Peña

"colorido por afuera"

"negro por adentro"

colorful on the outside, black on the inside? maybe my translation is wrong. sounds right, though, considering celeste p's steadfast cynicism. this is put in front of the verde apartments, where we both lived for a year of our lives, with tony and kaelen, jon, katrina, etc. celeste is now in yuma, i believe, and remains to this day one personality that is always welcome where i am. terrible that i never see her much anymore. and today, this shit happens to her? black insides are deserved of others, namely the pricks who did this.

Pedro Dia [Pete Day]

i drew this shitty one of "flowers", and i like it, kinda. i put it in front of pete's house because of the obvious beautiful flowers that have taken over the property during our lush monsoon season. i put more pictures on this one so you can get an idea of just how awesome pete's front yard is these days. the backyard is just as nice; i was on a work break from the home across the street and saw ash play a few songs while sitting on a rock amidst all of these awkwardly long sunflowers. it was very striking. and these weeds are EVERYWHERE in this town, in some places FIELDS of them. i feel the square is best captured here, and i hope it stays up through the winter, until next summer, even if the sharpie fades into dull grey, a math-hue. come look at it, but don't wake pete. unless you're a dream.

opinion

the other one done by neesha, put up at macy's, just a few planters down. they compliment the scenery well. when i stapled it, a guy sat at the table i was at and watched me do it whilst being enthralled by the artistic beauty. he said, "who did this? this is some of the best i've seen," i think referring to artwork. i kind of agree; it's very nice to look at.

house

"my eyes have wings that people say is purple, but they're just black, black eyes," i heard into a cell phone, out of my ears via voicemail. this square is not even square, as drawn upon a couple cardboards, by max. stapled near the house they lived in, joe, max, eric, darren, caleb, aaron, etc. it has since been broken up, tagged upon its insides, gutted from above. moved upon and out. a shell of it's body. on to larger and darker things. breath. breathe. smoke squares.

portrait

this one was done by neesha o, a person who i knew briefly in a couple different contexts. it goes well with the scenery and the plants, which is why i put it here. i really have no idea if she goes to macy's now, though i'm sure she does sometimes. there's also a red one of similar style, that i'll probably put up at a later date to compliment it. that's all for now, i guess. (sorry for the lack of creative writing with these, perhaps it'll come with more free time).

forest winders

this was drawn by forest and is now put up right in front of his old room, the one that he lived in when i first met him and hung out with him a lot. it was a cute apartment with 4 rooms, all rented out separately. he lived with many nice people, including the now deceased man so affectionately referred to as forest's "war vet". his drugs made one as confused as the themes in this square. the apartment is just around the corner from where i live now, and it's interesting to revisit this area in a totally different head space and context. forest and i have been through a lot in the years that i've known him, and i feel the rainbow of colors in this square can't even come close to touching that range. so why try here? some things are just personal, that's all.

doomed & damned

this square was by reuben j. he did many original squares, and this first one i put up from him is just him copying shit off a video cassette. i think this one will come down soon, as it's just on a commonplace section of wood where people post fliers, which is outside of dara thai (where rene k used to work). but that's the point of these squares being up, is that they are totally transitory. some will stay up for a minute, or some will stay up through the winter. those that stand the test of time will be irrelevant. the diamond square below is already down; i believe the owners of the house nearby just didn't like it. which is fine by me. these squares stood for a time that is gone, and this post and release is not to destroy, but rather to remember and give to the community, no matter how unappreciated or enshrined or shriveled or absent. just enjoy what you have right now.

one more week in this apartment

this is a tree drawn by rene k, posted onto a tree near the old apartment of rene k and robert n. i figured a tree was appropriate here, with the tree as a symbol of family, as 1) rene's various family members have lived in this neighborhood for some time, her mom still lives just around the corner, and 2) probably the closest rene's been to a nice family situation separate from her family was in this apartment, with robert and her dog, which i consequently contributed to breaking up. the tree in the picture looks very beautiful, but still shaken, leaves falling in a fast steady pattern. perhaps it's just an erratic fall.

life on mars

this is from jeff and heather, the cutest couple in prescott. jeff drew this in response to the wall ("draw!") and heather drew the blood one for some reason. i put it on mars hill, the little overlook in flagstaff, right by lowell observatory. past this stump is the best view of flagstaff from within the city limits. and what better squares to put up there than those drawn by people who are never in town? nonetheless, their impact is felt, which is why i put them up there. next time you're making out in the dark in a car up here, please, think of anything but.

over-exaggerative

as in my blog heading. as in so much of art in general, these days & historically. as in pizza slices, eyes eating mouths. as if heartbreaks could even touch the surface of holocaust?!?!?! but fuck, at the time, we really really really think it does. the red medicine of pizza sauce translates to t-cells, son.

this square was by kyle c, and i agree with it fully.



[NOTE: background is nimarco's pizza. with all pictures on this blog: click to make larger.]

public and cheap

like cardboard diamonds! i can't remember the author of this particular square, but i felt it did well down the street from me amongst this monsoon brush. i feel the staple through wood in the fact that art (my art, or any art whatsoever) is simply a function of the human involved, that particular humans use art only to modify their environment. (art is everywhere and art IS life, no imitation required, all that is labeled as art is only one human's interpretation of perception and beauty). so i say: if you like this blog, you do it through me, as a conduit, and if you think this blog is cheapening human interaction and behavior, then you have lost or are losing touch with me. which is perfectly ok, too. it happens. love,

matt

my new temporary residence

this square was done by me. it's a 'q and not u', as is the web address of this blog. i still tend to think that 'q and not u' is one of the better bands of the last ten years. this house is me and 6 other dudes, cheap rent, lots of bikes, plenty of music, lots of drinking and not much sleep. a decent amount of mess and smell, but it's in a quite lovely way. i tend to heart my hive no matter where i am, with this being no exception. my only hope is that the smell of rowdy boys doesn't drive away girls who have a long drive ahead of them. "I heart my hive".

FIRE (hearts are for hospitals)

this square was drawn by rene k at the height of our relationship, i'd say. i put it by the hospital's emergency department because of the memories held within it. my first ex worked in there, and is now a nurse in tucson; rene and i were in there for a car-totaling accident; i bawled my eyes out there this summer as i took in a sick friend who also used to work at the hospital. i reflected upon all this, as well, when i just visited a friend who had surgery there about a week ago. i rode in the rain up to the hospital and knew i'd post this square here, and knew that same rain would knock it down after too long. but i'm ok with that. the square reads:

"MURKY - LABORIOUS - GUILT-RIDDEN - DECEITFUL - MANIPULATIVE - STICKY - EXHAUSTING - MASOCHISTIC - OVERWHELMING - STUPID - CLICHE - TEDIOUS - AMAZING - SMOOTH - COMFORTING - DELICIOUS - WARM - AFFIRMING - INVIGORATING - SWEET - PERFECT - SENSUAL - OPEN - UNABASHED - VULNERABLE - SECURE - PASSIONATE - EYES - SHAMELESS - SWEATY - WONDERFUL - BRAZEN - HAPPY - ADORING - ACCEPTING - BEAUTIFUL - NAKED - DIVINE - SIMPLE - INFINITE - TANGY - YOU - ME - BLESSED - DAMNED - LIMITLESS - REBORN - SAFE - ADVENTUROUS - PURE - SEXY - UNBELIEVABLE - BREATHY - ALL-ENCOMPASSING - THIS - IS - LOVE - - - - - - - - - - -"