''Woodstock Mural'' is a
mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
designed by artist Mike Lawrence, painted on the west side of the
New Seasons Market
New Seasons Market is a chain of privately owned grocery stores operating in the Portland, Oregon metro area, southwestern Washington, and northern California. Some of the products offered are organic and produced locally in the Pacific Northwes ...
store in the
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
neighborhood of
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, in the United States. The painting has three sections, each representing a theme: commerce, education, and the outdoors. It depicts figures adorned with symbolism related to characters in
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, including
Hermes
Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...
,
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
, and
Demeter
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...
, along with local businesses and local landmarks such as the neighborhood
farmers' market
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...
,
Grand Central Bakery
Grand Central Baking Company Doing business as, d.b.a. Grand Central Bakery is an American bakery chain restaurant, chain with locations in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington (U.S. state), Washington and their metropolitan areas. It was fou ...
,
Portland Fish Market
Portland Fish Market is a fish market in Portland, Oregon. The fish and chips the market offers in addition to its fresh seafood has received some local accolades.
Description
Portland Fish Market (PFM) is a fish market in Southeast Portland, O ...
,
Woodstock Park, and the
Woodstock Library
The Woodstock Library is a branch of the Multnomah County Library in southeast Portland, Oregon, United States. The library's origins date back to 1908, when the people of the Woodstock, Portland, Oregon, Woodstock neighborhood established a read ...
.
The Woodstock Neighborhood Association (WNA) originally made plans for a mural on the exterior wall of
Lutz Tavern. Following an outreach effort to identify an artist, Lawrence and WNA met for a brainstorming session, during which they agreed on theme's for the proposed public artwork. Even after some funding was secured, efforts stalled. The association later proposed a mural for the nearby Red Fox Vintage building.
The original mural was completed on the Red Fox Vintage building by Heidi Schultz in November 2013. However, shortly after its completion, New Seasons announced the construction of a new grocery store next to the mural. The company offered to reproduce the painting on the east side of an adjacent building or the west side of the planned building. Dan Cohen and his assistant were hired to reproduce the mural, which was completed in October 2015.
Description
''Woodstock Mural'' was designed by artist Mike Lawrence as a work divided into three sections. According to the
Regional Arts & Culture Council
The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is an organization that administers arts grants in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties that also do advocacy in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It evolved from the city ...
(RACC), each section includes a central figure adorned with symbolism associated with
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, representing one of three themes: commerce, education, and the outdoors.
The ''
Portland Tribune
The ''Portland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Pamplin Media Group, which publishes a number of community newspapers in the Portland metropolitan area. Launched in ...
'' described the mural as "rich in latent symbolism with more mysterious content", referring to the mythological symbolism in particular.
The original painting measured x .
[ In 2015, the mural was reproduced on another wall following construction of an adjacent new building housing a ]New Seasons Market
New Seasons Market is a chain of privately owned grocery stores operating in the Portland, Oregon metro area, southwestern Washington, and northern California. Some of the products offered are organic and produced locally in the Pacific Northwes ...
; the new building hid the original mural. The "imposing" reproduction, as described by ''The Bee'', a community newspaper, measures x .
Commerce, represented on the left side, is depicted by a shopkeeper wearing a hat with the wings of Hermes
Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...
, the Greek god of commerce (or, according to some sources, Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
, the Roman god of commerce).[ The business owner is bearded and wears a ]crocus
''Crocus'' (; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stems remain undergro ...
flower in his apron. He has a tattoo of the caduceus
The caduceus (☤; ; la, cādūceus, from grc-gre, κηρύκειον "herald's wand, or staff") is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was also ...
