On the way up the steep hill on 99th Street in Rego Park right next to one of the best pizzerias in this town, is the monotonous Saxon Hall, which spans to about sixteen stories. A grassy lawn with pink blooming flowers surrounds one of the oldest apartment buildings adding a tint to the dull brick. Two statues are on either side of the building; both depict naked men with wings. The medium used to make these statues seems to be copper, which has rusted over the years and left a very rough texture. The statue stands on a pedestal and a ring of flowers encircle it.

To me, this art seems to be an art-in-public-places model because I do not think that it really fits in with the environment. To me, it looks like something that was pulled out of a museum and placed in front of this building without a second thought. The piece of art does not really provide a sense of unity for the community and does not try to bring the community closer together. Even though this piece of art might not be something the community could bond over, it definitely does catch the attention of a person walking by. The building itself is very bland and dull without much to admire, but the position of these statues catches the attention of a person walking by from either side. It is a very random pose, making the person wonder why it is placed here. The eyes then go down to the flowers, adding a touch to the random beauty of this statue. They then travel to the grass and finally end up on the building, fulfilling the goal of trying to catch the person’s attention.

The artist’s identity and the funding body were not mentioned near the artwork. In fact, nothing about this artwork was mentioned. I do not think the knowledge of the artist or funding body is relevant when viewing this piece of art. It is a very random statue in front of a building just trying to catch the attention of people walking by. The work of art is not special or different in any kind of way, making its descriptions irrelevant to the viewer.

 

 

Rego Park is a bustling community with many stores, restaurants, and parks. The main library in this neighborhood is the Rego Park Queens Library. Right next to this library is the underpass of the LIRR. This underpass is very dark and it’s covered with a white community mural. On this white mural, multiple colors are used to draw trees, butterflies, birds, and other forms of nature. The different colors used make the mural pop and the white makes the dark underpass come to life. There are various pictures and descriptions installed on this mural describing the different parts of the community that make it unique.

The Rego Park Green Alliance had first created a “Real Good” mural in this very spot, which is what Rego Park actually stands for. After the “Real Good” mural started to fade away, the Alliance decided to create a new mural with installations of photographs taken by people of the community. The community members became the artists, and they spent about 400 hours scraping away the old mural and making this new one.

This artwork is definitely an example of new genre public art since it sheds light on different social issues. For example, one of the photographs installed on this mural has the description, “This board is inspired by over twenty women at Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics who used their voice to bring a sports doctor to justice in 2018 for his sex crimes.” Another one said, “This board is inspired by Maya Angelou, Eli Wiesel, and Malala Yousafzai who have overcome their oppressors and spread awareness through their words and actions.” Each photograph depicted a different issue that a community member thought of as important to integrate into this mural.

I thought the mural fit in really well with its location since people pass through this underpass everyday and seeing this mural reminds them of the unified community they live in. It brings back the memories of when the whole community was focused on doing this one thing, which was replenishing the old mural but still trying to remind themselves of the diverse community they live in. The artist’s identity and funding body are a core part of this mural because they encompass the essence of the community.

The two pieces of artwork I examined were vastly different. The first one did not really fit in with the environment; it was merely used to catch the attention of the people walking by the building. The second one brought a sense of unity to the community, reminding every Rego Parker what Rego Park signifies and stands for. Both of these artworks were beautiful and eye-catching in their own way. This was the first time I actually went out just to find and observe pieces of public art and I have to admit, it was a really thrilling experience seeing things I had not noticed before in my neighborhood.