What is art?
Art is many things, of course. Art takes countless forms, is created in countless mediums, and serves countless purposes. Art is infinite. But perhaps the one thing that all art shares is a need, a desire, a thirst to communicate. Humans have been communicating via art since the beginning of time. When language fails and the inexpressible demands to be expressed, art throws it back and comes to the rescue.
Drive, walk, or skip south on Humboldt Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin—just past the intersection of Humboldt and North—and you’ll find a piece of art overflowing with communication. There, on the north wall of car stereo installation and window tinting joint Expert Electronics (2231 N. Humboldt Ave.), sits a mural thick with images. These images slyly comment on the cornucopia of pop, consumer, and occult cultures that constantly spills out into our daily lives. The Simpsons. The Joker. Jaws. The Egyptian pyramids. Alien abductions vis-à-vis Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Stacks of cash.
Oh, and Mrs. Incredible—a.k.a. Elastigirl, a.k.a. Helen Parr—from the Incredibles franchise. Oh, and her—to borrow a phrase/meme from four years ago—absolute dump truck ass.
To borrow another phrase: Damn.
What more can you say? The mural has been around for a couple of years now. It replaced a similar mural with Foghorn Leghorn on it. It occasionally makes a splash on social media:
public art not only allows a city’s people to reflect its creative abilities onto the built environment, but uplifts the spirit of residents and visitors alike pic.twitter.com/2mLX0kGWxQ
— Frank Lloyd White Boy (@rustbelt_) February 9, 2024
The mural is the work of a number of different graffiti artists and crews, THERD/TKO among them. Mrs. Incredible is just one aspect of the mural, but with her canny placement near the street-side end of the piece and her, um, yeah…she’s clearly the star of the show. [EDIT: WE TOTALLY MISSED THE TREASURE CHEST/”BOOTY” GAG.] Time to update your “Mural Art-Inerary,” Visit Milwaukee.
The Incredibles 3 was announced earlier this month. Expert Electronics is open 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The mural is available for viewing 24/7. Who says public art needs to be divisive?
The Milwaukee Record Review: 10/10 Pixar moms.
Want more Milwaukee Record? Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and/or support us on Patreon.
RELATED ARTICLES
• That Culver’s mural/sign on the East Side: The Milwaukee Record Review
• That ‘Boy With Goose’ sculpture in Marshall Park: The Milwaukee Record Review
• 5 public art controversies from Milwaukee’s past (and present)