Somehow, in the whirlwind of the highway, I missed posting about our fun detour in Vernon, Texas! While crossing West Texas, we just had to pull over to catch a glimpse of the legendary Roy Orbison mural in Vernon.
Rock and Roll meets Pop Art
Orbison was a musician/songwriter who gave us “Only the Lonely,” “Crying,” and, of course, “Oh, Pretty Woman.”
While the mural itself is colorful and fun, the absolute centerpiece of the site is a pair of giant, freestanding, oversized sunglasses resting right on the sidewalk. Those shades were Orbison’s signature fashion statement,
Roy was deeply nearsighted and relied on prescription lenses. In 1963, right before touring with The Beatles, he accidentally left his regular glasses on an airplane, resorting to his prescription sunglasses for the performances, an iconic rock ‘n’ roll legend was born! Having those giant glasses sitting out in front of the wall gave the whole site a fantastic Claes Oldenburg(https://tinyurl.com/42dy3wcv) feel—turning a musical monument into a brilliant piece of interactive Pop Art.
Sizzling Small-Town History
Just a couple of blocks down the road, we stumbled upon another quirky little bit of art “in the wild.” Vernon is proud to be the home of Wright Brand Bacon for over 100 years, and they’ve commemorated that milestone with a mural painted by Aaron Soto (artbyaaron.com). It’s exactly the kind of unexpected, hyper-local public art that makes road trips magical.
If you ever find yourself heading west toward the Texas Panhandle, do yourself a favor: take a quick break from the highway, pull into downtown Vernon, and hunt down these two fun pieces.