Painted Pillars

Art Everywhere!

In looking through my recent photos of street art and other art in public places, I’ve noticed quite a few examples of artists decorating structural pillars, both large and small. Big concrete pillars holding up highway bridges and rail crossings are often painted, as are small decorative pillars or structural pillars holding up a building. One fascinating thing about a cylindrical pillar is that you can’t get a photo of the whole design, you have to walk around it. I’ve shown some of the following photos in earlier blog posts, but I wanted to view them as a theme in street art and public art projects. Sharing with Sami’s Monday Murals.

Costa Rica

At a bar along the road: a mask on a pillar.

Painted pillar at CATIE, that is, 
The Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center

A pillar in the front yard of a house on a road where we walked.

Alexandria, Virginia

Three views of the pillars beside the door to the Torpedo Factory,
which is an art space in a repurposed industrial building from World War II.

Also at the Torpedo Factory.

Decorative pillars are nothing new: here’s an example from the 18th century.
George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon near Alexandria.

National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC

This pillar in the museum was being painted as part of an exhibition of chocolate history.

I included photos of this project last week, but it fits today’s theme as well.

Detroit, Michigan

On a railroad bridge.

Another RR bridge.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

A pillar inside a parking garage downtown.

A highway bridge pillar in Gallup Park.

A porch with Christmas columns — from last December.

At a Rest Stop on the Ohio Turnpike

Workers who are repaving and fixing the roadbed are always in danger.
These images encourage drivers to respect their safety needs — “Move over! Slow Down!’

So Much History!

Decorated pillars from almost 1000 years ago, recently restored. (source)

Blog post © 2024 mae sander