Following up on a helpful hint from Mangeek, (and my smart brother who had told me the same thing), I put ‘QR house, providence, ri’ on the intertubes and found the names of the perpetrators.

From ProJo.com last November…

Local artists this year have painted temporary murals on seven shuttered buildings as part of a project to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods that have been hit hardest by foreclosure and disinvestment. They join three other murals that were painted last year on foreclosed homes in Smith Hill.

The goal of the project, called HousEART, is to help revitalize and beautify the neighborhoods until a more permanent solution can be found for the unused properties. In cities such as Philadelphia and Detroit, similar mural projects have helped remediate urban blight and reduce vandalism and graffiti.

“People are sometimes confused and amazed that their neighborhood is getting this loving attention,” says Lydia Stein, a local muralist and the project leader. “It’s really a gift, and people can feel that.”

The murals, which were funded by the state Council on the Arts and the city, include Stein’s colorful piece across the street from the D’Abate school, on the house at 63 Kossuth St., which depicts lions, pandas, elephants, a T-rex, an alien and other wildlife in a sort of peaceful coexistence.

There is also the quirky orange-and-white piece on the side of 44 Kossuth St. that is actually a large barcode, known as a QR Code. When read by certain smart phones, Stein says, it can direct users to the website for artists Alexia Mellor and Andrew Ames.

Here’s a link to photos of all the murals.

I had noticed the mural across the street from the school, thinking it had been painted for the children to enjoy– which it was. The QR house intrigued me.

I’ll search for the artists on the net. Running around Olneyville in nurse’s scrubs taking pictures gets me more attention than I like, so I’ll be discrete.

Alexia and Andrew, I like your mural. The same day I saw it, I also saw a couple of young men planting a garden in a vacant lot. Spring is finally here.