The title of this post comes from Shakespeare’s “A Winter Song”, in which the Bard describes the call of the “staring owl” with these words. Nowadays, it seems we’ve abbreviated it to the simple “who”, or if you’re a stickler about subject and object pronouns, to-WHOM.
I found this owl very close to the concrete-walled abyss once known as the Plaça Sanllehy, which made a previous appearance on this blog for some of the art which decorates the concrete walls surrounding the dug-out plaça.
Owls are not a frequent theme in street art, but I have come across some interesting examples, most notably near the Mercat de l’Abaceria in Gràcia and near Gaudí’s Casa Vicens (no photo available).
Though owls are typically a symbol of wisdom and intelligence, this bit of popular wisdom seems to be just that, with no basis in science.
This myth has been reinforced throughout history, most recently by the Harry Potter stories. As I’m a bit older, I have more fond memories of the wise old owl from the Tootsie-pop commercials, and the mechanical owl from the 80’s special effects classic Clash of the Titans.
In my opinion, this owl most resembles the golden, mechanical Greek-myth movie version. What do you think?
Barcelona Street Scraps 