Toowong’s Make A Light Box
(image via: Rae Allen)
Flickr user Rae Allen was in the right place at the right time (June 4th, 2005) when artist James Lovas & a pal put paintbrush to traffic light signal box at the corner of Land Street and Sylan Road in Toowong.
(images via: Rae Allen)
Allen captured Lovas’ completed work “Shannon Knows” just three days later, and then again in September of 2010 (above, lower left). A half-decade’s exposure to Brisbane’s blazing sun combined with an omnipresent airborne assault of automotive exhaust has faded the colors only slightly… and best of all, there’s not a graffiti tag to be seen!
We Have A Winner!
(image via: 612 ABC Brisbane)
With a good thousand traffic light signal boxes in need of sprucing up, Brisbane city council didn’t want to rush into things – just the opposite: commissions were doled out at the rate of about 100 per year over a decade-long period! To keep interest alive over the long term, the annual Artforce Awards were established offering artists eight categories in which to compete. Above, courtesy of 612 ABC Brisbane, is 2010’s overall winner Pen Donovan and her piece titled “Cellfire”.
One Weird TSB, Painted By A Mom
(images via: Weekend Notes)
Artist (and Mom) Jane Street has only painted one traffic light signal box (TSB for short) but it’s a special one, being located near the pirate-themed playground where her children often play. Drawing upon that along with the translation of her neighborhood’s name (Woolloongabba means “Whirling Waters”), Street was inspired to create a bright and bouncy scene appealing to all ages. Dig those hand-print fish! It’s quite an improvement over a formerly gray, drab and tagged utilitarian box residents and passersby took pains NOT to notice… which is pretty much the whole point.
