DAVID SEPULVEDA PHOTO
Detail of the 150-foot mural by Faring Purth.
A group of children skip along the image of an elongated, reclining figure, as if swept up by a magical energy field. The process of discovery leads them past swirling lines trailing from mandala-like starbursts, part of the internal galaxy that animates “Marielle” — as in, the light of Marielle, a new mural and the latest installation in a series of recent public art works commissioned by Westville Village Renaissance Alliance (WVRA).
Mural celebrants start arriving at Valley and Blake Streets.
An unveiling party was held Friday at the mural’s site on Valley and Blake Streets to welcome the 12 by 150-foot-long mural, and to say goodbye to itinerate, international muralist and fine artist Faring Purth, who worked for nearly two weeks under cover of darkness to produce the monumental piece.
Photo courtesy of Johnathon Henninger.
Absent the natural distractions that come with daylight and a busy traffic intersection, and with a parking lot vacated during the overnight hours, the artist was able to spread out, donning her protective respiratory gear — standard equipment among aerosol artists — before launching into an intense work session requiring stamina and sustained focus.
Purth and Fox ready aerosol. Photo by Johnathon Henninger.
At Purth’s side during the production of Marielle was Raven Fox (a.k.a. Mark Jankowski), immersive light, sound, and projection artist and principal at Radiant Studio Works, a new-media and entertainment studio based in St. Louis, Missouri. Fox is a former associate of the late New York artist and social activist Keith Haring.
Fox illuminatesMarielle.
As night descended during the mural unveiling party, and with music turned up, Fox moved about his portable digital studio, layering projections of light, shadow, and movement over Purth’s dense line patterns and positive and negative shapes.
“I use one 5k lumen DLP video projector and MacBook Pro with specialized visualization software to map and contour the light exactly on the artwork,” explained Fox. “Once complete, I mix light color, still images, motion graphics, and effects to translate some visual expression onto her artwork in real time.”
The glowing imagery enhanced the painted surface in unexpected and delightful ways, lending credence to his website description of being a “musician of light.”
Detail: Radial design star bursts and swirling lines.
The performative collaboration and marriage of mediums created new dimensions of space and texture while activating mural color in an absorbing dance of elements. “Raven and I have talked a great deal about collaborating in this way and have plans for future projects but, as of yet, the ‘unveiling’ of Marielle was our first collaboration in this manner,” said Purth.
The morning of her departure, Purth is photographed by Fox.
To be sure, Purth’s mural also resonates in natural light. The long, horizontal format devoted to a singular, outstretched female figure imbued with a curious spiritual essence is catalyzed by Purth’s signature line work — hatched and cross-hatched line patterns that one may associate with the hand of a facile pen-and-ink artist, but which is not usually part of the visual vocabulary of most aerosol muralists. The quality of her ultra-thin parallel lines is not solely the result of the choice of spray nozzles, but is arrived at through other techniques of manipulation Purth said she learned from some of the best street muralists in the world.
WVRA staff: Susan McCaslin, (BOD) left, Lizzy Donius, Chris Heitmann, Noé Jimenez.
Susan McCaslin of Design Monsters, one of the prime movers in securing project funding, noted that “Westville is now part of this internationally known artist’s expanding canvas.”
Three of the five recently completed pubic arts offerings in Westville are by New Haven area artists and include …
John Keefer’s ROYGBV.
John Keefer’s painterly skull portraits “ROYGBV” (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet) on Blake Street …
Beth Klingher’s bridge post mosaics insets.
Beth Klingher’s Blake Street Bridge River Mosaics, an homage to the West River watershed …
Brandon Fuller’s “Absquatulate.” Hanscom’s tree yarn-bomb, foreground.
and Brandon Fuller’s “Absquatulate,” a large copper and acrylic eye-shaped installation on the side of Bella’s Cafe, arresting for its curvilinear metallic elements amid an intersection of vertical and horizontal rectangles.
Yarn bombed bike parked outside Lotta Studio.
Just before this year’s Artwalk in May, Lisa Hanscom of Houston, Texas (and assistants) yarn-bombed a new grouping of trees on Whalley Avenue along with an assortment of artifacts.
East Wall Westville at 12 Fountain Street, a Caryn Azoff installation.
What began as personal initiatives by a few people like Eric Epstein and his “East Wall Westville Gallery” to enliven Westville’s public, high visibility spaces in recent years has evolved into a concerted community effort, organized by WVRA as part of their first commissioned Westville Public Art (WPA) series made possible by City of New Haven Mayor’s Community Arts Grant and the State of CT Department of Community & Economic Development, as well as generous donations by local businesses and engaged supporters in Westville. An open call for WPA proposals went out mid-April.
Azara Frasier, left, and Kaliyah Frasier strike poses at the Marielle unveiling.
Before Faring Purth painted her first stroke on the north parking lot wall on Valley Street, Westville volunteers power-washed the wall with equipment loaned by Hillhouse High School vice principal Nick Perrone. Volunteers Matt Wilcox, photographer Johnathon Henninger, and Lotta Studio’s Luke Hanscom prepped the parking lot wall with gallons of exterior latex paint and other supplies donated by the local Sherwin-Williams paint store, while Dr. Peter Blume of Westville’s Affiliated Foot and Ankle Surgeons joined Lena’s and Bella Restaurant in offering financial support to the project.
Lizzy Donius, WVRA’s volunteer and events coordinator, noted that the success of the WPA project “speaks to the community’s genuine and deep support and to Chris Heitmann’s (WVRA’s outgoing executive director) generosity of spirit and vision in working with others to make things happen.”
WVRA staff member and visual artist Noé Jimenez, a recent contributor to Westville’s public art offerings, said there is “no shortage of walls or potential sites — the hard part is the funding.” He urged those interested in participating in future public art opportunities to contact the WVRA office.
A map of Westville’s Public Art sites designed by Susan McCaslin can be seen here.