How Mosaic Murals and Street Art Enrich Cities and Communities
What do ice cream and mosaic murals have in common?
To answer that question and to explain why mosaics are so great, I want to tell you a quick story.
I once had a friend who ran a small restaurant that had some unusual flavors of ice cream on the menu.
One such flavor was lemon and it was yellow.
It wasn’t something people were used to and it didn’t sell very well at first.
However, my friend liked the flavor and didn’t want to give up on it, so he came up with an idea to make it more noticeable to customers.
He started putting little chocolate chips on top of every scoop in the shape of a smiley face.
He called it the “smiley special” and it became very popular among customers.
So what does any of this have to do with mosaic murals?
Well… just like the ice cream needed a bit more personality for people to notice it, a good mural can get passersby to pay attention to what would otherwise have been a bland and boring façade of a building or a sidewalk.
Once a place has *personality*, people will start to notice it more and it can become more popular.
Not only does a “picture say a thousand words,” as the expression goes, but the picture can also invite a conversation to occur in the first place.
There’s not much to say about a plain scoop of ice cream or a grey concrete wall, but even a little bit of creative decoration can change all of that.
Just like how my friend’s ice cream flavor seemed to get lost amongst the myriad of other menu items, so it is the case with many buildings that seem to fade into the background until an eye catching mural livens up the place.
The smiling chocolate chips faces didn’t just add an additional ingredient to an otherwise plain looking menu item.
They injected some creativity into something relatively dull and made it more visually interesting.
Making art out of something ordinary is a growing trend around the world.
This is especially apparent when it comes to street art and mosaic murals.
Street art no longer has to mean vandalism or deleterious graffiti, but rather something positive!
It can strengthen a neighborhood’s identity, be a source of civic pride, and even bring a return on investment for communities and cities.
A well-done street mural can even give insights into a city’s culture and political dynamics.
For example, if the exterior walls of a community center look a bit boring, a strategically placed work of art can help to beautify it and make the surrounding area visually more interesting to look at.
What used be an ordinary wall can transform into something visually stimulating that reflects the artistic aesthetics of the neighborhood.
Even a little public artistry can completely change the vibe of a place.
I’ll never forget my trip Germany and seeing the Berlin Wall for the first time.
I know this is a somewhat old example, but I think it perfectly illustrates how people can make artwork out of something that was once negative and dreary.
There isn’t much left of the wall these days, but what’s there still has some amazing artwork that was well worth the plane ride it took to go see it.
The politics of the time period are on full display here.
One side of the wall remains plain and unmarked, while the other side is a vibrant display of the human spirit.
To me, it is a metaphor of sorts for how one side of Germany had a sense of freedom back then, while the people on the other were forced to keep their collective mouths shut.
Nowadays, tourists from all over the world come to see the wall and admire the artwork.
To this day, little pieces of the wall can still be purchased in museums and other locations in Berlin.
What once was an ugly symbol of oppression, is now a soulful reminder of the nation’s history as well as a source of tourism revenue for the city.
And as side note, if you see a guy named Hans selling supposed pieces of the Berlin Wall on a random street corner near Alexanderplatz, don’t buy them!
Call me crazy, but I don’t think any parts of the wall were ever made of playdough ;)
But one doesn’t have look back a number of decades to find great street art!
Modern street art and murals are constantly popping up all over the world.
The United States alone has tons of murals in virtually all of its major cities.
From the Mural Conservancy in Los Angeles to the Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program, there is plenty of magnificent mural art to lighten up the urban landscapes.
I often visit the city of San Diego and pass by many mosaic murals and street art in just the North Park neighborhood alone.
If you’re ever in the area, I recommend visiting the Queen Bee’s cultural center.
I really like going there and it’s always a pleasure seeing the fun artwork all over the building.
The artwork that’s all over the building often changes, but there’s always a pretty good chance it’ll involve the Beatles as well as… you guessed it… bees!
My personal favorite is this mosaic that’s right in front of the main entrance.
Once again, such vibrant expressions of creativity serve as a visual stimulant that get the business noticed and it appears to have worked fairly well for them.
I mean, here I am writing about them, so they must be doing something right!
In fact, research has been done on this topic and it suggests that having a mosaic mural or a piece of street art can often times significantly increase a business’s revenue.
Many of the people I’ve personally talked to have said that they wouldn’t have paid much attention to a place if it hadn’t been for the colorful artwork outside.
This means that a business can literally go from generic background scenery to “Wow, what’s that quirky looking building? Let's go check it out!”
Talk about a return on investment!
And it’s not just about getting people to notice something in order for them to spend money.
Sometimes the best reward is simply getting people to feel better about their surroundings.
Getting residents to feel a healthy dose of civic pride can really do wonders for a community.
At least some people in government seem to understand the inherent value in this and have commissioned some very talented artists to spruce up areas in their cities.
In New York City, for example, an artist by the name of Jackie Chang was commissioned to create some beautiful mosaic art that now adorns the walls of subway stations there.
Another artist by the name of Amy Scaumburger created the famous “Urban Oasis” mosaic work series at 5th avenue subway stations in the same city.
But a great mosaic art isn’t just limited to subway stations and the sides of buildings.
Some of it can also be found in the most random of places, such as a literal hole in the ground.
In the city of Lyon, France there is a street artist who goes by the moniker Ememem, also known as “the pavement surgeon”.
This gentleman goes around fixing potholes and pavement cracks by filling them with tiny colorful tiles to make stunning mosaics art pieces.
Even outside of France, Ememem’s creations have been spotted all over Europe beautifying everything from tiny cracks to larger craters, once again proving that mosaics are awesome!
And if you’re in Europe, but looking for special cracks in the pavement isn’t your thing, check out Park Güell in Barcelona, Spain.
An architect by the name of Antoni Gaudi designed this park and it is basically mosaic heaven to look at.
The place is full of colorful broken tile mosaic art that practically begs to be admired and discovered.
It’s definitely a must-see area to visit during any journey to Barcelona that makes for a truly enjoyable visual experience… as well as plenty of nice photo opportunities that you can show your friends later when you want to brag a little :)
Anyways, I could go on and on gushing about how much I love a good mosaic mural, but I think I’ve made my point.
So I’ll leave you with a final thought.
What “ice cream” have you seen lately that could use a “smiley face”?
With so much potential to make the world a more interesting place to look at, it should be no wonder that street art and mosaic murals are gaining more and more mainstream recognition.
I hope you’ll take the next opportunity you have to appreciate some the next time you see them.