Meg Saligman's "Common Threads" - A Review

The Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia is one of the most vibrant mural programs in the country. Meg Saligman's mural "Common Threads," painted on the west wall of the Stevens Administrative Center at the corner of Broad and Spring Garden Streets, is a towering homage to the city, its legacy, youth and future. Her painting style is beautiful in the classical sense, though much of the subject matter is contemporary. Rather than creating a disjoint, the two periods converse freely in her painting. "Common Threads" is a commentary on intergenerational ties, historic representation and hope for the future. It is a spiritual rumination on the strength of this city's youth.

"I don't have any grand intentions," says mural artist Meg Fish Saligman. "I
just want people to be walking down the street and go, ‘Whoa, what is that?" (http://citypaper.net)

The Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia is one of the most vibrant mural programs in the country. Thanks to the dedication of the Mural Arts staff and artists, more than two and a half thousand murals have been painted in Philadelphia over the past 20 years. Philadelphia's mural reputation precedes it and many visitors tour the various mural sites while in town.

Though to outsiders the murals are a novelty, local Philadelphians regard the murals as they would row houses and parks; they are part of the scenery for better or worse. There are those who rush through life with their heads down, others stop to look at their surroundings and wonder at the world. It is this latter group of people that finds joy in the Philadelphia murals on a daily basis.

I admit that at times, I too am guilty of staring at the sidewalk as I race through the city; but there is one mural that catches my eye every time I pass it. As a Visual Studies major, I have made countless trips to Pearl on South Street for supplies. The number 40 bus that runs back to campus by way of Lombard Street and passes the Meg Saligman mural "Theater of Life." Her painting style and saturated palette always capture my attention and, as the bus pulls away from the stop, I always wish I'd gotten a longer look. I took this assignment as an opportunity not to investigate a mural I knew intrigued me, but instead to discover a new mural by the same artist.

Meg Saligman's mural "Common Threads," painted on the west wall of the Stevens Administrative Center at the corner of Broad and Spring Garden Streets, is a towering homage to the city, its legacy, youth and future. Her painting style is beautiful in the classical sense, though much of the subject matter is contemporary. Rather than creating a disjoint, the two periods converse freely in her painting. The elaborate trompe l'oeil and elements of chiaroscuro in this mural are typically reserved for paintings a fraction of the size; yet, her imagery is so convincing that one must be awed by her skill. The scale of the wall is awesome and breath-taking, but the detail with which it was rendered masks the true size. It was not until I actually put my hand on the bricks that I could comprehend the full enormity of such an undertaking.

There are 31 figures in the mural, 15 antique statuettes and 16 modern teenagers. Each statuette has a corresponding teen that mimics its gesture, however, there is one girl who stands alone. Tameka Jones towers at the top of the wall centered as the dividing line between visually balanced halves. She remains pensive and thoughtful as she fingers a braid of her hair and her brilliantly colored shirt, combined with her scale, placement and piercing eyes, immediately draws the viewer's attention.

While the statuettes are frequently black and while or muted colors, the teens are vivid, bathed in bright and saturated colors. Each of the youth seems to radiate light and this quality gives them an immediacy and vitality that seems to breathe life into their figures. The statuesque gestures they mimic become an elaborate dance, creating a dialogue between the past and present. At times the teens reach out to their "mates" (the statues); there is a sense of longing, a quiet yearning that lends a sad quality to their grace. These youth are mature beyond their years, powerful and strong.

"Common Threads" is a commentary on intergenerational ties, historic representation and hope for the future. It is a spiritual rumination on the strength of this city's youth. Saligman subtly forces the viewer to sense the spirituality associated with this work by compositionally alluding to altarpieces. The main/central arch, small side-elements (balconies and alcoves), figures, gestures, symmetry and layout all serve to enhance the altarpiece association.

Indeed, Van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece seems clearly related to this mural. In his work, a large central arch contains the main religious figures, while a number of small arches on either side house the more minor individuals. Painted representations of iconic statues as well as prayerful people (the patrons) are symmetrically placed in small alcoves. Each figure has a companion and the two are symmetrically placed within the overall composition, mimic each others gestures and have similarly colored clothing or flesh tones. Saligman gives great depth to her figures, but, like many altarpieces, she compresses the space that they occupy. Visually, it seems that her figures are building upon one another, creating a tower of figures. According to Jason Slowik, Saligman's design was largely influenced by the old masters, especially of the Byzantine period. Artists of the Byzantine often reference depth through overlapping figures and this creates for the viewer a sense of flattened space. Also, many Last Judgment scenes, like those of Giotto and van der Weyden, share compositional qualities with "Common Threads." It seems no coincidence that Tameka Jones, the girl with no counterpart, takes the position that Jesus would normally occupy. Whether intentional or subconscious on the part of the artist, Jones becomes a symbol of purity, hope, forgiveness and future.

