Bull, City
Oil on canvas
2011
40 " x 30"
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Notes: The setting of this painting, Durham,
North Carolina, is colloquially known as "Bull City," a
reference to the Bull Durham brand of tobacco launched here in the mid-1800s.
The bull in the foreground is a fine bronze sculpture, entitled "Major,"
created by Mike Waller and Leah Foushee, located in downtown Durham, on
CCB Plaza,
at the intersection of Parrish and Corcoran Streets. The large shadow
across the middle ground, through which the cyclist rides, is cast not
by the bull but by the tall, historic Hill Building (a/k/a SunTrust
Tower, a/k/a Central Carolina Bank Building, etc.), which is just
outside the picture space, to the right. That building is currently controlled
by Greenfire
Development.
The partially shaded green space beyond the street is a park-like vacant lot, also owned by Greenfire, on which the Durham Woolworth's once stood. This location was visited by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1960, as early civil-rights sit-ins at its segregated lunch counter were under way. This is also where, on election night in November 2008, a large, exuberant crowd, myself included, gathered around an improvised projection screen to watch and celebrate election results as they were broadcast. This lot was closed to the public with chain-link fencing in July 2011, and is apparently to be used as a staging area during the planned renovation of the aforementioned Hill Building.
The sunlit, bright green wall with peeling paint, behind the vacant lot, encompasses two more historic buildings; the one on the left is on the south side of Parrish Street, while the right side has a Main Street address. The former currently is an empty, roofless shell, while the latter, also vacant, is in better condition. Both of these buildings are also owned by Greenfire at this time (September 2011).