Is Picasso the standard to aspire? Ghetto? Ever heard of Horace Pippin or Romare Bearden? Wow...speechless.
jim- what a gift you have, and what a treasure to find and share with us. the monochrome is incredible- too many folks wish they were able to paint like that.
kudos to you for recognizing that we can never really understand so many of the worlds we co-exist with, even when we want to. but grief is something that transcends every social strata. so is hope.
re. WOW's comment.
before anyone else harps on me about any other famous outsider or folk artists, yes, I am aware of the respect certain among them have achieved even in the most snooty museums and annoying manhattan galleries.
I wrote this, however, to speak to the beauty of discovering a piece of anonymous and truly unpretentious street art that seemed to resonate with universal and ancient themes. I only brought up Picasso because of the bluish-monochrome and the fact that Picasso was a name that any idiots who want to say this isn't "art" will know.
And no, it's not a Picasso; but no Picasso has ever moved me as much as this work did. Why be a dick, WOW?
I just found you guys through Design*Sponge and have only read the "About Us" section of your page, but I already think you seem like totally awesome people!
As is to be expected, of course, being from San Francisco and all (I hail from Santa Cruz 
)
I've been reading your blog for a few months and have never commented. But I just wanted to let you know that this post is beautiful. Having recently experienced two losses myself while living in Baltimore, a city where scenes like the one depicted in the painting happen literally every day, this really got to me, in a good way. That may sound cliche or something. But anyway, thanks for sharing this.
This is extraordinary - I was so moved by your post. It inspires me to look more closely at some of the fantastic street art in my industrial neighborhood.
I appreciate that you documented this art here, sharing it with all of us... I imagine in a few decades or even sooner, that building and the art along with it will be demolished.
I doubt it will last more than a few months.
Exegi monumentum aere perennius
regalique situ pyramidum altius,
quod non imber edax, non Aquilo impotens
possit diruere aut innumerabilis
annorum series et fuga temporum:
non omnis moriar multaque pars mei
uitabit Libitinam; usque ego postera
crescam laude recens. dum Capitolium
scandet cum tacita uirgine pontifex;
dicar, qua uiolens obstrepit Aufidus
et qua pauper aquae Daunus agrestium
regnauit populorum, ex humili potens,
princeps Aeolium carmen ad Italos
deduxisse modos. sume superbiam
quaestam meritis et mihi Delphica
lauro cinge uolens, Melpomene, comam.
ha! but is there anything more ephemeral than a blog?
heartburn, maybe.
I was just off looking for a good translation of the Horace I posted above (no way I'm posting my own doggish efforts). Here's Ezra Pound's:
This monument will outlast metal and I made it
More durable than the king's seat, higher than pyramids.
Gnaw of wind and rain?
Impotent
The flow of years to break it, however many.
Bits of me, many bits, will dodge all funeral,
O Libitina-Persephone and, after that,
Sprout new praise. As long as
Pontifex and the quiet girl pace the Capitol
I shall be spoken where the wild flood Aufidus
Lashes, and Danus ruled the parched farmland:
Power from lowliness: "First brought Aeolic song to Italian fashion"—
Wear pride, work's gain! O Muse Melpomene,
By your will bind the laurel.
My hair. Delphic laurel.
Anyway. I'm happy Brice got his bit kleos aphthiton, though perhaps (like Achilles) he'd have been better off long-lived and unmemorialized.
For what it's worth, I think Picasso's an apt comparison.
i actually liked your picasso refernce. i don't know too much about art but it immediately reminded me of guernica. nothing more than a different time and different war. i'm sure the emotions are the same.
That painting is so beautiful. I'm blown away by how much emotion and different levels are depicted. When I see truly wonderful street art I wish I could find the artist and tell him/her how their art has touched my life.
Powerful. Thanks for bringing this to your blog. I used to work with some pretty amazing kids from rough neighborhoods whose artwork was very similar--heartwrenching, mournful, and able to communicate far more than words ever could.
if this were hung in an art museum, there would be thousands of white boys like yourself analyzing, explicating, comparing, admiring. yeah, it's a little amateur-y, i guess, but it's about 9308932 times better than i could do, and unlike some seemingly mass-produced art, comes from a place of real emotion.
i also do agree that the composition and the feeling seem like older/ traditional art, in a way, if you take away the guns and replace them with swords.
Awesome post. Long time reader, infrequent commentor, but this really touched me. I'm gonna send a link to some friends who I know will appreciate it as much as I do.
I guess I disagree with your belief that we're unable to understand the world the painting depicts. I don't believe we need to experience things empirically to understand them, because what are books good for then? Also, no amount of money, education and privilege can protect you from true suffering.
Loss is loss, in the city, in suburbs - like you pointed out, *ancient* art connects you to the mural - the more things change, the more they stay the same.
I see the mural not only as tribute to or remembrance of Brice but as a monument to the folly of men - something we can all get in on, no matter where we're from.
Amateurish? Perhaps not. This street artist is a master at depicting emotion. Somewhat similar to this:
http://www.galenfrysinger.com/
or...gradalajara.htm
Orozco painted many things that he didn't experience first hand, but through living in its historical wake he was able to depict such anguish. At times, I feel that you write from this type of perspective as well. I'm sure there are tragedies you haven't experienced in the many places you've lived, but the simple act of your existence in these areas help you tap into these emotions.
