Monday Mural : Joe Pagac’s Borderlands Brewery mural, Tucson, Arizona

Monday Mural : Joe Pagac’s Borderlands Brewery mural, Tucson, Arizona

Borderlands Brewery mural by Joe Pagac, Tucson, Arizona, photo by M. LaFreniere, all rights reserved

The backside of Borderlands Brewery hosts a gigantic mural which I’m posting first the overall and then some detail shots so you can see some of the scenes clearly.  I’ve been posting them one by one on Instagram @cactus_catz over the weekend, hence the square layout.  The artist is Joe Pagac who also did the Epic Ride.  This mural is not too far from that Ride mural actually.  So if you’re in the neighborhood, you can photograph both as they are about a block apart just across some railroad tracks. Borderlands Brewery is across the tracks which separates the Art Warehouse District and Downtown. Rock Martinez’s Goddess of Agave is between both.  And a little over a block east, lies the Greetings from Tucson mural.  From there, you walk a couple more blocks to 4th Street and you’ll find the Hippie Gypsy.

Borderlands Brewery mural (frog detail) by Joe Pagac, Tucson, Arizona, photo by M. LaFreniere, all rights reserved Borderlands Brewery mural (quail detail) by Joe Pagac, Tucson, Arizona, photo by M. LaFreniere, all rights reserved
Borderlands Brewery mural (hawk detail) by Joe Pagac, Tucson, Arizona, photo by M. LaFreniere, all rights reserved Borderlands Brewery mural (hummingbird and saguaro detail) by Joe Pagac, Tucson, Arizona, photo by M. LaFreniere, all rights reserved

Geez, I just realized I could probably write up a tour map of murals in the area that can be easily walked in one afternoon.  I actually did photograph them all in a three hour walk.  It wouldn’t have taken that long except I sat down for latte and breakfast at Cafe Passe.  Alright, I admit it.  I also had a muffin at Chocolate Iguana but only because they had to leave their old location in a little house where they had been for years and into a tiny space.  I wanted to be supportive.  Licks my finger.  What?  It was delicious.

Borderlands Brewery mural (jackrabbit and coyote detail) by Joe Pagac, Tucson, Arizona, photo by M. LaFreniere, all rights reserved

As you can see the Downtown Tucson Partnership and Duane Edwards Paints sponsored the mural.  It’s great that various partnerships are bringing epic murals into downtown Tucson.

I love the Southwestern style magical realism of the epic piece.  It’s pretty amazing to see it in person.

References:

Borderlands Brewery
119 E. Toole Ave
Tucson, Arizona

Joe Pagac

Blog Hops:  Actually this mural happened to fit into several photo challenges this week which is rare for me so in they all go.

Awww Mondays
Comedy Plus

Monday Mural
Colourful World

Jo’s Monday Walk : Photos from a walk, any walk.  Actually this walk had a bunch of murals on it posted on different days.  Look above in the first paragraph to see some of the other murals.

#18 Blending In – or Standing Out?  (of course, this is for standing out)
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge

K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge: FROM DREAMS TO REALITY  (I interpret the mural as coming from the artist’s dream and made into the reality of a mural)


Use the Amazon search bar to do any search at Amazon like I did with “magical realism”

As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a fee if you click on the above links and buy something. This has no effect on your price. You pay the same price you would normally. Amazon disclosure: “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”

 

 

26 Replies to “Monday Mural : Joe Pagac’s Borderlands Brewery mural, Tucson, Arizona”

  1. Another beautiful mural. I enjoy this series. I have a geocache placed at the old location of Chocolate Iguana because of their cool neon iguana in the window. But now that is gone. I wonder why they had to move. I loved their old location. Probably the expense.

    1. Someone bought the place to put their friend’s cafe in there so Chocolate Iguana had to move out. They moved down the street close to the Drunken Chicken. The new place is not as big as the old place but it’s near the drunken chicken. We can go there some time if you want to move the cache.

    1. Your welcome. I felt the same which is why I did the section. It’s so huge that you have to step to far back to take the whole thing so it makes the scenes hard to see.

  2. Well – I wish I could have seen these in person – just magnificent! A very talented artist indeed, and they stand out, but also blend in perfectly with the sky, earth and soil. Thank you for posting!

    1. I agree with you. He is a very talented artist. It’s cool how he uses the ground and the sky as part of his canvas. I didn’t notice that until you pointed it out. Thanks.

  3. Amazing photos! The mural is just unbelievable, as well; Tucson has got to be the coolest city in the US! (I have been to NYC and San Francisco, but this art is something else)

    1. Thank you! Yeah, it wasn’t like this when I was growing up so I’m discovering it myself. I really think that the 8 murals the city funded served as a trigger. People saw that the murals created landmarks that people went to see and so they started making bigger ones. Sad thing in South Tucson, people had been making murals for years but the officials there didn’t like it. I think some of them were painted over. I saw some pics that were amazing but they’re gone now. Now I think the policy has changed so it’s a different environment. I hope it continues. I really love it. I wish it would come out over here to the east side. We don’t have a lot here.

            1. That’ll be cool. I wonder with Instagram if murals are becoming more popular in other cities. I’ve seen some amazing ones in Europe and NYC

    1. It’s been amazing discovering all the art in Tucson. It’s all kind of new to me too because it wasn’t here when I was growing up.

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