Fort Worth Public Artfully Wraps Ugly Except For Outhouses

Eagle Eyed Elsie Hotpepper pointed me to this interesting tidbit of Fort Worth news about some new Fort Worth public art.

Fort Worth public art, paid for via a 2% fee charged to a Fort Worth public works project, is a bit controversial of late, due to a visually distracting traffic eyesore that cost nearly a million dollars and sits in the middle of one of America's Biggest Boondoggle's traffic roundabouts, installed well before the construction of the roundabout was completed.

Some have questioned whether America's Biggest Boondoggle qualifies for the 2% public arts deal, due to the fact that the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island Vision is a quasi-public works project that is the feeble brainchild of a quasi-public agency known as the Tarrant Regional Water District.

Another reason for the validity of the 2% public arts deal being in question, regarding The Boondoggle getting funds for such, is the fact that the public has never voted on any aspect of this imaginary public works project, nor has the public been allowed to participate in any sort of public hearings regarding same, in any meaningful way.

The new works of public art which Elsie Hotpepper pointed me to is detailed in the following three paragraphs....

COMING SOON: Fort Worth Public Art is also looking for local artists to create 14 artwork images for traffic control cabinets on East Lancaster Avenue. Houston already has these fancy boxes around the city.

The idea is to make art out of drab, ugly boxes that house traffic signal controls.

“These structures provide an opportunity for the city of Fort Worth to poetically invest in its utility infrastructure,” FWPA explains on its website. “The artist designed wraps will contribute to a growing collection of public art blossoming along the corridor that connect different neighborhoods along the way.”

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I have never noticed ugly traffic control boxes in need of an aesthetic covering. Have you?

However, in many of Fort Worth's public parks I have noticed an ugly item which might benefit from an artistic cover.

Outhouses.

Fort Worth has more outhouses in more public parks than any other major city in America.

America's Biggest Boondoggle sort of  pretties up the outhouses located at its imaginary world class music venue called Panther Island Pavilion, where there is no island or pavilion, but there are outhouses shrouded in concrete enclosures, slightly mitigating the eyesore aspect.

Wouldn't covering Fort Worth's army of outhouses in colorful wraps be a good use of public art funds? And a lot more people would see this "art" than those who might notice artfully disguised traffic control boxes.....

Arizona Desert Invades Fort Worth Prairie & Message From Fort Worth Star-Telegram

I don't know if those are fresh 4-Wheeler tracks rutting up the Tandy Hills Natural Area, or if they are the remains of 4-Wheeler vandalism of weeks ago and I just noticed it freshly today. The tracks appeared new to me. But they went nowhere. As if the vehicle was lifted away by a helicopter. That and the location of these tracks would not be easily reached by a vehicle, 4-Wheel drive or not. It's at the top of a hill, with all approaches to the top being either very steep or very narrow or hemmed in by trees.

So, we have yet one more Tandy Hills mystery. Maybe it's the ghostly Billy Hill returned once more.

I am still sore from my ordeal Tuesday where I found myself pounding the Fort Worth pavement for mile after mile. My aches and pains give new meaning to the "pain in the butt" phrase.

Swimming this morning in my melted iceberg made my aches and pains feel better for awhile. As did the endorphins that hiking the Tandy Hills drugs me with. But now, a couple hours later, my Tandy Hills fix is wearing off and the throbbing pains are starting up on me again.

I love whining about my aches and pains like an arthritic ol' geezer.

My mom called me last night to ask me which of my addresses she should mail me some beef jerky.

I just got what is called a "Direct Message" from the Star-Telegram, sent courtesy of Twitter, thanking me for following the FWST news and updates. And telling me they'd like to hear what I think about their Tweets.

My one longtime reader may be thinking, along with me, oh, the irony.

I went to Town Talk after Tandy and got some real good tomatoes, mangoes, petite brussels sprouts and other stuff I'm not remembering right now.

Being at the Tandy Hills today I got to see for myself Fort Worth's latest public art installation, called, I think, "Arizona Desert Invades Fort Worth Prairie."

I've yet to learn who made this beautiful piece of art or how much it cost. Currently Fort Worth is planning to spend about a quarter million dollars to build a memorial to JFK commemorating the fact that JFK spent his last night and morning alive, in downtown Fort Worth.

Meanwhile the Fort Worth Public Libraries have cut back and the city pools are being shut down.