COLOURFULWORLD

Friday 3 July 2015

Alfred at the Como cinema

Strangely enough, I don't think I had ever noticed this mural of the iconic Alfred Hitchcock which is painted on the side of the Cygnet Cinema car park in the suburb of Como, just a few minutes from my work place!

Could the bird on the left be a connection to his well known film "The Birds?"
Recently I had lunch with a friend in a nearby restaurant, and it was when walking back to my car that I noticed the mural.
Alfred and his wife Alma spent part of their honeymoon in Lago di Como (Lake Como), Italy, and returned many times, and the suburb of Como was apparently named after this Italian locality.

The mural was commissioned by the Cygnet Cinema and painted in 2013 by an unknown artist.

The originally named Como Theatre designed in an Art Deco style, opened its doors in 1938 and is now heritage listed. Now named The Cygnet Cinema is part of the "Grand Cinemas" chain.



Just outside the cinema on Preston Street, stands this 2003 artwork by Peter Daily and Tunya Verlsuis, of old canisters and movie reels. It's an interactive artwork and you can turn the film in the projector to see historical and contemporary pictures of Como. How cool is that?


On another nearby wall of a Chinese restaurant another mural was being painted. The scaffolding and art material were there, but I couldn't see the artist.
Golden dragons and kids playing? Not sure I can figure out the association...

 Have a wonderful weekend. We will be having a wet weekend in Perth.

14 comments:

  1. Those last photo's are Indonesian Wayang hand dolls, used in theaters to tell stories against a black
    background. That is why the children jump to the sticks that are used to make the dolls move.

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    1. Thanks for that information Marianne, glad someone could explain that mural.
      I wonder if the artist is Indonesian?

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  2. The Art Deco theater is fantastic! Love it. And Alfred is very well done.

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    1. Thanks Jose, it's a lovely small movie house, I've been there to watch a couple of movies.

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  3. Dearest Sami,
    Indeed, above it got explained well by Marianne!
    What a HUGE Alfred; how could you have missed it all those years?!
    Funny things...
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. True Mariette, how could I have missed this huge mural before?

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  4. Brrrr, "The Birds"really is a shocker.So much that the film made it to the Simpsons even :-)
    I love the idea of teh projector, my Perth list grows again!
    Also the last mural is beautiful, maybe not everything has to make sense?

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    1. Yes, it's not the type of movie I like watching...
      I can take you to see this area, put it on your list, there's a nice restaurant there too with a nice view of the river.

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  5. This is awesome Sami! It's amazing there's still so much art around Perth I still haven't seen yet

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    1. So much to discover around Perth, there's new things coming up every day, I notice changes if I don't go into the city for a few weeks...

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  6. Yeh me too Aimee :) Fantastic find Sami, I think the bird would definitely be a reference to the famous movie. I don't get over to Como all that often, there's just so much to see everywhere these days.. maybe between the two of us we'll finally cover it all :)

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    1. I agree Grace, between both of us we will find all these hidden gems!

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