Beautifully written. Exquisitely articulated. Thank you.
Yesterday in the junior composition class I teach, we were discussing a quote from one of the essays we read. It was: “Our expressions of national self-esteem no longer generate public sculpture. Instead, we get commercials....Americans no longer find their symbols in metal monoliths but rather only in corporate icons."
We discussed whether this was true...whether national pride (or tragedy) are entirely commercial or whether they still find expression in any kind of artistic outpouring.
While this piece is an exception in that it represents a voice that might otherwise not be heard instead of the voice of the American "majority," I am comforted to see that art is still a means of expression.
Total lurker here, but I just had to comment. I just love the way you have of describing this piece. Sober, articulate, but seemingly effortless writing. Just awesome.
There is similar street art here in Montreal, and it is, as is this piece, simply breath-taking.
It is a really powerful work of art. I've seen things like this in other neighborhoods in Pittsburgh as I've ridden through them on the bus, and they've always struck me, and struck me more when the building was suddenly painted or torn down. It's almost a physical pain.
Thanks for showing everyone the beauty and diversity of my hometown.
That was beautiful.
Thank you.
Now the temporary memorial to Brice and the events that inspired this will be a lot more permanent because of this post. That's cool. Thanks Dutch.
This is amazing, and your breakdown was lovely.
(hit Publish too soon)
I'm always afraid to say what it is that I like about the art that I like, because I feel very uninformed. Artists talking about art make me feel uncomfortable and intimidated and like a little kid who wants to yell Emperor's New Clothes. But you did a beautiful job of articulating what you liked and how it made you feel. I wish I could do the same.
Thank you for sharing. I think this post is going to stick with me for a long time.
Man, who needs The Wire, right?
If I had seen this painting, I would have cringed, walked away. My family has been touched by two much gun violence for me to look at such anguish at all objectively.
But I'm glad that I saw it here. Thanks Jim, for seeing it and writing about it. I wish I could think of more to say, but I can't.
uh, yeah. two = too.
i just found you via grace at design*sponge.
that is an incredible post, thank you for sharing.
i am just about to launch a collective project that will be in awareness of human suffering, i will launch it today, would love you to wander over and take a look, all feedback and input welcome! thanks again, i'll be back.
Wow! What an amazing painting and an true treasure to find.
Thank you so much for sharing that. The way you explained every detail was amazing. I just found your blog and it looks very interesting.
Cool. I really enjoyed that. Thanks for sharing.
Bossy just fell head-first into that work: theirs (creating it), and yours (describing it.)
what Bossy said. it's beautiful, painting and experience, as you tell it. and Romare Bearden's great, but yeh, WOW is being a bit of a dick.
Bit of a dick?
I'll take that...
Glad you could find the beauty of an artist's work outside of your "realm" of artistic understanding. I'm sure when you move back to the suburbs when your hips begin to widen and your ass begins to rise up your back, you can reminisce to all your ivy league friends about how you briefly slummed in an urban environment and get pats on the back as you talk about your "war stories"
So from one dick to another...
Pot calling kettle black=Pretentious elitist visiting the "ghetto"
P.S. And yes you can learn everything about the "ghetto" from watching The Wire**sigh**
No worries, this dick will not be back...go back to living in your ivory tower while assuring others yes, you can visit "the ghetto" if you are "smart", the animals won't bite. And I'm the dick?
Glad you and Wood are finding a life in Detroit. My birthtown...but not where I live. Despite the dark side of that town, it has much to offer. And, the best hidden secret is upstate...especially around the thumb. Enjoy your children and Michigan, especially enjoy your break from the law, you made a wise choice to shelve that part of your life for awhile.
Appreciate the music list...great stuff.
Thanks for sharing this window into the world...
btw. We share some things in common. My grandfather always used to call me Juniper when I was little, and Chaplin and Whitman among my top inspirations. funny that. (-:
thanks for posting that. it is very touching.
nicky x
Incredible. Thanks for sharing.
I live here and drive through this neighborhood all the time. I don't walk it. And I never would have been aware of this art if not for your post. Thanks a million.
"SEPTEMBER 2006 Murders
Sept. 1—Brice Findley, a 33-year-old Black male from McKeesport, was found unresponsive on a McKeesport street. He died from gunshot wounds to the head and torso."
http://newpittsburghcourieronlin...ides/
Page1.html
http://tinyurl.com/ywzshj
Thanks for illuminating this random slice of beauty and pathos on a street outside Pittsburgh.
This is very odd. for the last few weeks, Ive been doing sketches and color studies for a very similar theme. I decided to Google it tonight to see if the name "Ghetto Pieta" had been used, and here I am. I still intend to do my canvas. It is similar in being an adaptation of Michelangelo Buonarotti's Pieta at St. Peters. If I can get my scanner to do a decent job on a sketch, I might post it for comments.
No matter how primitive this art may be, Street art MUST be included in the overall "Art World" because it is an expression of raw emotion, sharp commentary and works of beauty in a traditional sense. People like this artist, Banksy and countless other artistic voices, mostly underground.
This "Ghetto Pieta" is very personal to the painter, which is obvious even without the text the Artist memorialized his/her loved one with. As primitive as it is, it has 2 things that are remarkable, first, all of the small details that tell a literal and metaphorical series of singular stories that culminate in the full event. Secondly, the scant palette used shows a restraint normally common to well known artists. Long Live the Street Art Movement.
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