Last Saturday, I was able to discover and enjoy the art that is spread throughout Ithaca. A refreshing experience since most art is locked away with only those who have money holding a key. Art is an integral part of our culture, of any culture. Art can express someone’s hopes and dreams, their fears and worries; a piece of art can speak with words louder and clearer than any one person could do themselves. That’s why art being accessible to all is of the utmost importance. This idea of free public art however is not so easily accepted by all. Our idea of what art is must expand.

What I also learned on this tour was that artists who are willing to go to jail because they refuse to let their voice be drained out by those who have limited interpretations of what art is and where art should be and who should have access to art, are inspiring. They live and sacrifice for the idea that art should be available to all.

I wish that more towns could display the same amount of art that Ithaca does. It truly does transform a community into more than just it’s bricks and stones. Art helps to make Ithaca what it is. Art in Ithaca represents the voices of the people who live in Ithaca.

So, I’m not just speaking for myself when I say that I have certain gripes against certain aspects of Ithaca. Namely its freeeeezing can’t-feel-your-fingers winters and the hills that make you never want to walk again.

However, I will say this. Ithaca is Gorges. That’s right, everyone. I’m sure you’ve all heard it before, seen it before, in a cheesy tag line trying to get you to come to Cornell back in the day when you were debating whether your SAT score was high enough, on the shirt of the creepy guy in fake Ray-Bans who drunkenly tried to make out with you on slope day (true story), etc. BUT did you know Ithaca isn’t just Gorges because of the gorges????? (Okay, at this point you’re most likely sick of the pun, and I will return to the conventional spelling of “gorgeous.” Thank you for bearing with me.)

One thing that makes Ithaca not only beautiful, but distinct, is the public art. I’m sure if any of you have walked about the city, you’ve noticed the impressionable wall-to-wall murals encompassing the sides of parking garages and public buildings.

On our public art tour last Saturday, led by friendly local, Caleb, we got to examine these paintings up close and learn their histories. Caleb is part of the public art commission, and he helps to organize suggestions and work with artists on their projects.

We started our tour in a parking lot in Collegetown and progressed downhill until we reached the another parking garage on North Tioga Street. We walked along Seneca Street and walked around to Green Street, where we ended our tour.

Caleb brought up a lot of topics relating to public art I had never really thought of in depth before. What may we consider art? Are these paintings that undergo a tedious three-month process to be approved any more considered “art” than the graffiti sprayed on the walls by anonymous individuals in the cover of night? He also brought us to a couple of controversial pieces, one on Seneca Street, if I remember correctly, which features a wall of Indian chiefs coming together in peace. While some find it positive because it opens conversation on and brings awareness to Indian tribes while giving a nod to the physical genocides of the past and the cultural genocide of the now, others feel that it misrepresents the culture, because tribes are matrilineal, represented by women, but this painting shows them to be represented by men. To make up for it, the artist painted strawberries on the mural to represent women and their fertility and cultivating nature as well as their importance to the lineage, but is that enough?

For more information, you can like the Facebook page Ithacans for Public Art.

Spending a couple hours looking at art can be spiritually freeing.

A week ago I did just that down in the Commons.  We took a stroll on the crisp autumn day finding colorful murals everywhere.  As a student, I spend most of my day indoor so it was nice to leave the campus for a break.  We started the tour in a garage with some large scale spray painted murals.  It was interesting to see art in places like this, where people typically do not spend much time in.  Yet, once you saw a piece that you like, it completely caught your attention.

I appreciated  Caleb’s explanation and description for each piece that we saw.  The context of creation is vital in developing a better understanding of the work and appreciation for the artist.  One interesting fact to learn was that a mural celebrating the four Indian chiefs stirred so much controversy that strawberries were added to it to wall.  According to a Cherokee legend, the angry First Woman returned to her husband after seeing some luscious and sweet strawberries created by Unetlanvhi.  Strawberries are a symbol of good luck and were added as a feminine representation.

Lastly, I came across a poem written by Mary Naylor and it captured the day perfectly.

