In a
previous post I mentioned Houston’s Art Car Museum (or “Garage
Mahal”) and the Art Car Parade. Click this link for previous
post. Houston is considered as the “Art
Car Capital” as it has the largest number of art cars of any city.
Another
venue of this center is the Orange Show. This work was built by Jefferson Davis
McKissack between 1956 and 1979. McKissack’s
work gives praise to the orange, his favorite fruit. Each piece of this 3,000 square foot monument
was hand-placed and hand-painted by McKissack.
Located
next to the Orange Show, Smither Park is a
collaborative work of over 300 artists who have created mosaic masterpieces out
of recycled materials. The half-acre
plot of land showcases an amphitheater, pavilion, swings, meditation garden,
tower and memory wall.
The Beer Can House, formerly the
home of John Milkovisch, was created between 1968-1987. Over this 18 year period Milkovisch’s house
disappeared under a cover of flattened beer cans. This was not only decorative but the cans
also lowered the energy bills. According
to Ripley’s Believe It or Not it is estimated that there are over 50,000
cans that adorn this monument to recycling!
Tours of
the home and yard are possible; however, photography is not allowed inside.
I have a
page already devoted to many of the works by David Adickes, which includes
my favorite: The Beatles. I just wanted
to give a location update of this popular sculpture. The Beatles can now be found at the 8th Wonder Brewery.
What better way to enjoy a sculpture than with a beer!
Notre
Dame in Paris may be famous for its gargoyles, but Houston has some in pretty
crazy places! For example, how would you
like to live in these apartments with this “audacity” (i.e. group) of gargoyles
on top?
 |
| Metropolis Lofts |
Or maybe
an aluminum home guarded by a gargoyle:
Local
artist & architect Frank Zeni not only designed the above gargoyle house,
but is responsible for many of the aluminum homes in Houston’s Military
District. This includes his own home and
studio called Tempietto Zeni:
Speaking
of unusual homes, this house too closely represents Darth Vadar:
As we
were driving down the street we saw this cute little house!
Here are
a few of the fun sculptures around Houston:
 |
| Armadillo at the Armadillo Palace restaurant |
This public art exhibit on Buffalo Bayou is called Tolerance. Designed by Jaume Plensa, the exhibit is a collection of 7 stainless steel framed statues consisting of numbers and letters of different languages. They reflect Houston’s unity and diversity.
On Kirby Drive, between Alabama and Westheimer, stands this sculpture:
 |
Tree and Three
Flowers
by James
Surls |
Not
necessarily a sculpture, but in one area of Houston we have these very British
looking telephone booths. Now where is
Dr. Who?
The Texas
Pipe & Supply Company has found a great use for their scrap material –
metal sculptures! These huge works can’t
be missed driving down highway 288:
There are
lots of murals in Houston. I’ve featured
a few in a previous
post, but couldn’t resist including more here:
There are
so many hidden gems in Houston!
Next BLOG post will be March 28th, 2020!
