"Nature is Love on Earth,"  GLOBAL HeART WARMING - MURAL  2008 - 09

Exterior wall of St. John's Recreation Center Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn In collaboration with CITYarts and community youth

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CITYarts and Duda Penteado

I became familiar with the  CITYarts Institution in 2007 when a friend of mine suggested I donate an art piece to the 39th Anniversary Art Auction. After researching the organization, I decided to donate the piece.

Philosophically, my mission as an artist is to empower and to create dialogue about difficult issues. I found CITYarts to be on a similar mission.  For them, it's not just art for art's sake, but about developing community. When CITYarts was searching for a new artist to create a mural, I decided to jump at the opportunity.  I thought they were making a difference; and I identified with their motto - “Acting locally, thinking globally.” It was a perfect philosophical match.

As an immigrant to the United States from Sao Paulo, Brazil, I have a history of more than 10 years working with New York Metro Area community (Dress for Success, YMCA of Greater New York, the Latino Gerontological Center) and in the international arena through the arts. I feel that this art project with CITYarts is the next level in terms of my mission as an artist and a great contribution to the most complex cosmopolitan city in the world – the Big Apple, New York City.

The Creation of " Nature is Love on Earth " Global HeART Warming - MURAL series

The creation of the mural called to mind Jose Clemente Orozco and the Mexican Muralists of the 20th Century. In the 1923 "Manifesto del  Sindicato de Obreros Tecnicos Pintores y Escultores" the Muralists affirmed the ethical, political and aesthetic superiority of mural painting over easel painting. However, the matter is more complicated than that and the division between mural painting and easel painting is based on an ideological differences between the public and the private. Shortly after Orozco's arrival in the United States, he said : "The highest, the most logical, the purest and the strongest form of painting is the mural. In this form alone, it is one with the other arts - with all the others. It is, too, the most disinterested form, for it cannot be made a matter of private gain; it cannot be hidden away for the benefit of a certain few."

Are there any institutions left that embrace the tradition of the mural? There certainly is one in New York and it is called CITYarts. I would dare say that CITYarts will be responsible for the continued existence of many muralists in the 21st Century. The institution has not only preserved the essential spirit of the mural, but has also transcended in order to adapt to a new era. The 21st Century has ushered in dramatic changes in how we must view our place in the world as individuals, nations and cultures.  Traditional ways of understanding the world are not only obsolete, but are also dangerous and even life threatening. The Internet, the Y2K scare, the September 11 attacks, and the impact of global warming all place into sharp focus how quickly the realities of the 20th Century have vanished. They have been replaced by very fluid trends in  geopolitical, environmental, informational and cultural fronts. The arts and education are vital to understanding how the world is changing as well as to helping us think about our individual roles on this planet. This mural was a perfect opportunity for me to explore the historical context, to reflect and create art with students based on the challenges of global warming in our society today.

“Nature is Love on Earth” is part of CITYarts’ initiative to raise awareness about climate change among youth worldwide. The design and execution of the mural falls under CITYarts’ highly successful and innovative program, Engaging Graffiti Kids in Creation not Destruction, which directly engages young graffiti offenders from all over New York City to exchange spray paint for paint brushes to create beautiful works of art in their community.

The preparatory work for the mural was undertaken through a series of mural workshops I conducted with two different groups of students at St. John's Recreation Center. The students focused on four themes: peace, beauty, nature and global warming. Through the use of research materials such as movies, books, the Internet and YouTube videos and through brainstorming sessions with music, poetry and a special visit to the Brooklyn Museum, the students became very involved in a fluid creative process based on critical thinking. The result of these ideas was a powerful statement of individuals as well as collective art works created by our youth.

For more information about this Nature is Love on Earth mural, please contact CITYarts, Cick Here!

Important Information

To see the creative process of this project, click here

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Press

- An art student at Oberlin College, intern at CITYarts

Howe’s Brooklyn
Kids on Climate Change:Addressing the Issue With Public Art

Reading the Mural

Man has the power to create and destroy. The literal and symbolic focus of “Nature is Love on Earth” is the imposing structure of the Hudson River ship. It symbolizes machines made by men.  It begs us to question, what are we doing with the machines in our hands? How are we affecting nature?

Everything is so close and interconnected. Nature around the element, solid colors, almost geometric; juxtaposing everything. Nature is shaped and reshaped by the interference of man.

The fish, intertwined, symbolize unity, because to make a difference, we need both local and global unity. When you circle around, a glacier and a polar bear reside in close proximity to an island. The sole residents of this island are a penguin and a palm tree. They represent the displacement of original purpose – their odd arrangement makes us ask: is this how things are supposed to be? 

The flowers growing in the ice, begin to march the march of hope; some of them riding bicycles, hybrid cars. The flowers are humans making a conscious effort to change the city; they bear windmills like flags. The stems of the flowers growing out of the ice mean "peace" in Chinese. You might question the use of a foreign character, but can we ignore the presence of other countries, such as China, in our present global culture?

The planets on the upper-left hand corner of the mural represent universality, the perfect balance of the bigger picture. The dove, carrying an olive leaf in his beak, is a symbol of hope. Trailing the dove, like metaphorical wisps of wind, are the phrases, "Nature is in love with Earth. Nature is spring blossoms. Nature's tears are earth's floods." These were culled from students during workshops.

In the era of global warming, the only way we can make a difference is if everybody does their little part everyday. This is very much a local and global concern- it crosses the boundaries of culture and incorporates everyone in the discussion. The fact is that taking action against global warming is no longer an option. Climate change is a very real threat to the security of our planet.  I hope that this mural will inspire the local and the global community not only to admire the power of the image but that all of us could take solid actions towards a better world.

 - Duda Penteado, Fine Artist - December 22 , 2008