Saturday, July 4, 2015

Beautiful Walls in the Inner City 2: More Photographs of Philadelphia's Murals and Urban Landscapes

Happy July 4th!  Recently, I've made a few trips into Philadelphia to photograph some of the city's beautiful murals. The collection of images below is an extension of an my post from last year (CLICK HERE).  In the new images, I have tried to capture each painting within a broader urban landscape (i.e. neighborhood, parking lot, street scene, etc.).  This is not meant as an exhaustive list of the city's street art, but a sampling of a few murals in three areas:  North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, and Callowhill.  Most of these are part of the city's wonderful Mural Arts Program.

While these murals are not the usual red, white and blue associated with independence day, they are uniquely American. Some illustrate parts of our history, some inspire those who are the subject of prejudice and injustice, some honor or memorialize outstanding individuals, some motivate those with day-to-day struggles (i.e. with addiction, crime, etc.).  As I view these murals and reflect on the country's events of the past few weeks, I think of the famous Martin Luther King quote:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." 


NORTH PHILADELPHIA

"Rise" (Part of The North Philadelphia Beacon Project)
Mural Artists:  James Burns
Broad Street and Lehigh, North Philadelphia
"Shine" (Part of The North Philadelphia Beacon Project)
Mural Artists:  James Burns
Broad Street and Lehigh, North Philadelphia
Grover Washington, Jr.
Mural Artist:  Peter Pagast
2032 N. Broad Street
"Healing Walls:  A Victim's Journey"
Mural Artists:  Cesar Viverons-Herrera & Parris Stancell
3049 Germantown Avenue
"It Has to Be From Here, Forgotten But Unshaken"
Mural Artist:  Betsy Casanas
3263 N. Front Street
"Porch Light Initiative:  Tell me What You See"
Mural Artist:  James Burns
Carlisle St. and Huntingdon St., North Philadelphia
WEST PHILADELPHIA

"A Celebration of Community"
Mural Artist:  Jane Degenhardt Kutzer
44th and Market St., West Philadelphia


Magic Wall
Mural Artist:  Ana Uribe
47th St. and Upland St. (near Woodland Ave.)

"Calm Consideration of Our Existence" (detail)
Mural Artist:  Parris Stancell
Antioch of Calvary Chapel
4721 Chestnut St, West Philadelphia
"Calm Consideration of Our Existence"
Mural Artist:  Parris Stancell
Antioch of Calvary Chapel
4721 Chestnut St, West Philadelphia
"Downhill River"
Mural by Paul Santoleri
S. 47th Street (near Pascall Ave.)
"Gateway to University City"
Mural Artist:  Max Mason
4008 Chestnut St., West Philadelphia
"Wilt Chamberlain"
Mural Artist:  John Lewis
13th and Vine Street
Mural artist unknown
48th and Woodland Playground
(S. 47th St. near Pascall Ave.)
"Transformation"
Mural Artist:  Eric Okdeh
4040 Market St., West Philadlphia
"The Tuskegee Airmen:  They Met the Challenge"
Mural Artist:  Marcus Akinlana
20 S. 39th Street (near Chestnut St.), West Phila.
"Love Letters:   If You Were Here..."
Mural Artist:  Steve Powers
Market Street, West Philadelphia
"Love Letters:   Hold Tight"
Mural Artist:  Steve Powers
Market Street, West Philadelphia
"Love Letters:   Knocked on Your Door"
Mural Artist:  Steve Powers
Market Street, West Philadelphia
"Love Letters:   See Me Like Beautiful..."
Mural Artist:  Steve Powers
Market Street, West Philadelphia
Joseph Leidy School
Mural Artist:  Unknown
1301 Belmont Ave.
CALLOWHILL

"History of Immigration"
Mural Artist:  Simon Huelsbeck
404 N. 2nd Street (at Callowhill St)
"Wilt Chamberlain"
Mural Artist:  John Lewis
13th and Vine Street

Equal Rights
(Martin Luther King, Jr, Statue of Liberty, etc.)
Mural Artist:  Unknown
Callowhill Street and 2nd Street
"How to Transform Anything into Something Else"
Mural Artists:  The Miss Rockaway Armada
207 N. Broad Street