Two new murals in Midtown are both gorgeous to look at but each is more than it first appears. They are, in different ways, both fooling the eye.
Tea and clouds overlay painted reality
The 7 Cups Teahouse, on Ft. Lowell near Tucson, is one of several new tea houses in this area. The mural is dazzling and has an augmented reality overlay, created by artist Jodie Lewers Chertudi. The augmented reality of brimming tea cups and rain clouds in motion, is, however, only visible when seen with iOS and the Adobe Aero program. If you don’t have a camera with those programs, you will still see an amazing mural. And then you can step inside to have a cup of Durian Tea.
Seeing only half of the mural
The other mural, Tracks and Trails, that is more than it appears is on north side of The Loop just east of St. Phillips Plaza. What you will see as you walk or bike along the trail are oversize animals and birds native to the Tucson area. The images, created by Rock Martinez and Jessica Gonzales, appear to be cropped to make them fit on this very long, narrow mural. (Martinez’s other murals include the Diego and Frida behind MSA and the Queen of the Agaves downtown.)
But, if you approach this mural from the south side of the river, by the Racket Club at the end of Country Club Road, you will see an expanded version of the mural. Below the walkway is another level of this mural. The other half of the aminals, insects, and birds have been painted below. PLUS–unless you look straight across at the images from the south side path, the upper and lower parts of the images are misaligned. Notice that the hummingbird is misaligned on the left, but aligned perfectly on the right, below.
While I was exploring this area along Rillito River I came across a tile inset on a panel with some lyrics by Joni Mitchell. While the world has changed in the decades since the song Woodstock was written the idea of bombers–or mass shooters–becoming butterflies is a good one. Here is a link to her singing Woodstock.
Visit my author’s site to see books I’ve published.
Sign up for this free blog and see more of Tucson than sunsets and saguaros.
