More Mural

Meanwhile, back at the mural. Thomas John is still working at the mural. I try to avoid writing about the same stuff but you know, progress and evolution are fascinating, at least on a small scale.

About two weeks ago I first blogged about this mural here, at which time ole Thomas said he was about 60 percent done, but I think he either underestimated or is coming up with additional ideas as he goes along. This is really one fascinating work. I like the way it fools the viewer.

First glance it makes you think that it is an accurate representation of the “Power House District,” which is the immediate environs surrounding this building, which is on Marin & Bay.

During this initial glance, you may also believe you are looking at a 3-D picture, an effect created by the sizing of the buildings, aided by the perspective string, which he uses here to as he completes the unfinished portions. Of course, this is an old fashioned 2-D picture on a side of a traditional 3-D brick and mortar edifice. The blackness of the roof tops of the buildings in the foreground, the bricks which seem to shimmer, have the cumulative effect of creating the impression of depth.

Ahh, but it’s the second glance that we realize the creation of the effect—we need a second glance for the shimmering to simmer down—and the fact, this is not a photograph of the surrounding area—it is not exact. It is indeed, an expression of the immediate environs. It’s a kind of reflection. Everything is a little off, edges a little softer than reality.

Well, it’s not finished yet but as I shot the breeze with TJC several of the pedestrians walking on Marin stopped to see, most shouted out encouragements, appreciations, thumbs up signs!

Marin is a pretty bleak stretch of street, basically an industrial highway shortcut to the Mall and Holland Tunnel. This work of art brightens it up.

Look at the upper portion of the painting. There is now a skyline, which wasn’t there before when I last saw the mural. This skyline enhances the feeling of depth.

But is that skyline the NYC skyline? Not exactly – is it the artist’s imagination, or maybe some sort of collective subconscious?

When we see industrial buildings we imagine the skyline in the horizon whether or not it exists exactly as we imagine it.

You can also see outlines of water towers and other structures that have yet to be filled in. Another detail is the “morgan” sign on the side of the building. This was not here before. There’s a slight wave in the perimeter of the sign—a kind of wiggle one might see in animation.

I notice these things. I noticed that just like the cobble stones, it added to the shimmer of the work. The sign is part of the shimmer, as is the side of the building on which it is set and the windows inset on the same exterior.

Go by Marin & Bay and take a look yourself. It will be here a long time. Watching a work in progress though, that only happens once in a lifetime. Every day, more mural to appreciate.