Abandoned mattresses are a graffiti artist’s dream: street-level billboards ideally placed to expose art and opinions to a society sleepwalking thru life.

In De Nihilism

They say nothing really mattress… except Art, and by “they” we mean Flickr members Justin Hall and FunGi_ (Trading). How to reconcile these diametrically opposed viewpoints? Perhaps some sort of fight? One involving, say, pillows?

Nothing Left Toulouse

There’s sleeping rough on the streets, and then there’s catching a little shuteye on Chemin du Sang… the “Street of Blood”. We’re not sure how or why the grotty mattress above was so ominously labeled with what looks like re-purposed police Caution tape but we do know where or when: according to Flickr member Jamiecat*, it was March of 2010 in the southwestern French commune of Vieille-Toulouse.

Sleep Tight

Speaking of sleeping and blood, it would appear someone’s discouraging the re-use of discarded mattresses for some reason. Well, besides the obvious reason which is… it’s a mattress somebody discarded on the street. Creepy-crawly issues aside, the above illustrated item (with “do not remove” tag intact) is the autographed work of street artist Samuel Mark. Cool as we (and Flickr member Philip Bump) thought that might be, we still don’t recommend taking it home and mounting it on the bedroom wall.

Omen, Brother

“De La Vega is an artist who has a shop between 1st/2nd on St Marks and regularly tags objects around the neighborhood,” according to Flickr member Todd Shaffer. While the artist’s philosophical sentiment and clever use of strategic capitalization is to be admired, it seems certain this NYC mattress’s moment – precious or not – will last only until the next street trash pickup.

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Street artist Thrashbird has gone off the beaten track to transform huge stone blocks at an abandoned concrete factory into enormous designer handbags.

Like Banksy, LA-based Thrashbird prefers to be known by his working name while jealously guarding his personal privacy. Nothing petty about it – street art isn’t always accepted by authorities with the power to arrest, fine or both. That said, Thrashbird has begun to make a name for himself and he’s moving beyond his home turf to do it. In the case of his “Valley of Secret Treasures“, he’s gone all the way to Lime, Oregon, where an abandoned concrete & cement plant provided an unlikely canvas for some very unique street art.

Nowadays a ghost town, Lime got its name from the region’s abundant natural limestone deposits that, beginning in 1916, were exploited by a series of companies producing plaster, cement and concrete. The last of these firms – Oregon Portland Cement Company – closed in 1980 when all of the nearby limestone had been mined out.

“Everyday we pass abandoned condemned  buildings, I see an opportunity to breathe beauty into the breakdown,” explained the artist after visiting Lime in the summer of 2014. “All around us are the forgotten decaying structures of the Industrial Age. I want to bring those places to life again by adding some color and ideas.”

Thrashbird was particularly intrigued by the many squat, blocky, rebar-festooned concrete extrusions scattered about the old factory’s grounds. Possibly they were testing sites for varieties of cement but the artist saw something else: an opportunity to “make a great statement about sustainability and our attachment to high-priced objects.”

With the heavy lifting already done, Thrashbird didn’t need much material to transform the huge concrete blocks into jumbo versions of some of the fashion world’s most expensive accessories. Some discarded rope, scraps of wood, and old car tires (all available on site at no cost) provided the artist with everything needed to realize his vision.

Not that creating the Valley of Secret Values was a simple thing, mind you… summer days on the Oregon-Idaho border can be brutally hot and natural spring water is in short supply. Even with the use of stencils to create some of the artworks’ repeating patterns, it took a full day on average to complete each humongous handbag.

This smartly-produced video from international architectural illustrator and graphic designer Julia Mozheyko profiles Thrashbird’s creation of the Valley of Secret Values, accompanied by an evocative musical soundtrack. The video was posted to YouTube in September of 2017, shortly after the art installation was finished.

“The “Thrashbird’s Valley of Secret Values” project is part cautionary tale, part beautification project, and very introspective for me personally,” stated the artist, seen above on-site in July of 2017 with fellow street artist Provolotus. “It highlights my own personal struggle with ego and grandiosity, hence the scale of it. We grapple for status and purpose in society. Consuming possessions to showcase how successful we are and fill us with purpose, with complete disregard for the people and the planet affected by our careless over-consumption of ephemeral consumer goods. Our measure of success has been skewed.”

“We have come to a place in society where ‘things’ and social status have become more important than our connection to each other,” he added. “Very few people will ever come across these pieces of art in real life; there is something special within that. There is more to this story, but I’ll save it for later.” And we know just the bag to save it in.

Those popular home propane tanks that look like colossal cold capsules or dry-docked mini subs can be unusual showcases for unique folk art creations.

Ranging in capacity from 250 gallons up to 500 gallons, residential propane tanks typically sport white finishes or are left unpainted because, y’know, dark gas tanks under bright sunlight and all. Not all propane tanks are so exposed, however, and their sizes and shape invite an unlimited range of creative solutions. One of the most popular, it would seem, is turning the tank into a Beatle-esque Yellow Submarine.

Flickr member jhk&alk captured one such psychedelic homage to the 1967 film at Shelter Cove, on California’s “Lost Coast”, in August of 2014.

Flickr member istartedi snapped a very similar rendition (could the same artist be responsible?) featuring the Yellow Submarine’s iconic Nowhere Man on a propane tank situated some 240 miles south in the North Bay area.

