Amplify, 2014

Mural for the Union Transfer music venue at 11th and Spring Garden St. in Philadelphia, PA
Created with The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program Restorative Justice GUILD

 

The large gramophone mural for the Union Transfer music venue began by exploring the architecture and of the building and surrounding neighborhood and reflecting on properties of music, sounds and the amplification of voice. The abundance of ornament that wraps the interior of the venue served as a medium for The Restorative Justice GUILD members to reinterpret, blend, form and expand with drawing. GUILD members explored the interior of Union Transfer and took hundreds of photographs. They then drew over photographs and borrowed segments of the building ornament to create a unique design. This exploratory design process eventually led us to combine all of the drawings together to create a large gramophone horn. Many of the unique designs are exploratory and decorative but some are embedded with meaning. For example there is an abstract portrait of a face that is muzzled with an X positioned directly alongside the needle of the gramophone. You can also discover ornamental interpretations of a raised fist and a black beetle. The intensity of the positive energy within is revealed through the window segments. 

 

The Restorative Justice GUILD
Jessie Krimes, Russell Craig, Jason Mattis, Archie Dade, Lyndon Williams,
Nafis Carroll, Michael Jackson, Marie Crispo, and Anthony Barlow.

Assisted by Andrew Grasso and James Tafel Shuster

 

Restorative Justice Program Director: Robyn Buseman
GUILD Coordinator: Michael Whittington
Program Assistant: Kathryn Poole
Program Intern: Ashley Rodriguez

Mural sponsored by the Hummingbird Foundation, The City of Philadelphia, Bryan Weingarten, The Ford Foundation and The Philadelphia Prison System

In kind support from Olivet Covenant Church and The Church Studios

Special Thanks to Sean Agnew and Avram Hornik

©2014 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program | Benjamin Volta