Our location was Coney Island, this part of Brooklyn is a very diverse place. Coney Island transforms from a quiet relaxing area to a lively and bustling area during certain times of the year and depending on the season on certain times of the day. Coney Island has also transformed through time. This dichotomy can be seen by not only the new businesses that opened up across old and historical businesses but also through the differences in the murals found there. This picture is of an old mural which was repainted. This painting includes famous icons of the island like the Ferris wheel and of course the New York Aquarium. This is only one of the many examples of murals which were painted for the boardwalk. Near this mural were more novel murals and they had strong intrinsic messages. Often this message was about how plastic is polluting the bodies of water bordering the beach. The theme of mermaids was observed in many of the murals due to the Mermaid Parade which occurs in the summer. One particularly interesting piece of art which we found was on the faces of Coney Island which was in a weak condition.
As a group we visited Coney Island during the morning, the beach was practically empty, and the boardwalk was occupied people walking dogs, people jogging, people with small children and seniors exercising. Having visited it before later in the day, I know that the island changes into a vibrant place, now densely populated by teenagers and middle-aged adults visiting the amusement park and the museum and dining. I have never visited the island this early so the quiet and peaceful. Most of the stores were closed, and the walk and the train station and the streets surrounding it were relatively vacant. Coney Island has many dichotomies, including the murals and differences between past and present.
When viewing this picture I can truly feel a sense of peace and quiet that is almost synonymous with early morning. This feeling is created by the unoccupied benches and empty boardwalk. This is a huge contrast to the essence of this place at night/later in the day where there is immense energy.This conveys the idea that people greatly impact the general mood of a place in NYC. People can make a place what they want it to be and when. This is reflected as well in the murals, one can choose to either have a continuation of the past or an entirely new mural. Therefore a place can either be an ode to the past or a step into the future depending on the vision of a person/group of people.