Monday 12 March 2012

Monday Mural - Illustrated Man


'The Illustrated Man' is a tattoo shop on Elizabeth Street close to Central Station. It used to be seedy, and reek of ill-repute. Well to my WASP, middle-class, ageing eyes it did. However, tatts are very much 'in' and a decent tattooist must be raking it in, because TIM has gone all glass, chrome and Scandinavian wood. And moved. To the OTHER corner on the intersection.


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Thanks to Google, you can see what I mean. It is no longer where that gorgeous tiger welcomes you, but across the road at the defunct Central Internet Cafe. Furthermore, see the mural splashed along the wall as you turn from Elizabeth Street up into Forster Street. Bingo. This be it!

That entire block is now derelict and awaiting Whelan the Wrecker to begin the process of converting it into BORING apartments. How do I know BORING? Because all the other apartments around there are very B-for-BORING! For a look at the other end of this same block closer to its hay-day, take a look at Jim's March Theme Day post where he shows the Sharpie Golf House neon-light sign.

This is my contribution to the Monday Mural community.

19 comments:

Unknown said...

This is fabulous! Love it.

Stefan Jansson said...

Since I know that you are huge fan of tattooed people, this would be a great place to grab a few portraits!

Julie said...

Hah! I can see me now, loitering in the gutter down the gritty end of town.

But you have seeded an idea, Steffe.

Kay L. Davies said...

I love the Samurai mural. Wouldn't want it on my body, although my body could do with some improvement.
Interesting post, Julie, and I can hardly wait until you take up gutter-loitering for portrait opportunities.
K

Jim said...

I hadn't really noticed this tattooist until you mentioned last week when I featured the golf shop sign next door. Interesting how the show has gone upmarket.

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

Amazing mural, Julie! It is very well executed and I love the colours.
Now as for tattoos, not my cup of tea!

Eki said...

Beautiful work of art, Julie.

I am personally not into tattooing, but can always admire the patterns it produces.

I like you post about the gamelan too and have commented on it.

Have a good day! :D

Andy said...

The murals around this shop are fantastic. The Illustrated Man is a book by Ray Bradbury and a movie starring Rod Steiger.

Julie said...

Did they have anything to do with tattoos, Andy?

Anonymous said...

Wonderful photos of some great images.

biebkriebels said...

Such buildings look a lot better with the murals. This must have been an artist painting there.

Halcyon said...

You could not pay me any amount to get a tattoo. I don't care if they're "in", I just couldn't handle the pain and the thought of living with something on my body for the rest of my life.
That said, I do appreciate the artistry and I like this colorful mural outside their shop.

VioletSky said...

Maybe those boring apartments could be decorated by some tattoos, erm, murals, like this?!

Nellies said...

I like the mural, but I love your commentary Julie. It probably wasn't your intention to make such a funny write-up about this mural (or was it?), but I had to laugh out loud when I read it. My favorite part was: "reek of ill-repute". I even had to look ill-repute up, since they didn't teach me that in English lesson :-))
Thanks Julie!

RedPat said...

This is a fab mural. I think I'll skip the tat.

Oakland Daily Photo said...

Indeed, a good looking mural. Very Hokusai. It's a pity it will be destroyed along with the building. Urban renewal marches on. Thanks for participating in this week's Monday Mural.

Emma Dalloway said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Emma Dalloway said...

Ah - the deleted comment was from me - it was a typo.

Just wanted to say that is a remarkable mural.

B i r g i t t a said...

This is a great picture!!! I love it composition, colors, drama ...