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A Sunday afternoon at The Nelson found a quiet escape into a world of graphical grace, framed by the vision of Alphonse Mucha.  With temperatures expected to peak near 37 °C, it proved the perfect escape from the intense August heat and humidity of Kansas City.   The hushed and contemplative halls of the art museum embraced us in wonderfully frigid temperatures, as Art Nouveau learning and appreciation filled our vision for the hottest part of the day. The heart of the exhibition reveals Mucha’s iconic graphic style. Classic lithographic prints and study sketches line the walls, showcasing the iconic cascading hair, serene profiles, and delicate floral halos that defined an entire artistic movement.   Standing before the vertical panels and poste...

For more than a century, the "Valley of the Vapors" traded on a single commodity: its water. A visual revolution is simmering beneath the surface these days. Walking through downtown Hot Springs is to witness a silent, high-contrast dialogue between the preserved and the provocative. As steam rises from historic bathhouses, a new wave of contemporary murals answers back—loud, proud, and scaled with a metropolitan ambition that defies the city's small-town zip code. Nothing captures this transition quite like the "Uneeda Biscuit" ghost sign. A fading relic of 20th-century commerce, its peeling paint serves as the city’s aesthetic bedrock. It is a reminder of what this place once was, a bustling hub of early-century trade. The story no longer ends with the past though; new chapters are currently spray-painted in neon hues just a few blocks away. The local art scene refuses to stick to a single script, revealing a community comfortable with its own contradictions. ...

Walking through Atlanta is an exercise in shifting perspectives. One moment you are immersed in the raw, technicolor energy of the streets; the next, you stand before the silent, dignified bronze of history. This journey began at Centennial park and stretched more than a kilometer around downtown. The Olympic legacy still towers over the city and may very well forever. The monuments to the Games and those that lost their lives in this celebration of unity serve as a bridge between the street-level grit and the formal city center, marking a moment when Atlanta stepped onto the global stage, permanently altering its architectural DNA. The People's Gallery The city speaks loudest in the shadow of the overpasses and alleyways though, as well as it does in the ordinary everyday city streets. The walls are alive in these places and the city uses every inch to express identity or frustration. One mural captures a profound social moment displaying children greeting their new playmates. It...

Under the sun of a frigid Saturday morning at Pleasant Valley Skateboard Park, the usual rhythm of wheels on concrete was secondary to a different kind of movement. Among a plethora of others, "Sima" glowed fresh against the pavement, a vibrant anchor in a sea of overlapping tags and murals. More tag gallery than skate park at this time of year, this an environment where art is often temporary, destined to be weathered by the elements or reclaimed by the next layer of paint. Speaking with the solitary painter out on this day, he regaled me with tales of his travels tagging and photographing about town. Nothing told a more bolder story though than what was encountered on the way out.  Much like the walls of the park, a mobile canvas shaped like small pickup, wrapped in bold, swirling blues and character-driven art, grinned back across from across the asphalt.  

Stumbled on this little quote attached to an aging mural in Sedalia.  It is not quite as old as it seems though, having only been painted in 2020 by local artist Stefanie Aziere-Sattler.  Nothing could turn up where the quote actually came from, so it is assumed she pulled it out of her own hat.  This may be the last look at this mural, which itself may "be lost forever."  In its current state another may take its place soon, or maybe it will get lucky enough to get a fresh coat of color.

Out for a walk one afternoon enabled an opportunity to catch a little art-in-action at a location not readily apparent.  It is one of those places you have to know about, or be on a quest to discover.  Indeed, I had no idea Rewind Video even existed any longer, yet there it is, on the back of the building, getting a fresh coat of paint by none other than Sike Style. The new art is just the beginning of the story.  While the sign itself is a nostalgic nod, what lies beneath and beyond is a brilliant new chapter for the location.   "Rewind Video" is not the video tape rental shop from years gone by, but a basement dive bar, serving up a 1990's vibe through Capri Sun mixers and analog gaming consoles.  All of this will undoubtedly prove itself a fun, adults only gaming diversion.

  A random invitation led to attending a different sort of performance, put on by another local puppet troupe at Mid-Continent Public Library North Oak Branch. What if Puppets of Kansas City  offered up the intriguing little story " How to Snag a Sea Monster " about a sea creature and a giant baby that washed up on the shores of Barnacle Bay in Cape Cod.  The performance enthralled and amused a wide age range of attendees on Saturday morning, transforming a routine weekend morning into an imaginative voyage and an opportunity for a fresh look at one of the newer library locations.

A warmer than usual November evening set the stage for a different sort of performance from Stone Lion Puppet Theater than had been done in previous expositions. The drive- through was abandoned, eliminating an evening of wandering about observing the glowing puppets up close. We had expected that and set our course accordingly, first enjoying a good meal from Los Alamos before securing optimal parking at the site of the event . Instead, we found ourselves with a lot of time on our hands, waiting in anticipation.  The urge to give up on the two-and-a-half-hour wait was real, as there was little more to do beyond a handful of vendors and poorly organized food trucks. It was nearly impossible to figure out where one line began and the other ended.  That challenge was only outranked by the viewing angle from the terrace below the stage.   We endured the wait though, with the help of a good sound system surrounding us on the stairs, and a little Spiced Chai fr...

Passing through northwest Nebraska quite literally demands a stop at what is undoubtedly one of the more interesting art-historical landmarks in the region.  There is likely nothing more intriguing in the area, and for the same reason it was created, why not! Carhenge is a larger-than-life piece created by Nebraska native Jim Reinders.  A seven-year stint in England as a petroleum engineer inspired the creation that leverages an array of random vehicles to replicate the original Stonehenge. Complete in 6 days, using 25 cars, during a family reunion, it was dedicated on the date of the Summer Solstice in 1987. The work continues to evolve and inspire beyond the original "Carhenge of the West" too, with the very first Carhenge Mural Festival held this year.  Multiple artists joined in transforming the gray canvas cars into a vivid and impactful displays that paired nicely with blue skies and other vehicular transformations on site.

A stop for a little relief at the visitor center in Cody found an interesting artistic diversion.  It seems that CodyArts (formerly The Cody Country Art League) began an ongoing exhibition around 60 years ago. The continued success speaks to the community interest in the the multitude of continually rotating artwork from regional artists, though it is unsure how long this has been going on.  Greeting us on entry, "Wall Rock," a mixed media oil painting by by George Van Buren "Wall Rock," though there were so many more intriguing pieces.