The Heart
Bainbridge, IN USA (2024)
About:
For years, I've been following the murals created during the Putnam County Mural Project. When I first started applying to projects in the US rather than focusing on Europe, their silos (painted by Key Detail) were the catalyst that made me realize that other Hoosiers do want murals that aren't just billboards and "welcome to" signs. It was a massive jolt and motivator to connect my experience as an artist with my home state and has led to the past 5 years of me painting all over the state, in addition to my international work.
This year, I was notified that I was accepted as one of the artists and that I had this massive historical wall in the town of Bainbridge. As with many other small and sleepy midwestern towns, and especially those located in central Indiana, it's a place that I've driven past more times than I care to count, but have never paid attention to, a story which I feel is all too common and generally indicative of how the landscape and industries shift over time. In my normal spirit of enthusiasm to learn more about these unfamiliar-yet-familiar locations, I dove into the archives of the town's history. I read decades of old newspapers and articles, family lineage records, and worked with another Anthony (though he preferred Tony), who works as the county archivist to find out as much as possible about the town, and more specifically, the building itself and its story.
As time passed, I learned that this building is the oldest in the town and has held many, many roles over the past 150 years. It had a massive hall upstairs that had at one point been used for community events and gatherings and was later home to a rollerskating rink, had half of the top floor burn down, had countless shops of various types, and was the topic of several generations stories as the heart of the town. Today, however, the building is in sad shape. The roof is all but gone, the rollerskating rink is twisted and warped with water damage, and years of rainwater inside have left the lower level more swamp than building. Several people told me stories of a tree growing inside, as if the building was being reclaimed by nature after years of neglect. The current owners of the building (and of many of the buildings in this town) have begun to renovate with talks of it being loft apartments and a host for their offices in the future. They spent tens of thousands redoing the brickwork on the wall prior to me painting and luckily, entrusted me to make a concept that would resonate with the space without pushing or prodding (thanks Mark and Markus). This vast history of the space and the anecdotes that I heard from everyone while painting motivated me to make this wall something special and beyond what I think any of them expected. I wanted to celebrate the stories in the painting while also making the painting itself a source for future generations' stories.
For the topic/theme, I decided to play on the history as a shop. Rather than making some sort of scene and painting people, I decided to make it a sort of still-life based on the old mercantile shops of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As there wasn't a specific person that I wanted to focus on (again, everyone has lived through different iterations of this space and connects it to different owners), I instead wanted to go against my norms and to avoid painting any specific figures and instead, just focus on the items and the overall feeling. The archway, a reference to what's underneath the shaker shingle awning and brickwork on the front, the various items sold on the shelf a nod to items produced in the midwest in the early 20th century, and the other papers, boxes, and other items symbolic of various moments in the town and the people who play a part in the town's history (myself included).
In addition to what is painted, I spent a lot of time prepping the "how". How it will be viewed, how I want it to be viewed, and how I can integrate my concept and vision with the existing architecture. I modeled the building in 3D software, visited the painting site multiple times in the leadup to the project to take photos/video with my drone, and planned where the best viewing spot for the piece would be, as the painting is dependent on being viewed from a very specific spot/angle. In the end, I decided to focus on the cars and inhabitants of Main Street, rather than those driving down the highway. I know that a lot of these mural projects are trying to "bring people into the town", but I really wanted this to be for those who are already there. People will always come to visit and see an interesting artwork, so that's secondary (or even tertiary), but the most important thing is that this connects with those who know the building and have their own memories and connection to the space. To push it a bit further, I designed the distortion of the piece so that when you're coming down Main St. toward the wall and stop at the stop sign, the distortion disappears and the painting aligns to feel real. As if it's a part of the space and some monumental view, transforming the space into something more.
