"How To Turn Anything Into Something Else"
Anna Ialeggio, Robyn Hasty, Aly Perry, Nick Pagliugi, Siena Mayers, Tracy Jarvis
Noah Church, Ellery Neon, Ian Ferris
Greg Kalliche, John Kane, Charles Calder
Featuring the work of kids from the following Big Picture programs:
Lighthouse, Southwark, Wissahicken
35' x 100'
N. Broad & Race, Philadelphia PA
Philadelphia Mural Arts
2011
(first sketch prior to painting... you can see how it's evolved)What follows is a text which we wrote collectively about the process of painting the mural...
In the summer of 2011, several members of the Miss Rockaway Armada crew embarked on a project with 31 kids ages 10-14 from three different schools participating in the Philadelphia Mural Arts Big Picture Program.
Through drawing games, collage, and impromptu theater exercises, the kids were prompted to create new and fantastic worlds out of the ordinary. What resulted was a dazzling assortment of colorful characters, fabulous creatures, and fantastical settings.
At the onset we wanted to establish with the students that their imagination are real and possible...To create a world you wish to live in, first you must envision it. The process of making this mural was one of emergence and collaboration. There were few set rules, many open-ended possibilities, and a willingness on everyone's part to respond to others' contributions. Together we made a world that is at once a version of the one we inhabit, the one of which we are afraid, and the one for which we hope.
Though the images in the mural appear strange and whimsical, they hold a mirror to the world the kids inhabit in real life - there are systems of travel, places of danger and places of rest, spaces of darkness and of light. There are factories that pollute the water, and there are portals that hold new possibilities. A dragon's back turns into tracks and supports a freight train, a lemon transforms into a bird taking flight, a boat becomes a whale, and scissors' arms
break apart to sprout separate individuals. This was aptly summarized by 10-year-old Marquis Fabii, (ultimately becoming the title of the mural), "How to Turn Anything Into Something Else."
Towering over everything in the top-right corner is the many-muscled Kira, a direct representation of a drawing by Big Picture student Shakira Lowery. Kira is the strongest woman in the world, has flashlight eyes and sees through darkness. She casts a guiding light on this new, uncanny place. We decided to use Shakira's image as a welcoming beacon for folks on the sidewalk and as a tribute to the strength and creativity that is demanded of us all as we set out into an ever-changing world.
Through drawing games, collage, and impromptu theater exercises, the kids were prompted to create new and fantastic worlds out of the ordinary. What resulted was a dazzling assortment of colorful characters, fabulous creatures, and fantastical settings.
At the onset we wanted to establish with the students that their imagination are real and possible...To create a world you wish to live in, first you must envision it. The process of making this mural was one of emergence and collaboration. There were few set rules, many open-ended possibilities, and a willingness on everyone's part to respond to others' contributions. Together we made a world that is at once a version of the one we inhabit, the one of which we are afraid, and the one for which we hope.
Though the images in the mural appear strange and whimsical, they hold a mirror to the world the kids inhabit in real life - there are systems of travel, places of danger and places of rest, spaces of darkness and of light. There are factories that pollute the water, and there are portals that hold new possibilities. A dragon's back turns into tracks and supports a freight train, a lemon transforms into a bird taking flight, a boat becomes a whale, and scissors' arms
break apart to sprout separate individuals. This was aptly summarized by 10-year-old Marquis Fabii, (ultimately becoming the title of the mural), "How to Turn Anything Into Something Else."
Towering over everything in the top-right corner is the many-muscled Kira, a direct representation of a drawing by Big Picture student Shakira Lowery. Kira is the strongest woman in the world, has flashlight eyes and sees through darkness. She casts a guiding light on this new, uncanny place. We decided to use Shakira's image as a welcoming beacon for folks on the sidewalk and as a tribute to the strength and creativity that is demanded of us all as we set out into an ever-changing world.
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