Painting Nostalgia: Public Murals Recreate A City That No Longer Exists

“My work nowadays is based on the use of old images of the cities I am painting. I visit museums, check the books and from there I come up with some images from the 20s or the 30s that show the architecture of the city. The idea of the murals is to recreate a city that no longer exists, so people who didn’t live in that time can see it and those who did live back then can have a moment of memory or nostalgia.” – Eduardo Kobra

Whenever I visit a town, I find myself seeking out neighborhoods with street art. I love how these communities are being changed with creativity, in my view made to look more beautiful. The artists make the cities their canvas. I explored two such cities recently on a Florida trip, Sarasota and Gainesville. First up, Sarasota.

“Say Cheese!” by Anat Ronen {2011 Sarasota, Florida}

Mural by KOBRA in Sarasota, Florida

The famous artist Eduardo Kobra, quoted above about his process of finding old photographs and painting them on present buildings, also painted the car you see above in Sarasota. His recreation of  the famous 1945 photo that marked the end of World War II, below in Chelsea is absolutely my favorite mural in New York City, I blogged about it and others here. Well, it was my favorite until I was walking on the High Line last month and realized that this surface is bare. Nada. Nothing there. How could they? I hope they are planning to add more art work.

The High Line with mural by KOBRA

Mural by Carrie Wachter Martinez {Gainesville, Florida} 716 N. Main Street

Closeup of the hair :: Mural by Carrie Wachter Martinez {Gainesville, Florida} 716 N. Main Street

At a glance :: Mural by Carrie Wachter Martinez {Gainesville, Florida} 716 N. Main Street

Miami street artist Axel Void painted a postcard view of downtown {Gainesville, Florida}

A mural by Axel Void “C10H15N” {Gainesville, Florida}

Reggie O’Neal (L.E.O.) painted this as tribute to slain teenager Richard Hallman. Hallman’s cousin played football for U of Florida

Muralist and designer Evoca1 based in Miami “Juvenile Souvenirs” {Gainesville, Florida}

SW Depot Avenue wall mural {Gainesville, Florida}

Steve in front of the SW Depot Avenue wall mural {Gainesville, Florida}

For more information on street art in Gainesville, Florida you may learn something from these links:

Check out GainesvilleDowntown.com and read more here.

GainesvilleArtScene.com

Many of the photographs you see in my blog posts are for sale in my online store. You might just be looking for some color or black and white images for your walls. Or think about gift giving. I take such special care in this creation, delivered in a lovely box.

All photographs are taken by me, unless I have noted otherwise in the caption. I use my Canon 5D III and the iPhone 6+.

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