Grinning pumpkins, falling leaves,
Dancing scarecrows, twirling breeze,
Color, color everywhere,
Autumn dreams are in the air! Autumn is a woman growing old,
Ready to let what is dead go,
Her youthful radiance has faded, and that’s sad,
But underneath she discovers a
spread of colors she didn’t know she had. Little children screech and run,
Ghosts and goblins having fun,
Color, color everywhere,
Autumn dreams are in the air! Around her a kaleidoscope of leaves are whirling.
Deep within her visions stir of new life that will be,
A budding, a flowering, a promise unfurling.
Autumn is a woman growing old,
Ready to let what is dead go. Calico kittens, rain falling rat-a-tat-tat,
Big full moon, funny black cats,
Color, color everywhere,
Autumn dreams are in the air!

As many people may have noticed, Ithaca has a lot of art all over the walls. No, not graffiti, though there are small amounts of that here and there, but there are many more murals painted across town than one would think. Before going on the tour, led by Caleb, I had never really put too much though about the pieces of art all over the city. He told the group about how Ithaca’s Public Art Commission’s current goal is to have more murals around the city. The Common Council, Ithaca’s town council, approved for the PAC to have all the walls painted, of course with approval. If anyone would like to paint a wall, please contact the commission!

Here are a few pieces of art we looked at:

This last one was my favorite piece. I unfortunately forgot the artist’s name, but I just think the piece is beautiful.

Last Saturday, I attended the Public Art walk around the Ithaca Commons. The group met in the Rose House Lobby and walked to the parking lot next to Aladdin’s in Collegetown together. This is where the tour began. Our tour guide, Caleb, gave us some background on his work with the Ithaca Public Art Commission and asked what we liked the most about the public art in Ithaca. One student liked the uniqueness of the art and how it is displayed in various forms – painting, sculpture around the Commons. Another student liked all of the colors and the vibrancy that the art adds to the community.

We first saw some of the murals painted on the walls of the parking garage. One was done by a group of 12-year-old students. Another was done by a famous artist whose work was featured in a documentary. The subject of the murals in the parking garage varied greatly. On one wall we saw a large, painted tiger. On another wall we saw a mother, child, and sheep standing in a meadow with a poem incorporated into the mural. This demonstrates the diversity in the artists’ backgrounds and in the types of works that can be seen around the Commons. I was actually surprised by the fact that many of the pieces were created by artists from around the world as opposed to local artists. The Art Commission notifies artists of the available spaces and requests drafts of the potential pieces. Then, there is a more extensive process that occurs in order to get the pieces approved. We ventured towards the Commons, looking at the electrical boxes along the way.

One student asked a great question about whether or not the Art Commission foresees any potential issues with real estate and having spaces like the parking garage taken over and used for other purposes. Caleb has not seen this being an issue in the past and does not think it will be a problem in the future. The spaces may get repurposed, but not removed completely. GRF Esmerelda added that the art being “public” is a consideration. Such initiatives do require funding and community support. In other cities around the world, such works may not as encouraged. While the future of public art in Ithaca does not seem to be in danger, I do believe that this is a discussion that needs to be had at some point.

My favorite piece was on one of the electrical boxes. At the moment, I do not remember which country the artist was originally from. However, I do remember Caleb saying that he was able to complete the piece within just a couple of hours and that the artist contributes public paintings in the poorer neighborhoods of his home country. The colors are so rich and it is empowering that the subject is looking upwards. The front and back of the electrical box are pictured below.

The walk took place on Halloween, so we were able to see all of the adults and children dressed up. Because of the Harry Potter event in the Commons, there were many wizards and witches wandering around – even a Dolores Umbridge! This definitely added some spice to the walk! In its own way, it was a form of public art. I highly recommend that others explore the art in the Commons when they have a chance. It is a great excursion that is close to campus!

