And Plenty of Tea...

This piece has been up a while, and if you live in Cork you have probably already seen it, but it is still well worth sharing. It's a mural in the pedestrian laneway that runs between Brian Boru Street and the Lower Glanmire Road. It's a very striking piece. The only problem for this post is I can't really make out the name(s) of who painted it.



I took all the above photos in December 2013 or March 2014.

What the Fork?

I came across some charming stickers around the junction of the South Mall and the Grand Parade recently. They feature Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen in stylised shots taken from a couple of their films. They were both done by an artist named "Fork".

Yul's image is taken from his role as the western hero Chris Adams in The Magnificent Seven. This sticker is clearly labelled with Fork's name.

Steve's image seems to be taken from his role as the American pilot Hilts, "The Cooler King", in The Great Escape. The sticker has Fork's name subtly written on it.

I later came across another great sticker by Fork in the White Street car park. It came in many hues and shows actor Alan Ford having "a moment" in his role as the gangster Brick Top in the film Snatch.

I took all the above photos in March 2014.

In case you are interested, here are links to a few clips on the 'Tube, showing these actors in character....

Yul Brynner as Chris (with Steve McQueen in the background):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcmzHtokiMw

Steve McQueen as Hilts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3KbLBwQFW4

Alan Ford as Brick Top:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xUynRdzzsM

Drive the Cold Winter Away

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programme....

Sorry about the seven-month hiatus. Let's get back to work.

I have been pretty much hibernating over the winter. Understandable, considering how miserable the weather was. However, we had a few nice days before St. Patrick's Day, and I managed to stir myself, dust the cobwebs off me camera and head out to see what new street art might await me.

Today I'll share with you the lovely pieces I found down at Crosse's Green quay, near St. Fin Barre's Cathedral. Some of these may have been around for "a while", but I thought it would be good to give a slice of what I found on the day.

The following photos were all taken by me on 14/03/2014. I'll try to note the artist. If I make a mistake, please let me know and I'll make a correction...

Lou Reed tribute by Foundry

Lou Reed tribute by Foundry

A bicycle piece (not yet finished) by Emmet

A bicycle piece (not yet finished) by Emmet

Beautiful woman by Kone

Beautiful woman by Kone

Tags by Kone

Detail of a bird by Kone

Rooster by Dusto

Rooster by Dusto

Rooster by Dusto

Frog by Psychonautes and Foundry

Frog by Psychonautes and Foundry

Skulls, etc., by Psychonautes

Skulls, etc., by Psychonautes

A nice head, but artist unknown

A nice piece, but artist unknown

And last but not least - on the off chance you are interested - here's a link to the Horslips' version of the song "Drive the Cold Winter Away" on the 'Tube....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJqeZmj6X2Q

And a blog post about same....
http://zeegrooves.blogspot.ie/2014/03/horslips-drive-cold-winter-away.html

Shandon Street Festival

There is a great mural painted along the east side of Shandon Street. It was sponsored by the Shandon Street Business Association (SSBA) and the Shandon Area Renewal Association (SARA). I'm not sure who actually painted the work, however...

It shows a festival in full swing all around the Shandon area. it's a lovely lively piece with lots of nice touches, like clowns, the Butter Exchange Band and the Shandon Dragon!

FYI, the Shandon Street Festival takes place in June, while the Dragon of Shandon street parade takes place the night of 31 October.

I took all the below photographs in July 2012....

The piece is so big I had to photograph it in two pieces. This is the left side....

And this is the right side....

And here are some lovely details...





Here are the links for the Shandon Street Festival and the Dragon of Shandon Parade:
http://www.shandonstreetfestival.com/
http://www.dragonofshandon.com/about.html

Here's a link to the Facebook page of the Cork Community Art Link. It has some photos of the festival and dragon and other area events:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cork-Community-Art-Link/189692277413#!/pages/Cork-Community-Art-Link/189692277413

Lil' Holly

Psychonautes has painted a really lovely piece on a wall tucked away in Coburg Lane, next to the Flava Floors hip hop dance studio.

It's called "Lil' Holly" and shows a young girl gazing back at us from the wall. I think the piece was painted as part of the Live Styles hip hop festival back in June 2012. I photographed the piece a few months later in October 2012. The "Hello" name tag was done by Dusto.

Here are some links to other photos of this piece on Psychonautes' own Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/psychonautes/7157056897/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/psychonautes/7157051663/in/photostream/

Mario's Cork Walkabout

Following on from my last post, I'll continue in the admitedly rather narrow theme of "computer game characters running or walking across a wall" graffiti in Cork....

Today's piece is by Starman Super. It depicts Mario, a famous character seen in many Nintendo games like "Donkey Kong" and "Super Mario Brothers". I found and photographed this piece on Henry Street in July 2012.

Here is a link to Starman Super's own photo of this on Flickr, showing the entire piece before it was damaged by the elements:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68295577@N02/6267254071/

Also, if you are into Mario, or at least into somewhat silly camera reviews, here's a link to Kai Wong's review of the luscious Fuji X-E1 camera on Digitalrev TV. It features a model running around Hong Kong dressed up as Mario. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5HOpyQErYg

The Urban Spaceman, Baby

The Mardyke Walk area has a number of cool, computer-game themed bits of graffiti on its walls. Today's post is one of the more charming pieces, some tense-looking spaceman figures running across a few bricks along the Walk.

Thanks to Psychonautes and Flickr, I know these figures are by Starman Super and they depict "Megaman" running. Cool....

I took these photos in September 2012.

Here is a link to Starman Super's Flickr page, where he has a photo of the above piece taken before it got damaged:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68295577@N02/7101613419/

And, just in case you are interested, here is a link to a performance of the song "I'm The Urban Spaceman" by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, circa 1968.... Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbLDI5lNdRQ