Painting the Town, One Public Art Project at a Time

A couple of the recent public art projects I have experienced have very literally involved painting murals on the streets of New York.

The first is called Ripples of Peace and Calm by Ji Yong Kim, a Brooklyn based visual artist, featuring lotus flowers, leaves, and koi fish. Lotus flowers grow in muddy waters, symbolizing our emergence from the pandemic to a brighter and more hopeful future.

The other one that caught my eye is on 7th Avenue in the Fashion District, where I have been heartbroken about the fashion hall of fame stars being removed during the pandemic. I have passed these countless times over the years, and never really bothered to photograph them as they were always there, till they were not. In the same area, there is now a Celtic braid mural titled Bit, Bridle and Reins by Steed Taylor on Seventh Avenue consisting of a yellow Celtic braid across vibrant blue background on 63 concrete blocks on the 7th Avenue pedestrian corridor.

And both these remind me of an exhibit from 2018 on Broadway Plaza called Ararauna by Patricia Cazorla and Nancy Saleme, who drew inspiration from their Native Venezuela for this mural that was painted quite literally on the streets of New York.

#gottalovenewyork