“Charting a Path to Resistance,” a new Percent for Art mural at the Philadelphia City Archives is an abstract representation of the struggles of African Americans in Philadelphia and their resistance to injustices perpetrated upon them. The new commission by Talia Greene uses a gridded timeline supplemented by written material available via tablet in the Archives space. Michael Lieberman notes that the new mural’s graphic display, while not self-evident in meaning, becomes clearer upon reading the copious research material provided by the artist in the tablets. The educational value of the mural is clear, even if the graphical interface is not.
Read MoreNew Artblog contributor John Morrison fills us in on “Dreams, Diaspora and Destiny,” an Augmented Reality mural in Malcolm X Park created by Oakland-based painter and illustrator Joshua Mays and hometown hero, DJ King Britt.
Read MoreMuch like Philadelphia, Prague is a city known for its rich tradition of public artworks. Here Artblog’s Paris correspondent, Matthew Rose, takes a trip to the Czech Republic’s bustling capital to tour its monuments, murals and statuary. While some works seem tailor made for the social media age, for Rose the city’s history of social and political turmoil looms large.
Read MoreMandy Palasik, Artblog’s resident architect, takes a trip up to Governors Island in New York Harbor to survey the site’s innovative fusion of public art and architectural preservation. In the process, she comes away with some great recommendations for our own fair city! In addition to the work described here, readers should also check out the 11th annual Governors Island Art Fair, which opens September 1 and runs every weekend through the end of the month.
Read MoreIn his essay, Dave Kyu looks at various placements for the contentious Frank Rizzo statue, which the city promised to relocate after angry public outcry. Dave ponders three new locations for the monumental sculpture to the racially-divisive former Mayor and Police Commissioner and one new placement at its current location. The relocation of the Rizzo statue is an important civic conversation that continues to need public input. What do you think is the best possible placement for the controversial statue?
Read MoreMatthew writes about the wonderful “art show” you see in the underground walkways and along the platforms of the Paris Metro, with large scale posters from Paris’s 130 museums plastered throughout and making the experience a kind of art history lesson on the move.
Read MoreWhat is an appropriate monument for the current city of Philadelphia? This is the timely and ambitious question that the folks at Mural Arts posed to their 20 selected Monument Lab artists. Imani Roach interviews one of the artists, Sharon Hayes, and reports on her project, installed in Rittenhouse Square until Nov. 19.
Read MoreIn the wake of public art controversies centered on divisive figures of the Civil Rights era, the new Octavius Catto memorial at City Hall is a salve to the nerves and a reminder that good public art, made for today but nodding to the past and with tomorrow in mind, can bring us together and serve the public good.
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