Chalking it up on the streets

Literal street art! This Sunday, Madison held its first annual "Ride the Drive" event, wherein 6 miles of downtown roads were shut down to all but bike and pedestrian access. There were a lot of kids and adults out doing chalk art on the suddenly accessible streets, too, and the above shot was snapped by intrepid kite aerial photographer Craig Wilson.

Doesn't jogging mess up his hair?

Looks like disgraced ex-Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has been hiding out in Madison - this, apparently, in the middle of his attempts to cash in on noteriety by appearing on various reality TV shows and hiring himself out as a terrible Elvis impersonator. He should really look where he's going. Photo by USB.

Camouflaged street robot

This little guy glared up at me from the pavement near the capitol square, at the corner of W. Main and S. Fairchild streets, as I was headed to a gig at The Frequency. There wasn't enough time (for obvious reasons of personal safety) to get close enough to figure out if he was made of the same stuff as the crosswalk, but it looked awfully similar. Clever work, regardless.

Takes the term "street art" to a whole new, and far more literal, level.

The Pink Ranger has you on a short leash

I spotted this while on my commute home from work last Friday. The Pink Ranger has sadly already been removed (I think it was just a paste-up), but the little transformer guy is still there, keeping watch. This was on a wall where Escape Java Joint used to be on Williamson St. One of the bigger and more whimsical pieces I've seen in awhile.

A face on the train

This rather nice photo comes to us courtesy of Peter Patau, a fine local photographer and budding street art spotter. The piece looks to be done on a train car on the tracks along the southwest bike path, so it may just be passing through town.

I know graffiti on trains is as highly illegal as anything, but I must admit that I enjoy the added color. There must be a certain thrill for the artist, too, knowing that their work will travel from place to place and be seen by people across the country.

But, you know, illegal.