During his daily drive along an industrial road in Houston, a street artist known by the pseudonym “Neato Rodriguez” felt inspired to bring some life to the otherwise dull surroundings. He noticed an unremarkable abandoned concrete culvert among the landscape. This sight sparked an artistic idea in Rodriguez’s mind.
Describing the area as lacking in artwork, Rodriguez shared with Houston publication Chron, “Any leftover construction materials in the vicinity often go unused. Why not use them to add some visual appeal to the area?”
Under the cover of night, Rodriguez ventured onto the road and transformed the dreary culvert into a large Question Block from the iconic Super Mario video game series. This piece marks Rodriguez’s debut art installation, with his future works planned to maintain a pixel art style, as per his profile.
A Super Mario Bros. Mystery Box has popped up in Houston.
What’s inside?https://t.co/sSDPcHACu0
— Chron (@chron) September 9, 2021
Reflecting on his activity, Rodriguez acknowledged the illegal nature of his actions, stating, “No one had paid attention to that culvert for a long time. Why not add some fun to it while it’s there?”
Keeping his true identity a secret, even from his colleagues, the artist expressed amusement at the positive reception of his work, saying, “Some people have approached me saying ‘Have you seen that block? It’s amazing.’ And all I could reply was, ‘I should go check it out.'”
The Question Block, alongside various smaller installations that have appeared on the walls of different buildings in Houston, are part of Rodriguez’s “Infinitely Houston” series. This initiative aims to inject artistic vibrancy into areas of the city lacking visual appeal, while also showcasing outstanding businesses and individuals.
(function() {
var loaded = false;
var loadFB = function() {
if (loaded) return;
loaded = true;
(function (d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s);
js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v3.0”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
};
setTimeout(loadFB, 0);
document.body.addEventListener(‘bimberLoadFbSdk’, loadFB);
})();
