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ROBIN WHETSTONE
PAINTING THE TOWN
It's a safe bet that if I'm not busy contemplating odd com
mercial signs, subversive cross-stitchery or failed subdivisions,
I'm probably thinking about random paintings on the sides of
buildings. So, when someone asked me to find out what the
deal is with the chrysanthemums painted on, among other
places, Athens Blueprint and the roof of the downtown Jittery
Joe's roasting facility, I eagerly agreed.
The woman behind the flowers, Lou Kregel, is not a graffiti
artist, although her work might be mistaken for it. You won't
find her skulking in an alley with spraypaint-stained fingers,
tagging some lost wall with big bubbly letters that no one over
40 can decipher.
Instead, Kregel is using her powers for good. Her hypnotic,
repeating graphical patterns can be found all over Athens' com
mercial landscape, tying together, for example, the decor at
Ted's Most Best, or livening up the atmosphere at Salon DM3.
And in what has to be some kind of benediction for this article
from the Post-Punk Universe, I also learned that Kregel's art
graced the cover of Sugar's album, File Under Easy Listening,
just as the closing track of Copper Blue (the band's first album)
finished playing on my stereo.
So, why is this accomplished fine artist spending her time
painting flowers on buildings? It's because she hopes that
her exuberant, vivid chrysanthemums will positively influence
the way Athenians see their town, and will inspire others to
express their own creativity. If there's an opposite of "vandal,"
Kregel is it.
"It's hard to resist the urge to make everything beauti
ful," she tells me, "but I always ask permission to paint on a
building."
An ideal spot for one of Kregel's works is a neglected,
unnoticed place, one that others may look at but don't really
see. Her art is a visual "WTH?," surprising people with unex
pected bursts of color and challenging them to look at famil
iar landscapes with new eyes. Thus, we have an abandoned
church with a flower blooming on its doors, and a concrete-
block loading dock sporting gaudy, cheerful petals. But why
chrysanthemums?
"Feng Shui [the Chinese system of arranging buildings and
interiors] says that chrysanthemums invite harmony and hap
piness into the home, so that's why I chose them," Kregel
explains. "Also, they're relatively easy to paint. That's impor
tant, because I'm getting more and more people who want me
to paint them in their houses or backyards."
What started out as a way to help the owner of the Big City
Bread building prettify the place has proven so popular that
Kregel has painted about 35 of the mums for Athens businesses
and homes. She says most people really like the flowers, theo
rizing that it's their randomness that makes them compelling.
"There's no reason for them," she says. "They're just weird."
Of course, her flowers also have their fair share of critics.
"This one guy I know, he moved in to a house that had a
mum on the front door," she says. "He hated it, so he put an
American flag over it. Then someone
stole the flag, so he put up a Jolly Roger.
It's weird, too, because he's a gardener.
"Another time, I went to this plumb
ing shop to see if I could paint one
on their building. They said no, they'd
rather have an American flag."
I ask her if she thinks that there's
an inverse correlation between liking
American flags and hating giant techni
color chrysanthemums, and if so, what
this could mean. She offers: "Well, maybe
people think the chrysanthemums are too
hippie-ish? Maybe they don't want their
customers thinking they like artists? I
don't know. Maybe the people who don't
like them are more conservative. But I
don't really think it's any kind of political
statement."
I consider suggesting a new line of
red-white-and-blue or camouflage chry
santhemums but fear that the collision
of two opposing worldviews in a single
image might cause an explosion, or a
rent in the space-time continuum, or
something. So, instead, I ask her more
about Feng Shui. It's one thing to paint
your door red or hang up a mirror in your
living room to encourage your own indi
vidual happiness and prosperity. Does she
really think she can affect the fortunes
of a whole town just by the strategic
painting of mums?
"Well, people think, 'I'll organize my
office according to Feng Shui principles,
and then I'll be really successful!' But
actually, what happens is those guide
lines make it easier for you to get your
work done, so, then, because of that, maybe you become more
successful. I do think it matters," she says. "I think it's so
important that your surroundings are beautiful. I grew up in
Texas. It was so ugly and depressing. Seeing something beauti
ful affects how you think and how you feel."
I ask her if there is any other public art in Athens that
inspires her.
"I really love David Hale's mural on the side of Sunshine
Bicycles. And Kris Davidson, who painted the old Georgia
Theatre. His patterns were so precise and exact. Athens is such
a beautiful place because artists and other people who care
have gone to the trouble to preserve what makes it beautiful.
Like Michael Stipe, and his efforts to save the building where
The Grit is. I want to do something positive for the community,
too. Maybe it will inspire other people to get out and put their
own art up. People who live here who have vision need to do
something about it. We need to spend our time on things that
will have an effect."
Whatever one feels about the aesthetic value of Kregel's
flowers, it's hard to argue with her contention that a town full
of involved and passionate residents is a good place to be.
Imagine the interesting mayhem and amusing lawsuits that
would ensue if more of us followed her example, turned off
our televisions and exorcized our artistic impulses in a pub
lic forum. I vote we find our creative voices and let them be
heard. As the success of her public art demonstrates, there's no
good reason to remain mum.
Robin Whetstone
One of Kregel???s chrysanthemums on a building near Hill and Chase streets.
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