On Halloween, a group of us went on a two hour tour of the public art around Ithaca downtown. We were shown murals in parking lots, on electrical boxes, on random building walls, and underneath a highway. Each mural was uniquely composed, some with messages attached and others simply a design or picture left to interpretation. One mural across from a Marriott in downtown depicted five male Native American leaders each representing a different area from this region. Each figure holds an object representing unity and peace among them and the new settlers of that time. Among the murals located in downtown Ithaca, our tour guide specifically mentioned this one to have been the most controversial. When first painted, there were and still are five main males. However, criticisms occurred due to the fact that these specific Native American groups were matriarchal, meaning they were led by females. To appease those who didn’t like the patriarchal depiction in the mural, the artist went back later and painted strawberries both on the main image as well as along the sides and borders of the mural to represent their actual female leadership. I found it interesting and odd that the artist didn’t learn about their matriarchy beforehand while conducting background research. However, I’m glad the artist went back later and added those much needed changes in order to make the mural more accurate.

Another piece on the side of a building facing a main road depicts a young boy and woman working on an agricultural field. This piece was chosen out of many submissions to represent a part of the Latino culture. I particularly enjoyed this mural because of how it was made, which was by using little tiles to create a mosaic. The colors of the sky and the reflection of the sky on the body of water are also beautiful as they give off a relaxing and aesthetic appeal of agricultural work. Although the work itself is very difficult and physical, the piece manages to successfully balance the back-breaking work feel with a peaceful, picturesque feel. This piece also makes me very grateful for the many hours dedicated farm workers all around the world spend to grow food for their communities. It also makes me wish that there was a greater abundance of extremely convenient local food shops or farmers markets in major cities instead of huge chains such as Whole Foods, Publix, Safeway, Costco, etc. Hopefully, this mural will also awaken these and other thoughts in people who walk by it. In general, I think art helps instead of harms those who keep open minds to interesting ideas and perspectives, so I’m very glad that Ithaca is so accepting of public art with thought-raising messages and wish more cities would follow their lead.

I can’t draw or really do anything of the visual arts nature, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it.  What I love about public art is the fact that it is well public.  It doesn’t necessarily belong to anyone person, and it can reach and affect all those who get to see it, whether its someone that lives in Ithaca and walks past it every day to work or some random passerby.  The fact that Ithaca promotes and encourages the public art is amazing, because it helps to make what could be a drab concrete nightmare into a place of beauty and expression.

The one thing I loved most was that it was all so colorful.  I can imagine when the snow falls and everything seems coated on white that Ithaca can still have the same vibrancy of color year round.  One of my favorite color walls was this one of a little tiki figure guy. we didn’t get much of the back story on this one but I thought the colors really stood out.

The other really cool aspect of the tour was to see that some of the pieces artwork clearly were a message or a call to action and that it wasn’t just meant to be pretty but also though provocative.  One example I can think of was the mural to Fredrick Douglas and Harriet Tubman.  While the colors and the portraits were beautiful, the art also had an underlying meaning and to serve as a reminder of the horrors of slavery and the workings of the underground railroad. I included a picture of this mural below.

Lastly, I just want to comment that I liked that all of the pieces were so different.  It would be boring if we had art in downtown but all the art was the same.  The public art in Ithaca is reflective of the many diverse groups that live here.  Let me just add public art to the list of things I love about Ithaca.  I’ll include some more pictures below (btw the black and white one at the end was my favorite from the whole tour):

As a Cornell senior, I have seen and experienced a lot of amazing things here in Ithaca which have greatly impacted me. That said, even as I approach the midpoint of my fourth and final year here in Ithaca, I realize that there are still countless places, activities, and things that I have not taken the time to appreciate. One aspect I, until last Saturday, had never stopped to fully appreciate was Ithaca’s public art scene.

Throughout the public art walk, I was completely blown away by the different pieces (primarily paintings) that filled various walls in both Collegetown and the Commons. What I found amazing, aside from the vibrant works of art themselves, were the powerful messages that the artists sought to communicate through them. As a musician, I similarly utilize the arts in an attempt to communicate my thoughts, ideas, or messages in a way that–I hope– will resonate with listeners. Therefore, I feel I was really able to  appreciate the pieces and their messages in a very meaningful way.

