Isaiah Zagar (born 1939) is an American

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

artist based in Philadelphia. He is notable for his

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 Spanis ...

s, primarily in or around Philadelphia's South Street.

Early life

Zagar received his Bachelor of Arts from the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was founded in 1887 ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Soon after, Zagar met his wife, Julia. After getting married, the Zagars traveled to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

to volunteer through the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John ...

. Zagar was very inspired by Peruvian folk art during this time. After three years in Peru, the Zagars moved to

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.South Street. In December 1968, the Eyes Gallery was the site of Zagar's first mosaic; Zagar mosaiced it as a way to create a folk art environment for the art they were selling.

Works

Philadelphia's Magic Gardens Philadelphia's Magic Gardens is a non-profit organization, folk art environment, and gallery space on South Street (Philadelphia), South Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. To date, it is the largest work created by mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar. ...

, Zagar's largest South Street mosaic work, is both a three dimensional, immersive piece of installation art and a museum gallery space. The mosaics are inlaid with poetry, quotes, names of artists who have inspired Zagar, as well as portraits and forms of people and animals. The gardens utilize a variety of materials, including bottles, bike wheels and folk art. Zagar says of his personal creative inspirations,

In 1959 when I was 19 years old I was introduced to the
folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...
environment of Clarence Schmidt, ''My Mirrored Hope,''
Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 20 ...
, USA. Soon after in 1961 there was a groundbreaking exhibition at
The Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of th ...
, in New York City called ''The Art of Assemblage''. Because that exhibition included assemblages of artists like
Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
,
Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a ...
,
Kurt Schwitters Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters (20 June 1887 – 8 January 1948) was a German artist who was born in Hanover, Germany. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including dadaism, constructivism, surrealism, poetry, sound, paint ...
, Antonio Gaudi alongside of untrained brickaleurs Clarence Schmidt, Simon Rodia and
Ferdinand Cheval Ferdinand Cheval (19 April 1836 – 19 August 1924), often nicknamed Facteur Cheval ("Mail Carrier Cheval") was a French mail carrier who spent 33 years building Le Palais idéal (the "Ideal Palace") in Hauterives, in southeastern France.
that gave me as a trained artist the rationale to include their concepts as manifestations of
fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...
. At a crucial time in my life it allowed me to begin what could be called a life's work making the city of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
into a
labyrinthine In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by ...

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
museum that incorporates all my varied knowledge and skills.

Zagar first began Philadelphia's Magic Gardens by cleaning up two vacant lots adjacent to a property he purchased in 1994. After clearing the lots, setting up a chain-link fence, and mosaicing his own property, he began to mosaic the fence and other parts of the abandoned lots. In 2002 the owner of the lots demanded Zagar buy the property for $300,000 or he would have it demolished. Through fundraising, private donations, and a lot of community support, the property was able to be saved, and the nonprofit organization, Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, was formed. Painted Bride Art Center 230 Vine Street front from east

Painted Bride Art Center 230 Vine Street front from east

From 1991 to 2000 Zagar mosaiced the entire outside of the

Painted Bride Art Center The Painted Bride Art Center, sometimes referred to informally as The Bride, is a non-profit artist-centered performance space and gallery particularly oriented to presenting the work of local Philadelphia artists, which presents dance, jazz, w ...

on Vine Street between N. 2nd and N. 3rd Streets in the

Old City Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town. Old City may refer to several places: Historical cities or regions of cities ''(by country)'' *Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan * Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...

neighborhood of Philadelphia, a work he entitled ''Skin of the Bride'', which he donated to the center. Zagar continues to create mosaic murals in Philadelphia, mainly around the South Street area. He has completed over 200 of these murals since 1968 and continues to work. He hosts a weekend workshop during the last weekend of each month April - October where participants can assist him in creating a new mural in the community. Much of Zagar's work is completed free of charge or is commissioned by businesses or people in the area. A walking tour is available from Philadelphia's Magic Gardens which takes visitors to 20 of these mosaic murals.

Awards and honors

Pew Charitable Trust The Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO), founded in 1948. With over 6 billion in assets, its stated mission is to serve the public interest by "improving public policy, informing the public, a ...

Individual Artist Fellowship Grant of $50,000 for work in the interdisciplinary arts,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

1995. *

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

for sculpture, Washington, D.C. 1979. *Member of the Philadelphia Dumpster Divers Artists Association.

References

External links

Philadelphia's Magic GardensIn A Dream: A Film by Jeremiah Zagar
about Isaiah Zagar's life and work
Cinelan 3 minute video on Isaiah Zagar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zagar, Isaiah Artists from Philadelphia Pratt Institute alumni Living people 1939 births Mosaic artists Pew Fellows in the Arts

Early life

Works

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links