Decorated Utility Box: Coqui Frog and Rooster - Springfield, MA

Coqui Frog and Rooster

Springfield, MA

N 42° 06.224 W 072° 35.582

Short Description: 

An impressionist like painting decorates the utility box on the northeast corner of Main and Worthington Streets in Springfield, MA.

Long Description:

Eighteen artists have been chosen by the Springfield Central Cultural District to paint and beautify electrical utility boxes in the downtown area of Springfield. The first boxes were painted on Monday May 23, 2016 and the program will continue throughout the month and beyond. Many of the paintings will be sponsored by local organizations and businesses.

The New England Farm Workers' Council and Gifted Tones Paint & Music Lounge sponsored this utility box that was painted by Alberto Navarro and Karlos Torruella. The sidewalk features a coqui frog sitting on a flowering plant which extends onto the south side of the utility box. The background shifts from yellow to orange to red to blue hues suggesting the sky at dawn. The street side has a large sun low on the horizon against a multicolored background ranging from green at the bottom to blue at the top. The red outline image of a rooster crowing, the logo of the New England Farm Workers' Council is superimposed over the sun. The background extends onto the north side of the utility box and small petroglyph images are scattered around the bottom and on the south side of the utility box.

Decorated Utility Box: Four Celebrities and a Parody, Springfield, MA

Four Celebrities and a Parody

Springfield, MA

N 42° 06.131 W 072° 35.380

Short Description: 

A painted utility box just south of 1390 Main Street in Springfield features Muhammad Ali, a parody of a nearby sculpture and cast members of the Sopranos.

Long Description:

Eighteen artists have been chosen by the Springfield Central Cultural District to paint and beautify electrical utility boxes in the downtown area of Springfield. The first boxes were painted on Monday May 23, 2016 and the program will continue throughout the month and beyond. Many of the paintings will be sponsored by local organizations and businesses.

John Simpson is well known for painting a series of murals in downtown Springfield that feature celebrities. This utility box is primarily a tribute to Muhammad Ali who died on June 3, 2016. His image appears on the sidewalk side. The south side contains three vertically arranged portraits. They appear to be Edie Falco, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and James Gandolfini - Carmela Soprano, Meadow Soprano and Tony Soprano. The street side is a parody of a silhouette sculpture if a huge bird directly opposite the utility box to the west. In the parody the bird is feeding a worm to its two young birds. A pair of butterflies surround the meter on the north side.

Decorated Utility Box: City Buildings - Springfield, MA

City Buildings

Springfield, MA

N 42° 06.131 W 072° 35.129

Short Description: 

A painted utility box on the westernmost State and Maple Streets (there are two such intersections 100' apart) in Springfield, MA is painted with a collage of city buildings.

Long Description:

Eighteen artists have been chosen by the Springfield Central Cultural District to paint and beautify electrical utility boxes in the downtown area of Springfield. The first boxes were painted on Monday May 23, 2016 and the program will continue throughout the month and beyond. Many of the paintings will be sponsored by local organizations and businesses. This painted utility box was sponsored by Maplegate Rehab.

Terry Sullivan used, predominately, tones of green and blue to create this collage of city buildings that cover all four sides of this utility box. The buildings are representative examples of the types of structures found in Springfield.

Decorated Utility Box: One - Springfield, MA

One

Springfield, MA

N 42° 06.283 W 072° 35.391

Short Description: 

Inter-racial harmony is the theme of a painted utility box is located on Dwight Street at the southwest corner of Bridge Street in Springfield, MA.

Long Description:

Eighteen artists have been chosen by the Springfield Central Cultural District to paint and beautify electrical utility boxes in the downtown area of Springfield. The first boxes were painted on Monday May 23, 2016 and the program will continue throughout the month and beyond.

One of the utility boxed to be finished on the first day of painting was painted by local artist Renee Flowers with the help and support of her family members. The street side of the utility box has stylized persons of four races grouped side-by-side. Above is the title "ONE." The north side of the utility box follows the same motif with two persons arm-in-arm. The sidewalk side and the south side of this boldly painted utility box is painted with an array of multicolored bubbles.

Decorated Utility Box: Faces - Springfield, MA

Faces

Springfield, MA

N 42° 06.163 W 072° 35.094

Short Description: 

A painted utility box on the easternmost intersection of State and Maple Streets (there are two such intersections 100' apart) in Springfield, MA is painted with the theme of faces.

Long Description:

Eighteen artists have been chosen by the Springfield Central Cultural District to paint and beautify electrical utility boxes in the downtown area of Springfield. The first boxes were painted on Monday May 23, 2016 and the program will continue throughout the month and beyond. Many of the paintings will be sponsored by local organizations and businesses. This painted utility box was sponsored by Painting with a Twist and Inspired Marketing

Chris Gann has created a utility box using an unusual technique. From a distance street side is the full face portrait of a man. If you look closely you will notice the portrait is made up of a mosaic hundreds of individually painted faces. The east side uses the same technique to create a to co-joined faces in profile. The sidewalk side has a grouping of four faces done in the traditional manner. The west side adds butterflies, paint brushes in a glasses of wine (Painting with a Twist is an organization that combines wine tasting with painting) to many smaller portraits.

Decorated Utility Box: Anthropomorphic Cats - Springfield, MA

Anthropomorphic Cats

Springfield, MA

N 42° 06.250 W 072° 35.644

Short Description: 

A painted utility box on the northwest corner of Hampden and Main Streets in Springfield, MA features nine cats engaged in human tasks.
Location: Massachusetts, United States

Long Description:

Eighteen artists have been chosen by the Springfield Central Cultural District to paint and beautify electrical utility boxes in the downtown area of Springfield. The first boxes were painted on Monday May 23, 2016 and the program will continue throughout the month and beyond. Many of the paintings will be sponsored by local organizations and businesses. This painted utility box was sponsored by the Taylor Street Dental Dr. (David) Peck, DMD.

Lisa Hersey portrays nine variously colored cats engaging in human activities. On the sidewalk side gray, orange and brown cats are listing to NEPR (New England Public Radio) playing on a boom box radio. On west side a black and white cat and a brown cat are watching public television. On the street side a an orange and black cat are playing basketball below the stylized word SPRRRRRRRRRINGFIELD. Springfield is the birthplace of basketball and home to the Basketball Hall of Fame. On the east side a gray cat is playing a saxophone. The top of the box has a black cat drawn as a Kilroy-Was-Here pose. Three teeth decorate the each side of the top of the utility box.

Decorated Utility Box: Geometric Designs - Springfield, MA

Geometric Designs

Springfield, MA

N 42° 06.087 W 072° 35.362

Short Description: 

A painted utility box on the north side of the Court Square next to City Hall in Springfield, MA is decorated with a bold geometric designs dominated by triangles and rectangles.

Long Description:

Eighteen artists have been chosen by the Springfield Central Cultural District to paint and beautify electrical utility boxes in the downtown area of Springfield. The first boxes were painted on Monday May 23, 2016 and the program will continue throughout the month and beyond. Many of the paintings will be sponsored by local organizations and businesses. This painted utility box was sponsored by the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.

Gloria Cabeller-Arce has used a pallet of bold colors - black, green, blue, purple, orange and yellow - to create eye-popping designs, composed primarily of triangles and rectangles, on all sides of this utility box. The street (west) side contains a diamond shaped rectangle sub-divided by a complex array of colored triangles against a green background.

Black is used for the remaining backgrounds. The south side feature a rectangle on point accented by parallelograms to give a 3-D effect. The east side has two vertically oriented rectangles, each sub-divided into triangles. The north side has two black and two purple triangles outlined in orange and green. The outline forms a large X.