In no way am I an artistic person. Unless you can call my barely mediocre drawing and constant doodling or my few years of piano lessons when I was younger and further attempts at being musically inclined artistic. Regardless, I do have a great appreciation for art. From photography and paintings to music, I enjoy it all.
Salt Lake City is definitely one artsy place. Various murals can be found nearly everywhere, sometimes in the most random places (like on the side of the Capitol Theatre down the alley). Everything in the city is made artsy in some way. When you stand at either end of a crosswalk downtown, you’ll notice the clever “LOOK” painted on the street. Of all the places I’ve been to, this is the first time I’ve seen that. I remember the first time I saw it, I was so amused by it.
Down by the gateway, there is a huge mural imitating the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club album cover. The first time I saw this was actually on the way back from our first walkabout, which was the Farmers’ Market at Pioneer Park. I really liked it for a few reasons. One, it’s the Beatles. Two, it was huge! Definitely something hard to miss. And three, the way it was made as Salt Lake City’s own, exchanging “Sgt,” for “SLC.” My dad is a fan of the Beatles’ so I took a picture of it and sent it to him. He definitely appreciated it as well.Music tends to be a great part of the city, as it should be in any downtown district. At the Farmers’ Market, there were plenty of people playing music. Whether it was a little girl playing a guitar that was nearly as big as her or a fairly young band playing covers of well known music with a folk twist, music could be heard from all ends of the market. I really enjoyed this as I’ve been raised around music. My dad and brothers are pretty musically inclined, so while I’m not (though I wish I was), I take after my dad’s deep appreciation for all kinds of music.
The artsiness and cleverness of SLC makes it so much more appealing to me as well as to others I’m sure, especially if it’s your first time visiting. It makes it so much more
enjoyable to take a trip downtown with the inviting colors and fun music. It creates a certain vibe; a vibe that brings a peace of mind and comfort...if you enjoy this particular kind of atmosphere, that is. The artistic flavor of the city individualizes it not only from neighboring cities, but also from cities in neighboring states and beyond.
Fantastic! I think art in a city is a powerful means of communication about intangibles--we love color, we love action or activity, we love relationships--art helps create all of these in urban spaces. Public art ranges from grand monumental sculpture to a simple wall mural painted by school children, but it has the same effect. It activates urban space, brings it to life and reminds us of the people who inhabit it. Art is also sort of generational in that it tells us what people of a certain moment in time valued and aspired to, what they thought was beautiful or fashionable. Pretty potent memory builder of the past.
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