Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Westway Art


While walking on Edgware Road on Saturday, I noticed these artworks underneath the Westway overpass. They add a bucolic touch to an otherwise concrete jungle.


I did some Googling, but I've been unable to find out whose artworks these are*. It's a mystery. I don't remember ever seeing them before, but maybe I've just overlooked them. Or maybe they're relatively new.

I'm still working on the Michael Chabon book I'm reading, "Telegraph Avenue." It's set in Oakland, Calif., in 2004, with lots of retro references going back to the city's earlier Black Panther era. I've been reading it for a couple of weeks, and I like it -- Chabon is a fabulous writer -- but I'm only about halfway through. I don't know why it takes me so long to read a book these days.

*Intrepid blogger and Googler Yorkshire Pudding has identified the artist as Manou Bendon, whose website shows the works being created.

12 comments:

e said...

Those art pieces are wonderful...

Yorkshire Pudding said...

The work is of course by Manou Bendon and was commissioned by Transport for London. It was completed in April 2016.
P.S. (and don't get mad) fund/found?

Steve Reed said...

Bravo, YP! Thanks for finding that. And yes, I fixed my typo. :)

Sabine said...

Well, that makes a nice difference. Had to walk there every morning and eve, 30 yrs ago.
Miserable dank walkway that it was.

Sharon said...

Oh, I like that one very much. It's subtle and tasteful and looks very nice in that spot.

Red said...

These are simple designs but they certainly improve the appearance of the area.

jenny_o said...

Art can transform ugly to interesting or even beautiful. And vice versa, sometimes! I really like this, though - it does a lot for the spot.

Elizabeth said...

Yes. Why does it take so long to read a book these days? I think we're the same age -- I'm 53 -- and I've always been a very fast reader, plowing through so many novels a year that I couldn't keep count. I'm lucky to read one a month now, and part of it, I guess, is due to the distraction of the internet. Like now. Oy.

Ms. Moon said...

I read "Telegraph Avenue" years ago and loved it. And then I listened to it via audiobook.

37paddington said...

I take forever to read a book these day too. My attention is so fractured by, well, everything, the pace of modern life. I think that might be why so many are multitasking with audiobooks. I might try that soon. Nice paintings on that underpass. Better than graffiti!

Unknown said...

Hi Steve, I love these images. Would I be able to use them on social? I'm just about to do some stuff about city-dwellers and nature and this would suit perfectly!

Steve Reed said...

Hi Hannah -- Feel free to use these pictures. I only ask for appropriate credit. Thanks! -- S.