know is that they are not on my way to work anymore.
Shepard Fairey and his mural on NW 2nd Avenue.
1 comment:
What a shame. People fail to realize the impact of street art. It is there for everyone to admire and appreciate, just like you did when driving by. Thieves are taking away the little indulgences from the rest of us, from the city, from its growth, from its development.
The sad part is that wherever these panels are, they are not being fully appreciated, I can guarantee that. How can I be so certain? Because anyone who truly appreciated these pieces, would have never taken them.
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