Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Decorated Utility Box: Perspecsion/Dragons - Springfield, MA

Perspecsion/Dragons
Springfield, MA


N 42° 06.049 W 072° 35.222





Short Description: 

A pair of young artists employed different styles and themes to decorate the opposite sides of the utility box on the southwest corner of Main and State Streets in downtown Springfield, MA.
Location: Massachusetts, United States

Long Description:

Eighteen artists have been chosen by the Springfield Central Cultural District to paint and beautify electrical utility boxes in the downtown area of Springfield. The first boxes were painted on Monday May 23, 2016 and the program will continue throughout the month and beyond. Many of the paintings will be sponsored by local organizations and businesses. This painted utility box was sponsored by the Springfield Central Cultural District and painted by Springfield high school students.

The street side of this utility box was painted by Olivia M. Barnes in a deconstructive style. The title is Perspecsion which I assume is a concatenation of Perspective and Vision. The work carries a serious message about alienation, awareness, and surveillance in modern society.

A disjointed series of black and white images of eyes, ears, noses, and a mouth represent how we sense and interact with the world. The explicit message is: are you being watched and heard? Are you aware of your surroundings? From where do you get your information. A multicolored background creates a sharp contrast and draws attention to the black and white images.

The sidewalk side contains variously colored winged dragons and is signed MAW (Molly A. Walsh).

No comments:

Post a Comment