Kitten of the Sea

It’s yellow, and it’s a submarine, but even The Beatles in their most trip-tastic moments couldn’t come up with the “USS Catattack”. We’re SO glad Pinterest member Jacqueline Faust (theArtisticFarmer) did, however, because this cat-themed backyard propane tank isn’t just awesome, it’s… clawsome!

Melonia?

Do watermelons give you gas? This one does, but we’re sure there’s no connection with the re-purposed toilet planter right beside. Flickr member vinky captured the above charming outdoor scene, possibly hailing from the tiny town of Washington, CA, for posterity in May of 2012.

Then there’s this watermelon-themed propane tank, complete with a faux-frog “guardian” in case the local gas pirates (is there such a thing?) get any bright ideas.

Animal Tank Farm

This pair of porcine propane tanks from Orangeville, Ontario don’t appear to be functional, unless one considers their prime function to be pieces of intriguing folk art. Flickr member Will S posted the above image of the heavy metal petting zoo in April of 2015. While we wouldn’t even think about welding a propane tank, empty or not, some folks ARE qualified to do just that. If you’ve got an hour (yes, an hour) to spare, check out this video from BILLSTMAXX in which the photographer/welder/artist creates one of the gas tank piggies.

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Mystery Science Theater 3000 (or MST3K for short) was a Nineties pop culture TV phenomenon that endures through graffiti, stickers, stencils and street art.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 debuted on Minneapolis TV station KTMA in late 1988 and the final episode (#211 for those keeping count) of its tenth season aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in September of 1999. Skewering late twentieth century society and culture along with the “cheesy movies” it riffed on every Sunday A.D., the show featured Joel Hodgson (aka Joel Robinson) and later Mike Nelson accompanied by their robot friends and co-riffers Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot.

As seen in our lead image snapped by Flickr member huntingtherare in 2010 and the next one, captured by Flickr member Courtney “Coco” Mault in 2007, the show’s most identifiable trope is the silhouette of Servo, Hodgson/Nelson and Crow in movie-watching mode.

Hands Down

One of the most famous MST3K episodes (and one of the worst movies ever made, regardless) was “Manos: The Hands of Fate”. The 24th episode of MST3K’s Season 4 aired in January of 1993 and was preceded by a short film – also mercilessly riffed – called “Hired”. Just how bad was Manos, a 1966 ultra-low-budget horror flick? To quote Joel, “Every frame of this movie looks like someone’s last known photograph.” Flickr member Thomas Anderson snapped this blood-red stencil of the Manos hands on a Chicago street back in the fall of 2007.

Cambot, Is That You?

Besides Crow and Servo, the main human protagonist of MST3K also enjoyed the company of robotic characters Gypsy (played by producer Jim Mallon) and Cambot. We’re not sure if whomever stenciled the sign above was inspired by the latter or if it’s just coincidental. The sign is (or was, in September of 2009) located outside the Electric Fetus, a renowned Minneapolis record store, and was snapped by Flickr member 612 to 651.

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The Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle, one of the 20th century’s most iconic vehicles, also served as a rolling car canvas for artists just itching to bug society.

Over 21 million Type 1 Beetles were manufactured between 1938 through 2003, leaving an indelible mark on pop culture’s psyche. VW sought to monetize the classic Bug’s nostalgic appeal through the evocative New Beetle that debuted in 1997, and the subsequent A5 Beetle introduced in 2011.

Now that VW has declared the current generation of Beetles to be the last, we can fondly look back to those “true” Bugs immortalized as art cars and transformed into artworks.

The classic Bug made its last hurrah on July 30th of 2003, when the 21,529,464th and final original Type 1 VW Beetle rolled off the production line in Puebla, Mexico. The exquisite Beetle art car above, snapped by Flickr member Angélica Portales (A30_Tsitika) in December 2010, hails from Mexico City. Artists Francisco and Xena Bautista decorated the late-model Bug with tiny seed beads in the traditional Huichol style – a painstaking process that took around 7 months to complete.

Water Bug

Remember those old DDB magazine ads that featured a floating VW Bug? Well, those don’t apply to this replica Beetle since it’s made of concrete and weighs about 8 tons. You’ll find it – bring your wetsuit – among the many undersea artworks at the Underwater Museum, off the coast of Cancun, Mexico.

Artist Jason deCaires-Taylor designed the sunken Bug to be sea-life-friendly with pierced windows providing smaller fish with shelter and crustacean habitats accessible via slots under the faux doors. The roughened surfaces are designed to help new coral growths get a grip.

For Ladybirds Only

While GM’s late and lamented luxo-barges epitomized the American Dream back in the day, the lowly VW Bug was a dream-come-true for countless car-buyers on the lower rungs of the economic ladder. It’s fitting, therefore, that Texas hosts not only the Cadillac Ranch but also a “herd” of five VW Beetles given a ladybug-like makeover.

You’ll find this Buggalo-like herd of beetle-y Beetles at the Running N Art Ranch in Saint Jo, Texas, a town of about 1,000 souls in Montague County just south of the Oklahoma border. The quintet of decommissioned Bugs sport jointed legs made from old oil field pipes and are painted red with black polka-dots.

Unlike the once-stately Caddys sticking out of the ground near Amarillo, these art cars are off-limits to amateur artists. Flickr member Nicholas Henderson (TexasExplorer98) visited the ranch in March of 2017.

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