COVID-19 inspires masked-up art and whimsy around Houston

Art imitates life as masks wrapped around sculpture, graffiti and even topiaries mimic the ubiquity of coronavirus-protective face coverings in our everyday lives.

Images wearing face masks now appear in Houston’s Graffiti Park at 1503 Chartres and surrounding buildings near the George R. Brown Convention Center downtown.

Closer to the TMC, beloved bear-shaped topiaries outside a house near Greenbriar and Main have been masked up for COVID-19. And at Children’s Museum Houston, the colorful cutouts of youngsters that line the walkways have added pop: Masks.

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Scupltor David Adickes is known for the enormous Sam Houston statue in Huntsville and the busts along Interstate 10 that create Houston’s mini Mount Rushmore. Among the larger-than-life sculptures at his David Adickes Studio, 2401 Nance, is a version of The Tramp—Charlie Chaplin’s iconic character distinguished by a bowler hat and bamboo cane. Now wearing a mask covering his nose and mouth, we can only assume Chaplin’s signature toothbrush mustache remains intact.

Is that you, Charlie Chaplin? (Photo by Cody Duty)