This year, I was notified that I was accepted as one of the artists and that I had this massive historical wall in the town of Bainbridge. As with many other small and sleepy midwestern towns, and especially those located in central Indiana, it's a place that I've driven past more times than I care to count, but have never paid attention to, a story which I feel is all too common and generally indicative of how the landscape and industries shift over time. In my normal spirit of enthusiasm to learn more about these unfamiliar-yet-familiar locations, I dove into the archives of the town's history. I read decades of old newspapers and articles, family lineage records, and worked with another Anthony (though he preferred Tony), who works as the county archivist to find out as much as possible about the town, and more specifically, the building itself and its story.
As time passed, I learned that this building is the oldest in the town and has held many, many roles over the past 150 years. It had a massive hall upstairs that had at one point been used for community events and gatherings and was later home to a rollerskating rink, had half of the top floor burn down, had countless shops of various types, and was the topic of several generations stories as the heart of the town. Today, however, the building is in sad shape. The roof is all but gone, the rollerskating rink is twisted and warped with water damage, and years of rainwater inside have left the lower level more swamp than building. Several people told me stories of a tree growing inside, as if the building was being reclaimed by nature after years of neglect. The current owners of the building (and of many of the buildings in this town) have begun to renovate with talks of it being loft apartments and a host for their offices in the future. They spent tens of thousands redoing the brickwork on the wall prior to me painting and luckily, entrusted me to make a concept that would resonate with the space without pushing or prodding (thanks Mark and Markus). This vast history of the space and the anecdotes that I heard from everyone while painting motivated me to make this wall something special and beyond what I think any of them expected. I wanted to celebrate the stories in the painting while also making the painting itself a source for future generations' stories.
For the topic/theme, I decided to play on the history as a shop. Rather than making some sort of scene and painting people, I decided to make it a sort of still-life based on the old mercantile shops of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As there wasn't a specific person that I wanted to focus on (again, everyone has lived through different iterations of this space and connects it to different owners), I instead wanted to go against my norms and to avoid painting any specific figures and instead, just focus on the items and the overall feeling. The archway, a reference to what's underneath the shaker shingle awning and brickwork on the front, the various items sold on the shelf a nod to items produced in the midwest in the early 20th century, and the other papers, boxes, and other items symbolic of various moments in the town and the people who play a part in the town's history (myself included).
In addition to what is painted, I spent a lot of time prepping the "how". How it will be viewed, how I want it to be viewed, and how I can integrate my concept and vision with the existing architecture. I modeled the building in 3D software, visited the painting site multiple times in the leadup to the project to take photos/video with my drone, and planned where the best viewing spot for the piece would be, as the painting is dependent on being viewed from a very specific spot/angle. In the end, I decided to focus on the cars and inhabitants of Main Street, rather than those driving down the highway. I know that a lot of these mural projects are trying to "bring people into the town", but I really wanted this to be for those who are already there. People will always come to visit and see an interesting artwork, so that's secondary (or even tertiary), but the most important thing is that this connects with those who know the building and have their own memories and connection to the space. To push it a bit further, I designed the distortion of the piece so that when you're coming down Main St. toward the wall and stop at the stop sign, the distortion disappears and the painting aligns to feel real. As if it's a part of the space and some monumental view, transforming the space into something more.
To add to the experience, while painting, several groups of schoolchildren came to watch me paint and in the end, the students in one class even drew pictures and wrote me letters. They asked questions about how I do what I do, complimented my work, showed me their own skills, and some mentioned that they would like to do what I do some day. To say that this was a challenging experience (mostly self-inflicted) would be a gross understatement, but all else aside, this was extremely rewarding and I'm thankful for the opportunity to do what I do best for people who appreciate it.
Big thanks to Alex Chamberlain and everyone involved with the Putnam County Mural Project for making it all possible, and to the people of Bainbridge, as well as the members of the local arts committee who selected me as the artist in the first place. Also shoutout to my little cousins who go past the mural every day on their way to school! Hopefully there are enough little details that you can find something new to look at each time :)
Big thanks to Alex Chamberlain and everyone involved with the Putnam County Mural Project for making it all possible, and to the people of Bainbridge, as well as the members of the local arts committee who selected me as the artist in the first place. Also shoutout to my little cousins who go past the mural every day on their way to school! Hopefully there are enough little details that you can find something new to look at each time :)
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