By Molly McVety,Shepard Fairey
Copyright phillyvoice
A new Center City mural by Shepard Fairey shows a woman with her hands cupped and eyes looking up in a peaceful, aspirational gaze toward the scales of justice. With Philadelphia preparing to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary next year, the artist hopes this towering image over LOVE Park will evoke a connection between the past and what’s possible for the future.
“When this country was being formed, and there was somewhat of a clean slate, a lot of the ideas in the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence were lofty ideas,” he said. “We can decide what do we want the next 250 years to look like — more of where it’s headed now or maybe a reset. … I hope (the mural) prompts people to consider that.”
Fairey, best known for designing former President Barack Obama’s “Hope” campaign poster, has been commissioned for six other public art pieces in Philadelphia over the past 15 years — but none as central as this one, titled “Uplift Justice” and located on the side of the former District Attorney’s Office at 1421 Arch St.
“I look at some of those philosophical principles going back to the founding of the nation and say ‘Where do my values for everything that’s going on right now connect with something that’s almost 250 years old?” he said. “… This is my way of putting something there that I think gets people to think about history and the concept of justice for the moment we’re in.”
The patterns surrounding the mural’s central subject were inspired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s textile archives and pay homage to the city’s once-illustrious industry.
“One of the things I love about patterns is every culture, without knowing what each other are up to, uses decorative patterns, often with flowers in them,” Fairey said. “… If I can find a way of having that universal thing with something that’s idiosyncratic to [Philadelphia], that’s a really cool combination.”
For the past 25 years, Peter Pagast’s mural “Declaration of Independence” has adorned the side of the Courtyard Marriott, showing a statue of an ancient Greek warrior meant to represent the ideals of leadership. Mural Arts Philadelphia floated the idea to replace the deteriorating portrait to Fairey about two years ago. While he found the previous piece aesthetically pleasing, he liked the thought of his design being used to look forward — rather than idealizing historical imagery.
“I used a woman as a subject because I think that women tend to be peacemakers,” he said. “… (They) want to build, take care of family and community — and that’s what we need more of right now. Everybody’s got different ideas of what justice means, and I wanted it to be a very inviting concept that anybody can bring their sensibility to.”
Fairey and his team of three assistants, who have collectively painted an estimated 140 murals together, began prepping and spray-painting the design Monday, and it was nearly done by Thursday afternoon. The completed “Uplift Justice” mural will be officially displayed during a dedication ceremony Friday from 5-6:30 p.m.
“The really cool thing in Philadelphia is that there is such a strong mural culture,” Fairey said. “… I always thought that if there’s advertising everywhere in a city, there should be art everywhere, and it’s great to see that Philadelphia has embraced that idea.”
