Category: Street Art

Protecting the identity of the pothole patcher

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A stamp featuring an abstract painting by Marsden Hartley, displaying vibrant colors and geometric shapes, labeled "Marsden Hartley | forever | usa".

Above: Street artist Ememem repairing a pothole in a sidewalk on Rainey Street in Austin

I’m just a sidewalk poet…. My work is the story of the city, where cobblestones have been displaced.”

Street artist Ememem, interviewed by Arnesia Young for My Modern Met

Sometimes I feel like a stalker on the trail of tile mosaics of the sidewalk poet of Lyon, France. (See the photos from 18 months ago at the bottom of this post.) So meeting Ememem in person at work Sunday afternoon in Austin left me gobsmacked.

Colorful mosaic artwork reading 'Here Lies a Pothole,' installed in a sidewalk as a creative repair by the street artist Ememem.

Above: “Here Lies a Pothole,” Ememem, Rainey Street, Austin, 2025

The street doctor tries to maintain his anonymity, stealthily installing his mosaics in the dead of night. I imagine that’s due to the fact that often his sidewalk improvement projects are unauthorized.

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Postcard from Norfolk, Virginia: ‘Nobodies’ somebodies at the Chrysler

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Above: One of Colectivo Subterraneos’ “Nobodies” on exhibit at the Chrysler Museum of Art through May 11.

Oaxaca has emerged as a global hub for contemporary printmaking, fueled by the medium’s rich history in Mexico and the city’s vibrant artistic heritage. Internationally renowned Oaxacan artists, most notably Rufino Tamayo and Francisco Toledo, invested heavily in developing their native city’s cultural infrastructure. Building on this foundation, numerous printmaking workshops now thrive in Oaxaca, fostering an environment of experimentation and collaboration.”

Curator’s notes, “Oaxaca Central: Contemporary Mexican Printmaking”

Unless you are new to my blog, you know I wander streets far and wide prowling for street art. I’ve been pursuing Colectivo Subterraneos‘ “Nobodies” around corners in Oaxaca, Mexico, during numerous visits over the past few years.

When I went back to the land where I grew up, Virginia Beach, to visit my sister and her husband in early March, I was surprised to encounter a fresh crop of migrating “Nadies” peopling gallery walls in Norfolk’s Chrysler Museum of Art as part of “Oaxaca Central: Contemporary Mexican Printmaking.”

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Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Street art stands on its own

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Above: “I Wonder if Iolanda (a Portuguese singer) Ever Notices Me…”

Oh dear, my posts truly lag behind our trips. The first installment of this appeared here more than a year ago. Trying to play catch up, and street art is meant to be viewed without explanatory words anyway.

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