Special to 1812Blockhouse
On Thursday, November 10 from 4 PM to 6:30 PM in the Mankind Murals Inc studio lot, there will be a public gathering, ribbon cutting, and illumination of “Luminous City,” a photographic mural installation.
The ribbon cutting with the Chamber of Commerce will take place promptly at 4:30 PM, and there will be an illumination of the artwork at 5:30 PM. The studio lot will be roped off and parking will be available at the Municipal Lot across Diamond Street.
Mankind Murals studio is located above Hursh Pharmacy, and will have food and drink for guests as well as beverages from 3rd Cup Tea happening upstairs until 6:30 PM. All are welcome to attend the ribbon cutting and illumination.
“Luminous City” is a collaboration between a local photographer, artists, and organizations that are invested in creating public art.
Braxton Daniels III, photographer, artist, and owner of the 3rd Cup Tea on Main Street, had created a series of long exposure photographs at night in the Richland County area and in this landscape specifically along 603. The headlights and taillights in a 30-second exposure cast a stream of light across a long exposure photograph. As the initial part of the mural process, the landscape photograph at night was printed on a 3ft x 4ft canvas where artist Robin Wilson created an array of colorful northern lights. This composite photographic artwork was then photographed at high resolution, printed and enlarged on exterior vinyl and installed.
The final size of the art installation in the studio lot is 20’6” tall and 57’2” wide.
The project has been years in the making, and represents no small feat. It was originally conceived by artists and organizers in 2019, where Luke Beekman, Mansfield downtowner and director of local nonprofit Mankind Murals Inc commissioned the work. The collaboration may represent the bright possibilities and express multiple artistic mediums and lighting in a downtown parking lot.
Matching sponsorship was made through the Richland County Foundation, Mansfield Rising Plan which is currently assisting matching funding through the RCDG Public Arts and Culture Sector, for public art installations and mural projects specifically in the downtown Mansfield area between 1st & 6th Street, and Adams to Bowman Street.
This project at the Mankind Murals lot was the first mural project to apply for and be approved of the new Mural Certificate process with the recently formed Mansfield Public Arts Commission. The project required additional permitting and construction to the commercial building, and all certificates and permits were applied for and completed by the Commission and Codes in March 2022. As chair of the Public Art Commission as well as the RCDG Public Arts and Culture Sector, Beekman hopes that this project helps to pave the way for more public artwork, as well as additional artwork installations and murals to follow the same process.
This project is inspired to illuminate artists of different mediums to collaborate in new ways, and transform an ordinary downtown lot into something extraordinary. The artwork is the largest public art installation in Mansfield to date, complete with colorful spotlighting and nearly 400 feet of cafe lights stringing end to end of the lot.
It took years of public art surviving the pandemic, and time to forge the foundations of the process in place, but the proof of concept is finally coming to light. The method of installation required local and Ohio companies, utilizing the local Lind SignSpring and BannerFrame system, with some in-kind donation from John Siegenthaler. Local engineering on the additional construction was donated in-kind from Matthew Stanfield, of FiELD9: architecture. Midwest Strut provided some in-kind for steel materials required for the additional construction. Andrew and Brittany Poehler of Hursh Pharmacy gave use of the lot for the purposes of public art.
The installation itself was relatively quick in comparison to developing the process and getting all the pieces into place. The additional construction, the artwork, and lights, were installed in a matter of days in the final weeks of October. The ribbon cutting and illumination on November 10th is meant to inspire the possibilities of public art in downtown. Public art events are being planned into the new year and beyond in the “Luminous City” lot, as well as additional artworks. The space has been transformed into a creative canvas and backdrop for artists and cultural events in downtown Mansfield for years to come.
The full art work is below. Click photo for a full sized image.
Source, Photos: Mankind Murals, Inc.
