A billboard for this year’s Féıle, which begins on August 1st and, in addition to the various musical acts shown here, includes an exhibition in the Conway Mill on the murals of Belfast and Los Angeles. This hoarding is at the junction of Kinnaird Street and the Antrim Road.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01194 irelands’ biggest community arts festival and summer school 1-11 august 2013 http://www.feilebelfast.com
“”In my country we go to prison first and then become President” – Madiba, Nelson Mandela, freedom lover, friend of Ireland.”
Above is a new mural on Northumberland Street (not on Divis Street’s international wall) in honour of the ailing Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday, on July 18th. Painted by Lucas Quigley (you can see a signature and a telephone number in the lower right), the mural features Mandela, the flags of Ireland and South Africa, and the Sinn Féin logo (in contrast with the dissident flyers further up to the left, shown on 2013-07-17). Detail below. The photo reproduced is probably this Getty image.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Republican flyers on Northumberland Street, next to the ‘famous faces’/30th anniversary of the hunger strike mural (and to the right of that, a new Nelson Mandela mural which we’ll feature in a few days).
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01191 vote online @ http://www.1916societies.com
The Red Army are the supporters of Cliftonville football team which this past (2012-2013) season won both the Irish League Cup and the League Championship. The mural on the right had side, detailed below, looks in such good condition because it was touched up on July 17th —in time for that night’s Champions League match against Celtic — after being vandalized on the 16th.
There is a good summary of Cliftonville history (including their present-day successes), as well as a picture of the “Let’s All Do The Huddle” mural painted for the occasion of the Celtic visit, at the blog Four-Four-Two.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Members of local graffit artist crew TMN (whose names are listed in the lower left) have collaborated on this new anti-capitalist mural in College Court in the city centre, attacking The Sun (newspaper) and the recently deceased former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, who is shown here with glowing eyes: “The Sun will make you blind life people say … cost you your sight as well as 30p a day.”
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Copyright © 2013 Extramural Activity
X01179 the most nasty jest nota reck bore rase aken kanuz anco ether dex
Various local industries of the past are named at the corner of My Lady’s Road and Ravenhill Road in east Belfast: Downshire Pottery [1787-1806], Ravenhill Iron Works [fl. 1910], Ridell And Sons [a grocer/trader in the 1800’s?], Tenants Textiles [probably the still-existing Tennants Textiles], Cromac Distillery [1776-1930], Belfast Vitriol Works [fl. 1852], Sydney Pentland [motor repair 1956-2005?]. An old (wooden) lamp-post in the foreground is painted in red-white-and-blue.
Other businesses, not pictured, include Lagan Engine Works, Charles Hurst, Spence Bryson Factory, Co-Op Bakery And Diary [Dairy], Jam Factory, Inglis, Hugh J. Scott, Devonshire Laundry, Royal Bakery.
The piece was installed in 2012-07 (Daniela Balmaverde).
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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A cunning mouse is about to drop an anvil on an unsuspecting cat from the top of the electrical box at the south (city hall) end of Fountain Street in Belfast city centre. Red Ant looks on.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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“This memorable [sic] plague [sic] is dedicated to the 1st victim of the present troubles, Sammy McLarnon, RIP, who was brutally murdered in his own home at 37 Herbert St by the RUC on 15th Aug., 1969.” For more, see this Irish Times article about a 1999 community inquest.
On the wider wall is the graffito “Cara don’t represent me”.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Today we feature the main panel of the South wall of the Diego Rivera Detroit Industry frescoes in the Detroit Institute of Arts, which shows the construction of an automobile (probably the Model B – we will see the V-8 engine being produced on the north wall) at Ford’s River Rouge plant in Dearborn. The wide shot is above and more detailed shots of the lower left, the right third, and the lower central portion follow.
Here is a video of the Rouge plant in 1938 and 1939 …
See also: Infant In The Bulb Of A Plant (East) | Life & Death (West) | The Assembly Line (North)
Here is the right third – in the bottom right corner (above the strip with panels charting a day in the life of workers) can be seen Edsel Ford, of Ford Motors, and William Valentiner, director of the Detroit Institute of Arts at the time Rivera painted the frescoes (1932-1933).
The lower left portion …
Below are three shots of the lower central section, of increasing proximity to the work; the third demonstrates the amazing level of detail of the frescoes.
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Copyright © 2013 Cathal Woods
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Brigada Ramona Parra (BRP) is the mural-painting wing of the Chilean Communist Party. Some of its members came to Belfast in 2009 and worked with local republican and loyalist muralists to put up this board at the southern entrance to Ormeau Park. The colours are still vibrant, but the board on which the piece was painted is deteriorating significantly. 200 images of the mural being painted can be found here. BelTel report of the launch.
Below: An extra-wide (2500 pixel) straight-on shot and a youtube video of BRP pieces 1968-2011.
Update 2013-09-06: Write-up of BRP on BBC.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Extramural Activity 