This mural entitled “Little Kids” was made by Danielle Mastrion and commissioned by the Flatbush-Nostrand Junction Business Industrial District. It is located at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Avenue H. It depicts a group of girls, mostly of color, painting this brick will, bettering their neighborhood. The mural has vibrant hues of turquoise, yellow, and pink paint on brick as its backdrop with drawings of smiley faces, happy families, and flowers. These drawings are reminiscent of children’s drawings with chalk on sidewalks. Mastrion has the young girls adding their drawings onto the wall, making it seem as though its them who are doing the drawings.
The mural provides a fantastic pop of color in the very grey and asphalt black landscape of the area around “The Junction”. The neighborhood is fairly dilapidated. Potholes riddle Flatbush and Nostrand, the sidewalks are separated and cracked. This mural attempts to make up for this. The mural is a beautifying effort on behalf of the Business Industrial District. Through the use of art, they are trying to make their neighborhood look better, more appealing to businesses. The mural can definitely put a smile on ones face when you pass it. Between the bright colors, its purpose of beautification, and nostalgia one feels with the childlike chalk drawings, “Little Kids” brings a very positive element to the community.
Since the mural is painted on the façade of a building, it will last as long as the building does. The paint has stayed vibrant despite various rain storms, so one can assume that it’s been waterproofed. The paint on brick provides a very interesting look. That along with the content of the mural, provides a very community oriented feel to the piece, despite it being the work of a singular artist. Although the detail work—the children’s drawings—are spray painted on, it looks as if they were details added by school children with some chalk. This community feel “Little Kids” has should enhance its lasting power. With community should come some preservation.
The mural is readily visible. Since it is on a very busy intersection, many sightlines are blocked by parked and moving cars. However, this is definitely not hidden by any means. Its right on the corner of Flatbush and Avenue H, so it is very accessible. It also takes up the whole wall between the two businesses, so its scale is impressive and contributes to the visibility of the piece as a whole.
“Little Kids” is a very bright and fun piece of public art. it is a step in the right direction for this neighborhood to beautify it, and also in a conscious way. The representation in the mural shows this social consciousness. “Little Kids” by Danielle Mastrion is a bright spot in a fairly drab space. Hopefully more measures like this are taken to enhance the neighborhood around Brooklyn College.
-Matt Denaro
