Monday, September 06, 2021

Here's to Summer's End

 

Banksy, "The Cocktail Rat" (source)
Here in the US, Monday is Labor Day, the traditional end of summer. At this point, most children should be back in school and most workers would be finished with summer vacations. This year the feeling of back-to-school and back-to-work is even more powerful, as there are so many tensions about full-scale, in-person returns. 

I wondered what type of image would illustrate conventional summer vibes, and found this little mural by the famous and anonymous mural painter who uses the name "Banksy." Even though I spend little time at the beach or pool sipping cocktails, I like the image as an iconic reflection of summers past and future. This reminds me of the maybe non-existent idle leisure time, in contrast to whatever is coming up after Labor Day. And of the coming end of weather when one could sit outdoors with a drink.

23 comments:

Jackie McGuinness said...

Knew that was a Banksy! Labour Day here too, we are heading off for a night by Lake Erie today.

Divers and Sundry said...

I love this. Quite the summertime mood :)

Sami said...

Does remind me of holidays at the beach.
Thanks for participating in Monday Murals Mae :)

babYpose said...

Beach relaxing time. Happy labour day.

Jeanie said...

This is how I envision Stuart Little, my cottage mouse. He has a little chair somewhere in the utility room and is dining on all sorts of good things (even though we're trying to put everything away!)

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Banksy's little rat us a great mural to honor Labor Day, Mae. Happy Labor Day, dear.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Banksy's mouse looks wayy too comfortable with himself. Wonder what he's drinking! )) ..... yep, even for people that have been away from school schedules for decades, this time of year always seems like the real New Year to me -- back to normal stuff to do, the weather changing (no matter if official fall is still a couple of weeks away, summer is now over!)

My name is Erika. said...

This is a fun little mouse Mae. And I think you are right about leisure time and it's being lost (along with the warmth) at the end of summer. This is the first T after the end of this summer season. Hope yours is a good one. hugs-Erika

Linda Kunsman said...

what a fun image, but I refuse to celebrate summer's end....yet;) Happy T day!

nwilliams6 said...

Great mural, Mae, definitely a good representation of the end of summer/Labor Day. Fun image for T-day - hope yours is wonderful!

Carola Bartz said...

That cocktail rat sure has a good time! I'm tempted to join! Here in my corner of the world summer will last for another two months, eventually influenced by autumn flavors. I like this transitional time, even though it's also peak fire season.

Kate Yetter said...

Perfect depiction of summer. Sad it's over but it gives us something to look forward to next year.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate

vvb32 reads said...

Oh cool! a Banksy!

Tandy | Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) said...

I didn't realise Labour Day marked the start of school. I hope this semester is a good one for those going back. I in turn, am looking forward to seeing the beach later.

Nancy Chan said...

You have picked a good choice. I miss the beach. We celebrate Labour Day on the 1st of May.

Valerie-Jael said...

I love Banksy's art! Happy T Day, Valerie

Let's Art Journal said...

I love Banksey and that mural is fabulous isn't it 😀. Happy T Day wishes! Hugs, Jo x

CJ Kennedy said...

that is the perfect Summertime vibe. Happy T Day

Sharon Madson said...

That is a great image to symbolize Summer vibes. You did good. :) Happy T Day!

Iris Flavia said...

Oh, just how cute is that!!!

Lisca said...

I'm sorry I'm late again in commenting. Tuesday is a day we usually are away from home and as Blogger doesn't like iPhones or iPads, I cannot do anything until I get back home to my desktop. Sometimes this is quite late, so here I am on Wednesday...
Banksy's Cocktail Rat is iconic. I lived in Bristol (UK) for 25 years before coming to Spain. (Banksy is from Bristol) so I am familiar with his work which is all over the city centre, especially the poorer neighborhoods and black areas. We lived in the suburbs and one morning we woke up to find he had painted something on the wall of the elementary school round the corner. That school had previously been vandalized and the school did not have the money to do the necessary repairs and were fund-raising. Banksy 'helped' the fund-raising enormously! He is seen as a sort of Robin Hood of Bristol. He pops up where it is needed. He once painted the door of a inner city boxing club. Did you hear about that? Anyway, for the Bristolians, Banksy is one of the good guys.
Here in southern Spain, summer is not over yet. It is still quite hot and sunny. It will be sunny even through December (although with cool evenings and nights). Usually in january the weather starts deteriorating and it gets cold and nasty, sometimes with snow.
Happy belated T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca

DVArtist said...

This is truly brilliant.

Spyder said...

I saw a Banksy once, but they said it wasn't one, and painted over it...so now, the wall looks even worse. We don't have labour Day here just a 'bank holiday' Have a great week! Happy late T Day
((Lyn))