Wall Art

Nearly everyone who lives in a home has at one time or another had to decide what to do with their walls. That is, what color or colors to paint them, and what kinds of pictures to hang on them. When you were a kid you might have put a lot of posters on your walls. I ringed the top of my bedroom with pennants from baseball games. Other kids had pictures of cars or whatever else they were passionate about.

Some people like their walls sparse. Some like filling every space with pictures and knick knacks, a mosaic of images and objects. We ourselves like things on our walls, with some rooms more dressed than others. Somehow there can be a restfulness in a room sparsely decorated with a few select paintings or pictures.

Many people collect art to hang on their wall spaces. And businesses, too. The first showing of my paintings was at a showcase in the Bernardsville Theater (NJ) back in the early Seventies. I took it for granted at the time and didn't realize (a) that many businesses support the arts this way and (b) that is was such a privilege to be so displayed.

A lot of businesses have relationships with local galleries which provide art for their halls and office walls. Many businesses even have a curator to insure that the walls of their environments are suitably decorated. The Venue @ Mohaupt Block in Duluth's Lincoln Park region has artists on a monthly rotation, in part to support local artists but also to keep the walls and halls interesting for the businesses that reside there. Banks, theaters, restaurants and coffee shops all have walls that can be enriched by local artists' works.

Assignment: Over the next week pay attention to how many walls you see art on, and how many walls could be improved by having something a little more interesting there.

Photos here: Top right, a bathroom wall being remodeled, after the tiles were removed. The wall seemed to me a work of art.

Bottom right, the back wall of my garage/studio is a mural as well as a space to hang some of my framed pieces. (Click to enlarge)