As I walk through the streets of Philadelphia, there have been several occasions when I felt myself being drawn in by the intricacy and colorful nature of the art and graffiti around me.
This photo of Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens exemplifies one such instance, in which the sheer complexity and interwoven nature of the mosaic is simply breathtaking. Worked on by Isaiah Zagar since the 1960s, he began this work as a way to bring life to the city and draw visitors in to view the beauty of Philadelphia.
Walking through South Street a few weeks ago, I also took this picture of a pair of eyes I saw overlooking a shop at the intersection of 5th and South Street. Initially catching my eyes because of the color palette of the teal and gold intermixing and the contrast it creates, I also felt awed by the detailed drawing of each of the eyes from the stroke of the lashes to the depiction of the pupils. Created by UK-based artist My Dog Sighs, this artwork was created as part of a project to bring more engaging art pieces to the South Street, Bella Vista, and Queen Village neighborhoods.
Last but not least, I have not been able to see this in person yet, but this billboard design spelling out “Bring Your Own Bag” in Philadelphia also caught my attention as I was browsing through the internet. Relating to our recent project on intervention in public spaces, this piece of work titled Trash Academy was created by a group of artists to encourage community members to be more conscious of the environment and emphasize the importance of everyone taking a role in solving this problem impacting the city.
