Posted on 08/03/2013 1:14:31 PM PDT by shineon
The giant mural in Dewey Square that caused controversy and racially charged commentary is coming down.
The colorful artwork, painted on the utility building housed above the Interstate 93 tunnel by Brazilian brothers Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo, who go by “Os Gemeos,” will be replaced by a new mural beginning in the fall.
The mural, which went up in July 2012, is withering and fading, and officials have decided it’s time for something new, according to Charlie McCabe, director of public programs for the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, the non-profit entity tasked with providing public artwork along the strip of grass that runs through Causeway Street. “We are looking to either remove it or replace it sometime in the fall,” says McCabe. “We are hoping to announce what the new project on the structure will be by August.”
The structure, a 70-foot-by-70-foot Air Intake building located between Summer and Congress Streets, was transformed into a painting for the first time last summer. McCabe says every piece of art—from sculptures, to paintings along the Greenway—has an 18-month shelf life. Because this particular mural is beginning to show signs of deterioration, replacing it sooner than the designated timeframe felt like a smart move.
McCabe says the Conservancy is working with the Institute of Contemporary Art to find a suitable mural to go up in place of the “Giant of Boston,” but no artists have been selected at this time. The ICA was responsible for helping bring the “Os Gemeos” brothers to Boston last year to create the multi-colored figure that is currently on the side of the building, facing South Station.
The mural sparked some outrage in the community and created a lot of public discourse, some of which lead to racially charged commentary and opinionated thoughts about what the figure actually was. The comments first surfaced on Fox 25’s Facebook page, and later garnered national attention.
Leni
Hopefully they don't replace the mural with an image of one of those evil Amish people who cause so much trouble in the world.
(s) nully, who lives in San Jose, home of the half million dollar dog turd...
Oh, my! How unattractive. It reminds me of the other public art. Generally ludicrous and unattractive. Why must “art” be inflicted on us? Why not make it look like a building. Why not use the money to clean up the streets?
That’s pretty heinous. Looks like an Islamic female stewie griffin.
To be true-to-life they should blow it up.
Better hurry tho .. the hand you can't see is the one with the switch . . .
I’ve always liked the whale mural in Detroit.
It doesn’t say nuthin.
What happened, did Fauxahontas discover she had jihadist ancestry?
Thanks shineon.
What is the ‘half million dog turd’? I’m in Morgan Hill and I’ve never heard of it. Is it a popular tourist attraction? :=)
What it comes down to is that they have decided that
so much space is wasted without an appropriate
social “message”. Simple.
Even just repairing potholes would be a far better use of the money.
Tax dollars spent to honor a bloodthirsty pagan god.
Thanks. I had forgotten (perhaps intentionally) about that atrocity.
Lucky you.
Mark my words, some fine morning they are going to find a heart in those jaws.
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