, the staff carried by Hermes Trismegistus
Hermes Trismegistus (from grc, Wiktionary:Ἑρμῆς, Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος, "Hermes the Thrice-Greatest"; Classical Latin: la, label=none, Mercurius ter Maximus) is a legendary Hellenistic figure that originated as a Syn ...
in Egyptian mythology
Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyptia ...
and Hermes in Greek mythology.[ In his store is a shelf with other symbolic items that represent local businesses.][
The center section is devoted to education and depicts ]Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
, the Greek goddess of wisdom, in the form of a girl in the Woodstock Library
The Woodstock Library is a branch of the Multnomah County Library in southeast Portland, Oregon, United States. The library's origins date back to 1908, when the people of the Woodstock, Portland, Oregon, Woodstock neighborhood established a read ...
.[ She is adorned with an owl on her shoulder and an ]olive branch
The olive branch is a symbol of peace and victory associated with customs of ancient Greece and connected with supplication to gods and persons in power. It is found in most cultures of the Mediterranean basin and became associated with peace ...
necklace. She holds a tiger lily in her hand. Woodstock School
Woodstock School is an international coeducational residential school located in Landour, a small hill station contiguous with the town of Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Woodstock is one of the oldest resid ...
's Mandarin Immersion Program is honored with an arc of Chinese characters
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...
above the girl's head, written on a chalkboard. The Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
text translates to "A nice place to live"[ or "It's a great place to live", which is Woodstock's motto.][ According to ''The Bee'', the central section also represents other neighborhood schools and the neighborhood's close proximity to ]Reed College
Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...
.[
The mural's right section depicts ]Demeter
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...
, the Greek goddess of the harvest, in the form of an Asian female urban farmer at the neighborhood farmers' market
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...
. She wears poppies Poppies can refer to:
*Poppy, a flowering plant
*The Poppies (disambiguation) - multiple uses
*''Poppies (film)'' - Children's BBC remembrance animation
*"Poppies", a song by Patti Smith Group from their 1976 album ''Radio Ethiopia''
*"Poppies", th ...
in her headdress, giving the appearance of a crown, and has a tattoo of a sheaf
Sheaf may refer to:
* Sheaf (agriculture), a bundle of harvested cereal stems
* Sheaf (mathematics), a mathematical tool
* Sheaf toss, a Scottish sport
* River Sheaf, a tributary of River Don in England
* ''The Sheaf'', a student-run newspaper ser ...
of wheat. Next to her is a cornucopia
In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...
, which symbolizes abundance and nourishment. She holds a lotus staff, described as a "flaming torch".[ The figure also represents "the love of gardening". ]Douglas fir
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
trees and Woodstock Park, specifically its off-leash dog area, are also depicted in the painting's right section.[
]
History
The Woodstock Neighborhood Association (WNA) originally made plans to paint a community mural on the east exterior of Lutz Tavern.[ Following an outreach effort to locate an artist, WNA and Lawrence held a brainstorming session. Kenny Heggem, who served as the project manager of the mural committee,][ recalled, "We talked about our fantastic park and its leash-free dog area, Woodstock Elementary's Mandarin Immersion Program, and our awesome library."][ The session resulted in the group's choosing the mural's three themes.][
In August 2012, RACC confirmed funding of $6,000 for the x painting. The mural's design was divided into three parts to accommodate the exterior wall's three sections. RACC published an image of Lawrence's proposed mural and said the goal of the project was to "highlight the best of the neighborhood and instill a sense of community pride".] The agency also said the project was still raising funds and hoped to start in the spring of 2013.[ Efforts stalled, but WNA later proposed a mural with a different design for the east side of the Red Fox Vintage building, located at the intersection of Southeast 46th Avenue and Southeast Woodstock Boulevard.][
According to the '']Portland Tribune
The ''Portland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Pamplin Media Group, which publishes a number of community newspapers in the Portland metropolitan area. Launched in ...
'', the project was a collaboration between local businesses, institutions, and neighborhood residents. Beaver State Scaffolding and Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams Company is an American Cleveland, Ohio–based company in the paint and coating manufacturing industry. The company primarily engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coatings, floorcoverings, and related p ...
both contributed resources to the project.[ RACC awarded partial grant funding through its Public Art Murals Program, which is funded by the City of Portland and "provides funding for community murals that reflect diversity in style and media and encourages artists from diverse backgrounds and range of experience to apply".][ WNA volunteers also assisted, led by Heggem and Becky Luening, head of the neighborhood association.]
