A GRACIOUS PLENTY: STREET ART

Flagstaff Portal/Sean Griffin

Back when I looked on-line at ideas for a Summer Bucket List, visiting a museum came up regularly. Flagstaff doesn't have an Art Museum per se, but it does have a crazy-active art scene. Some of it is for sale in the plethora of art galleries. My choice was to explore Public Art. Coordinated by the Beautification and and Public Art Commission at the City of Flagstaff, I only knew there was an abundance of it, free for the looking. Some of it I've driven by regularly without ever stopping to enjoy it for its own qualities. It includes murals, mosaics, three-dimensional and bas-relief. And more! The Visitor Center has various maps, and I picked up the Flagstaff Public Art Map that includes a map and description of 119 pieces.

119 pieces being too big of a bite, I decided to start with a 1.5 mile walking tour of 26 of the pieces in the downtown-ish area, using a separate map I printed from on-line. I had Ron drop me off on his way to do some errands, and pick me up when he was finished in a couple hours. I had no idea how long it would take. Holy smokes, I've got some fun cut out for me! In 2.5 hours I looked at 14 of the pieces, plus three that weren't listed and one that is brand-new. Already I can tell this is a great and long-term activity.

Many of these pieces were very large; for example, the whole side of a building. I found for the most part they were best viewed at a distance. Close up not only wasn't the proper perspective, but the background material got too distracting. Photo-wise,I found it more effective to take a distance photo then crop later than to try to do close up shots. Join me now for a curated selection!