If you were to take the N or Q train all the way to the very last stop in Queens, Astoria-Ditmars, two large murals full of bright colors would grab your attention immediately after stepping outside of the station. Both of these murals were created by the same graffiti artist, Lady Pink, who worked with the New York Anti-Crime Agency based in Astoria. Antonio Meloni, the founder of this agency, wanted to keep the neighborhood clean from graffiti without having to clean it 60 times a year. He established this agency to have murals painted by students from nearby arts schools, like the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, and experienced Astoria artists.
Now, if you were to walk a little farther away from the train and down the block, you would reach another pair of murals residing under the arch of the Amtrak train. While one of these murals was worked on by Lady Pink and the Frank Sinatra school, the other mural is dedicated in memory of Melina Alexiou. George Alexiou, Melina’s father, got permission from Amtrak and commissioned Julia Veros to paint a mural that depicted the Ancient Greek Olympics in memory of his daughter who died in Greece.
On my way home, I constantly pass both sets of murals and do not normally stop to marvel at their beauty. At any time of day, the murals stand strong and tower over me with a message ready to be revealed. I never stop, as most don’t, to look at the murals as whole but instead might admire small sections as I walk home. All the murals are so similar in the fact that they all contain bright colors of paint and similar drawing and painting styles. For as long as I could remember, these murals were present as a colorful and vibrant part of the neighborhood. You could even tell that these murals have been there for so long because of the chipping paint, the water lines running down, the cracks in the wall, and vines growing alongside of them.
Each mural depicts a different theme while still encompassing the diversity of Astoria. One of the murals under the MTA train is named “The Native People: Our American Heritage.” On one side, the mural is filled with images of the statue of liberty, the pilgrims, fields and crops. With a Native American chief centered in the middle, the images shift into a more native American style of art including Aztec shapes, an eagle, the desert, and desert plants. The mural across the street from this one is labeled “Great American Art and Culture.” This mural portrays ionic celebrities and cartoon characters throughout American history. In one star, famous designer names are written around supermodels. The star below it portrays famous Broadway characters like Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray, the Phantom from the Phantom of the Opera, Elphaba from Wicked and Simba from The Lion King. On the right side of the mural, we see a classic hippie van, an eagle playing a saxophone with famous jazz singers’ names spilling out of it, and images of swing and break dancing. The mural under the Amtrak overpass, in memory of Melina Alexiou, once illustrated Ancient Greece and the Olympics. Today, it presents ionic images of Greek history. Titled “Ancient Greek Glory,” this mural shows the various marble statues and crumbling marble building that are distinctive to Greek culture. Finally, across the street, Lady Pink and the Frank Sinatra students created a mural called “Home is where the Fantasy is.” This mural illustrates the skyline of Manhattan and has a winding red brick road across the width. The artist and the students added a level of fantasy to everyday things and create a world similar to ours but dreamlike. Trolls, living plants, a blue lizard dressed in a suit, a disproportionate eagle and a tree full of butterflies and an actual fairy are peppered throughout the mural.
At first glance, these murals might seem to directly correlate with each other. After thorough examination, they can be seen as puzzles pieces that fit together to represent my community. The Greek mural is certainly fitting for Astoria because the neighborhood is predominantly Greek. However, because more people of different cultures have moved in and the neighborhood has expanded even farther, the American history mural depicts our unity. We are all Americans who have learned about our history and we can identify with it. Similarly, the art and culture of America mural explains that we have become influenced by American culture and grow to be more like each other every day despite our contrasting cultures. The last mural is especially significant because Astoria is a neighborhood full of many children and many schools. This large painting appeals to the childlike fantasy of the children of Astoria and promotes their ability to dream. All these murals are like pages in a book titled Astoria that capture every little piece of such a diverse and complex neighborhood.
Miar Elaskandrany