What is also really cool is the fact that anyone can propose to do a piece of public artwork here in Ithaca. This is awesome, because usually we get the sense that such opportunities are reserved solely for “actual” artists. That said, it would be awesome if some Rose House artists proposed to do a piece!

Who can create art in the spaces that the city owns? Only those granted formal permission by the city and its chosen members.

As a NYC native and an advocate for the occupy-what-ever-space-you’d-like-because-that’s-what-this-society-has-taught-us movement, I do not completely approve of a group of people deciding what can be considered art (nonetheless, good art) in the city of Ithaca (or in any city for that matter).

Who are the artists? What social groups do they belong to? Are they all men, majority men…are they all white, majority white?…are they all heterosexual, majority heterosexual? What political, religious, ideological beliefs do these artists have? And are they representative of the multitude of cultures, experiences, languages, etc that comprise of it’s surround?

In NYC, anything that is done by a person of color is considered vandalism. But when Bansky does it, it is revolutionary; art.

I question what this society considers art and what it considers vandalism, and the fine line an artist must dance on to find the balance of expression.

How can we, as a society catalyzed by a dominant (white, male, heterosexual, able, etc) culture, learn to accept that all forms of art (whether legal or illegal) are forms of art?

Last Saturday I went on a fascinating tour of public art in Ithaca. I was amazed at how few of the artworks I had seen before, despite having lived near Ithaca for most of my life. On the course of the tour we saw examples of murals on parking garage walls, electrical boxes, and underneath bridges. Each one had a different theme, but they all featured rich, vibrant colors which stood out against the greys of the city streets.

Our tour guide was part of the committee that commissions the works to be painted, so he was able to share a lot of information with us about the artists and the inspirations behind their work. I was impressed at how quickly some of the murals have to be painted, since many of the artists are from out of town and some are even from other countries. One of the electrical boxes, painted with the elaborate design of a blue and green fairy, was completed in only a few hours.

Our guide also talked about his plans for the future of public art in Ithaca. He eventually hopes to have every wall of the college town parking lot painted with a different mural, and then to start decorating the ceiling as well. I look forward to seeing how Ithaca’s outdoor art museum continues to grow during my time here!

As a vocal artist, I spent so many years confining art to sound, not sight. However, over the past two years, I have made the conscious effort to break down those barriers.

Sound. Sight. Touch. Those are the three forms that art seems to exists. Most of my life I’ve learned to appreciate and experience art in sound. Now, I am entering the phase of sight. The colors, shapes, layers, textures, placement and so much more, affect how I view art. Whether an art gallery, a dining hall, or a parking lot, art seems to appear in my sight. Though I could delve into how powerful it is to even have sight, in order to experience art, I will digress. Back to the sight of art…

Seeing art has surprised me. It’s all over. I see it on many life items, people, and places. It makes my mind turn like music. It takes my breath away like music. It makes me feel tons of emotion, just like music.

With this in mind, I’ve come to love and appreciate art in its many forms to my new sight. Saturday was awesome because I appreciated the sight of art in the most unexpected places. When I am back home in New York City, I will not see art on the streets and subways as vandalism, but instead as inspired expression.

Enjoy this sight!

Yesterday afternoon, we had a pretty interesting tour around Ithaca walking through college town to downtown. During the tour, we saw many public art work- some in the garage, some right on the electronic boxes and some on the walls of bus stops. Those wonderful public pieces subtly infuse Ithaca with art.

My favorite piece is the flower one painted on the wall of a garage in college town. (See picture below) Because it suddenly occurred to me that in the cold winter of Ithaca, there would be no flowers around . This flower painted on the wall seems more precious in the middle of the winter and can definitely light you up when you walk into the garage from a world of ice and snow.

Another interesting thing is the process of creating those art pieces. Many artists throughout the country travelled here and stay for a few days making their own work. During this period, those artists could meet with one another, get to know each other and exchange their ideas about their creation. This could be a great fun. We also saw some doodles on the street wall. Although it might be risky to paint on the wall without permission, these behaviors could be symbols of having dialogue among people.

This tour gave me a chance to stop by and observe those master pieces closely. It is an interesting experience!