An Art Musing – The Given & the Posed, Art upon Art, Intrusions Out Of & Alongside & Within the “Real” World Glimpsed by the Open & Understanding Eye
This mural upon the walls of a path between subway stations in New York, is reminiscent of the scenes of everyday life carved and painted upon the walls and corridors of ancient Egyptian tombs. And this portion of the mural displays a seemingly superimposed real life young teenage boy halting mid-stride and upright, also as in Egyptian art, alongside the wall, statuesque and appearing as if posed and paused and painted both as an artistic intrusion onto this part of the wall, and as an artistic intrusion from the mural into the “real” world of the busy New York City subway system.
The mural itself is marvelous in its composition. The dark blue and black, and the rainbow of the other flat colors, against the grey, light grey, and almost white background, arrest the eye and draw it into the painting. The absolute whites upon the same background are also marvelous, pleasing to the eye – the figures clothed with whites, the white shoes, and the white chairs of the café, all surprisingly easy to see and thus readily enjoyed and smiled over.
The yellow helmets of the two workers in white overalls and black shoes, intrude into the space above them, and to the eye, become part of and emphasize the straight line of the upper gray level. And then the helmets, in the space above, almost become just bright happy spots of yellow.
Also, all the figures with their actions and colors intrude into the space above and below them, thus tying the various components of the mural into a unified composition and creating the artistic tension and energy of many walking and hustling between subway lines and stations.
This energy then projects out onto the path and also mirrors the same busy and at times frenetic energy of all those whose life at that moment is a hurried pace alongside and pass the mural. The striding figures – and, wow, the snappy little details, the man with the tattoos on his arm right in front of the boy, the heart on the arm of the woman in heels, cellphone in hand, striding away from the boy behind him, the flowing pink bellbottoms and high-heeled boots of the woman at the far right – thus lend even more life to the movement and action of a very familiar and well-known experience and scene to those so blessed to be alive and well and commuting in or visiting New York City.
In addition, the implied and imagined fast clip of their passage imbues with them breath, a necessary component of our lives, a life function we can imagine in the mural and perhaps even feel within our own bodies.
All the figures are also striding on sharpish grey ovals, placing them along the walkway, their slice of ground perhaps also an allusion to their possession of a shadow, a shadow that is only momentarily alive in its following mimic, that additionally gives them physical space and the full scope of our human reality – our life and our passing.
Within all this determined hustle of those striding along, I love the counterpoise of the selfie-taking couple in the upper right-hand corner – a ubiquitous event in the subways, streets, and almost anywhere else in the city. And the subway, and the metropolis itself, is imagined as a place of constant hustle and unending movement, but then also, perhaps subtly, as a city always ready and up for being the background of a selfie, for those who pause and wish to insert themselves, and their life, and their memory, into the vibrant living mural of New York City.
Then there is the boy. Fourteen or so he seems to me, not a child, not yet a man, posed as standing as still as a statue, an ancient Egyptian statue of a striding youth. The dark blue of his pants and dark greyness of his shirt, with its front of yellow, green, and white, and spots of red, all contribute to the life of his image and perhaps to the illusion of his pause in mid-stride, for the bright colors of the front of his tee-shirt, still gently suggest the forward direction and movement of his body.
Also, the even brown coloration of the boy’s skin, places his image somewhere between the pinkishness and dark brown of the various figures of the mural. And the positioning of his body, and especially his face and the black of his hair, definitely stage the boy as the center of this portion of the mural. However, his position does not pull his figure into the mural, yet he is still one with it, belonging to it by his place before it, not blending in, but distinct and alive, as is each figure of the mural, striding or sitting or taking a selfie, all also alive and distinct.
The boy’s inclusion is surprising and almost genius-like in emphasizing, complementing, and expanding the impact and reach of the mural for those who pass. For all the background figures are flat and one-dimensional, but the boy, by contrast, appears as if on his own, as if striding out of the mural and in that act becoming a real person, a real boy with multiple dimensions.
Additionally, the realistic rendering of the folds of his tee-shirt, the random loose arrangement of the front of his hair, and a few more subtle “imperfections” of his hair at the back of his head and the line of his hair on his neck, lend him physicality and breath as a living boy. And one very subtle detail on the boy – the first very slight hint of emerging darkening hair on his upper lip – also suggests the “livingness” of this boy as posed, layering art upon art, a true Intrusion out of the mural, and alongside it, and into the “real” world.
But now, is the boy really a brilliantly painted portion of the mural or is he in fact a real living boy? And since the subject of this art musing, the photo, was presented as a complete work of art, does it matter? Is this important in understanding the overall design, intent and vision of the artist and/or of a potentially intruding rogue photographer? And is this thought intriguing or just moving towards boring minutia?
Then perhaps is this really just art on art, an expression of life and joy with public art? And if the boy is real, was this still really the unspoken intent of the mural artist all along – inviting somehow a greater public participation with this commissioned public work of art? Then also, if this is a photograph of a real boy posed in front of the mural, is this posting a true narrative of the initial thought or intent of the rogue photo maker, or did that evolve over time?
And the boy himself, do you know him, or does he just look like someone you know, or would like to know, or like a statue you remember from a museum? To me, he seems familiar, and appears pleasant-looking and intelligent, but that also may be an illusion. When I see him again, I will need to inquire.
Ah, public art – and all art – extended and itself made more real with endless views and uses and thoughts and possibilities to ponder and consider.
Some Other Art Musings of Interest
An Art Musing – A Young Boy Gazes at the Ocean – Writing In The Shade Of Trees
A Grandson in the Late Winter Afternoon – A Musing on Art – Writing In The Shade Of Trees
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