Andre, a local Philadelphian, sees in this mural a "spiritual understanding of people." There is "a sense of religion and education;" the viewer's job is to "try to grasp the beauty of it." Indeed, standing in the bus stop, Andre turns his back to traffic in order to contemplate the wall's message. He believes that murals "should be looked at every day and paid attention to." "Common Threads" is painted in an ideal location at the intersection of Broad and Spring Garden; it stands across the street from a school, a university and a much trafficked subway station. Thousands of people see the mural every day and one would hope that it changes their lives for the better. Sadly, I spoke to a number of people who claimed that seeing it every day had inured them to its presence. To them, it is just part of the scenery.

There are, however, many people who look at this mural every day and for them it holds a powerful message. Where Andre spoke of spirituality, Patricia sees the representation of "multicultural unity." Karen thinks about education and diversity, and a Temple University Student sees the evolution of race and tolerance through history. Each viewer takes away a somewhat different message and, thus, all types of people can relate to and enjoy this mural.

One of the most astute observations came from Aaron, a vendor who sells food from a truck across the street. He said, "We see so much negative around and on the news and in movies… it is important to see people doing something positive. Negativeness brings negativeness, but if you bring something positive, positive will come. Whatever you feed yourself is what you will produce." There is no question that "Common Threads" has brought positivity into this intersection and the lives of those who frequent it. This mural has changed the lives of those who see it, but also those who are a part of it.

For "Common Threads," Saligman photographed students at Benjamin Franklin High School and the School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA). She asked them to mimic the figurines' poses and then used these photographs in her actual mural design. Saligman's philosophy of mural-making is that "the content would come from the community." She says, "I would not intentionally paint anybody who is known in their own right… I like the idea that every individual is just as heroic as a person who has fame. I like to make an everyday person rise above their environment" (Golden, 120).

It is precisely this philosophy that initiates change. "Knowing that there's a picture of you up twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year- it's almost eerie," said Tameka Jones. She took her ‘fame' as an "omen of what you are going to become- the beginning of what I believe I'm going to accomplish" (Golden, 122). Having your image painted on a public mural gives the individual a sense of pride, self-worth and encouragement to succeed. In Tameka's case, she subsequently gained much recognition as a student, becoming a Presidential Scholar and going on to study at New York University. Adam Phillips, whose image is also on the wall, apprenticed with Saligman and assisted in painting "Common Threads." He also went to college, eventually studying politics, philosophy and economics at Penn.

Jason Slowik and Cesar Viveros also interned on "Common Threads." Jason began working on the mural a few weeks after his high school graduation. Through a series of fortuitous coincidences, Saligman had an opening for the small side wall and hired Slowik as a supervisor of sorts. When Meg's assistant for the large wall had to leave for a college orientation, Jason jumped at the chance to be involved in the larger project. Though not yet 18 and technically barred from the scaffolding, Saligman recognized the potential of the strapping young wrestler. Meg was so dedicated to her project and the young man working with her, that she actually paid him out of pocket for the afternoons he spent helping her. According to Jason, his success with murals and his involvement in the Mural Arts Program since "Common Threads" is in large part a result of Meg's nurturing. During our interview, he spoke numerous times about how good Meg was with him, how much she taught him about the mural-making process and how she fostered a love for murals within him. Indeed, eight years later, Meg is still Slowik's mentor.

Jason went on to get his undergraduate degree from Tyler and an MFA from Penn. Throughout, he continued to work on and off, schedule permitting, for Mural Arts. Currently, he works for mural arts as both a muralist and in a more administrative position. Slowik also spoke of Cesar Viveros, who showed up at the site one day and asked to help on the mural. Viveros currently works for Mural Arts and, according to Slowik, "is one of the premier guys in the city now." Slowik's main point, which he made sure to highlight a few times during out short conversation, was that "Meg figures out how to find the positives in people and bring that out." This quality is evident both in her day to day interactions as well as her murals.

While Saligman's inspiration and concept stemmed from the similarity of fashion across history, "Common Threads"' message has become much more than that. It has become an agent for social change. It has become, according to Slowik, "the photo-real standard for the city;" a mural for muralists to aspire to. It is something for the community to look up to and eventually live up to. This is the ultimate goal of mural-making and, in that respect, Saligman, "Common Threads," and the Mural Arts Program have been incalculably successful.

"Common Threads"
-A mural by Meg Saligman-
PDR Mural Arts Program- ‘98
Sponsored by National Endowment for the Arts, Mid- Atlantic Arts Foundation,
Philadelphia Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Ellis A. Gimbel
Foundation, Ernst and Young, LLP, City of Philadelphia
Located at the intersection of Broad Street and Spring Garden Street

Works Cited:

Warner, David. "Spectacle on 13th Street."
Philadelphia Citypaper.net 30 Dec. 1999. University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia, 11 Feb. 2005.
http://citypaper.net/articles/123099/ae.noises.shtml

West, Judy. "Common Threads."
Citysearch Editorial Review. University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia, 11 Feb. 2005.
http://philadelphia.citysearch.com/profile/11352936/?cslink=cs_boc_lw_2_5

Golden, Jane, Robin Rice and Monica Yant Kinney. Philadelphia murals and the stories they tell. Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 2002.

Interviews with Passers-by, 16 Feb., 2005

Interview with Jason Slowik, 17 Feb., 2005

MG