Heidi Schultz of Schultz Art & Design served as the project's production manager.[ She created a pattern against the wall using Lawrence's digital design, then mixed the paint, completed the mural, and added a clear coating for protection.][ Painting the mural took about six weeks, and it was mostly finished by November 2013.][ Red Fox Vintage hosted a party to celebrate the work's completion on December 14.][ The mural took nearly two years to plan and complete, which was longer than expected.][
]
Reproduction
Not long after the mural's completion, New Seasons Market announced plans to build a new store immediately adjacent to the mural.[ In January 2014, the co-owner of Red Fox Vintage, said, "We're going to have a sit-down with New Seasons about the mural. To the best of my knowledge, New Seasons will make it right."] She shared three options to discuss with the company: repainting the mural on Red Fox's east wall, transferring it to the new store's exterior wall, or keeping the original mural in place and making it visible from the grocery store's interior.[
New Seasons met with WNA and offered to reproduce the painting, either on the east side of the Red Fox Vintage building or the west side of the planned grocery store.] Luening said the latter option was more practical, because the artist could paint on panels in her studio instead of working outside.[ New Seasons hired Dan Cohen of Dan Cohen Creative Labs to duplicate the mural using a method similar to one he uses in his work as a "mega mural" painter. He said of the process: ]I paint giant advertising murals all over the country. I do about one mural a month. We create the pattern using the original image, and paint on top of it. We use a special machine o create the underlying designthat works like an arc welder.
During construction of the new building and the mural's transfer, New Seasons displayed a banner which read, "The mural will return". Cohen and his assistant, Christo Wunderlich, transferred the design using a machine, then painted the art by hand. The duo also added bread and a fish to the mural to represent the local businesses Grand Central Bakery
Grand Central Baking Company Doing business as, d.b.a. Grand Central Bakery is an American bakery chain restaurant, chain with locations in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington (U.S. state), Washington and their metropolitan areas. It was fou ...
and Portland Fish Market, respectively.[ The new store opened in October 2015.][
]
See also
* 2013 in art
The year 2013 in art involves some significant events.
Events
* March 9 – The identification of ''Portrait of Olivia Porter'' as an original work of the 1630s by Sir Anthony van Dyck is announced. It is in the collection of the Bowes Museum, C ...
* 2015 in art
The year 2015 in art involves various significant events.
Events
* February - Paul Gauguin's painting ''When Will You Marry?'' sells for $300m (£197m), reportedly to Qatar Museums, the highest known price ever paid for any work of art
* Apri ...
* Greek mythology in western art and literature
With the rediscovery of classical antiquity in the Renaissance, the poetry of Ovid became a major influence on the imagination of poets and artists, and remained a fundamental influence on the diffusion and perception of classical mythology throu ...
* ''Portland Memorial Mausoleum Mural
''Portland Memorial Mausoleum Mural'' is a 2009 mural by Dan Cohen of ArtFX Murals and Shane Bennett, painted at Wilhelm's Portland Memorial Funeral Home (also known as the Portland Memorial Mausoleum Chapel) in Portland, Oregon's Sellwood neighb ...
'', a 2009 mural by Dan Cohen and Shane Bennett
References
{{Portal bar, Ancient Greece, Myths, Oregon, Visual arts
2010s murals
2013 paintings
2015 paintings
category:21st-century allegorical paintings
category:Allegorical paintings by American artists
Birds in art
Demeter
Egyptian mythology in popular culture
Ancient Greece in art and culture
Hermes in art
Murals in Oregon
Paintings depicting Greek myths
Paintings depicting Roman myths
Paintings in Portland, Oregon
Paintings of Athena
Paintings of Greek goddesses
Paintings of Greek gods
Paintings of people
Plants in art
Woodstock, Portland, Oregon