One of the large murals brought to Lynn Massachusetts by Beyond Walls is one on Munroe Street by Caleb Neelon (with help from Lena McCarthy). It is on the side wall of a building adjacent to a parking lot so it is easy to see but difficult to get a good picture of the whole mural without a wide angle lens. It was painted in 2017.
The mural is full of details! Polka dots, stars, and other little shapes. Also miniature drawings of animals, people, buildings, and much more.
It is a patchwork of shapes in many colours, all stitched carefully together with black thread. It is an artful arrangement of shape, colour, and texture. A series of circles around little fuzzy blue creatures (called Sonik) forms the central core of the mural.
Lynn is a town in Massachusetts just outside of Boston. It is also one of the towns that participate in Beyond Walls, a non-profit organization that believes that art can build better cities. There is a lot of street art here! This isn’t the first post about Lynn – it is a look at some of the painting along the railway line near the station in central Lynn.
below: As the railway passes through Lynn, it is above grade. The sections underneath along the parking lot on Mt Vernon Street have been decorated with street art murals. The large building in the background is on the other side of the tracks and is featured in another blog post, Behind a building on Union Street
below: At one end of the parking lot is a large mural that is a collaboration between Yu-Baba and Key Detail.
below: On the other side of the tracks there is more art.
below: A canine-like critter (dog? wolf?) with a black shiny nose and sharp white teeth by Ghost Beard
below: Nead2‘s rendition of Bart Simpson as a graffiti artist.
below: It seems to rise like a plume of smoke – a painting on one of the pillars supporting the railway bridge, painted by Yuknow K Lou
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below: Also by the tracks…
below: Ruben Ubiera painted this mural on Silsbee Street close to the railway tracks and station. There are words on the black band on the gorilla’s shoulder that say “Entering Lynn”.
below: Lastly, just across from the tracks Kevin Ledo has painted “Do you realize” on the side of one of the small apartment buildings.
This post highlights three murals in Lynn Massachusetts that feature a portrait of a woman. They certainly aren’t the only women portrayed in Lynn, they just happen to be located close to each other.
below: Layers of women. Two portraits on different buildings but from the same viewpoint. In front, “The Protector” by David Zays; In back, a mural by Marka27.
below: From a better angle, the woman in blue with a yellow flower in her hand in the mural by Marka27, aka Victor Quinonez.
below: Yellow petals flying away, blowing in the breeze.
below: “The Protector”, a mural by David Zayas. Like many of his murals, there is a lot of symbolism. The aloe plant is known for its healing properties and hence is a symbol of protection. The rooster on her shoulder represents the resilience and fighting spirit that we need when life get tough.
below: Looking closer at the intricate detail in the rose pattern in her blouse and the detail in the rooster’s colourful feathers.
below: The orange colour in the bird has faded a bit so it’s more difficult to tell that it is a robin.
below: “Grandma Eve” by Helen Bur is on the same building as the Davd Zayas mural, but on the other side. Bur’s grandmother is shown holding a playbill designed by her husband during WW2 when he was a prisoner of war in the Pacific. The prisoners put on a play, ‘Murder at Sea’, and the artist’s grandfather designed the playbill for the show.
A portrait project from 2014 – 10 years on and still looking great
A total of 528 portraits line the side of a walkway under the railway tracks in Lynn.
They are the product of a Raw Art Works project – Young artists took photos of various people in Lynn and then made portraits from those photos. The portraits also include ones that the artists made of themselves.
Raw Artworks – whose mission statement includes the words; “to ignite the desire to create and confidence to succeed”. It’s a program for youth that has been running in Lynn since 1994.
As I walked around Lynn I spotted a few posters on display, all of which dealt with the Covid pandemic that started back in 2020. You might be able to make an argument that these aren’t exactly street art but I think that their roots are firmly in the art community.
below: This is a copy of a much larger mural that first appeared in Amsterdam. “Super Nurse” is the creation of FAKE (aka Manuel Seikritt).
below: On the left – Unsung Heroes by Randy Stolinas – a thankful shout out to all those in the service industries who were also essential workers. On the right, useful, and still relevant, advice from Ed Wainaina
below: A copy of Shepherd Fairey’s (aka Obey) “We the People; Protect Each Other”
This is the back of 270 and 280 Union Street in Lynn MA as seen from the (large) parking lot. All of these murals were painted as part of the Beyond Walls program.
A closer look at the four of them…..
below: Two large murals, male and female, by Erin Holly
below: A large, vibrant mural titled “KLK Mi Gente” painted by a group of artists: Angurria (aka Nestor Garcia), Dovente (aka Johann M. Baez) Silvia López Chavez, and Willgom (aka Willy Gomez). The artists are either from the Dominican Republic or have Dominican roots.
“KLK” is an acronym for “Que lo que!,” which loosely translates to the English, in meaning and usage, as “What’s up?” The mural is a celebration of Dominican culture.
below: Hanimal, an artist from Colombia, two little guys like two peas in a pod , meticulously detailed,
below: Portuguese artist, Diogo Machado aka Add Fuel painted the top corner of the building. His ‘layers’ wrap around the corner, each layer revealing a different tile pattern.
There is an intersection in Lynn where three streets tangle together, Washington St, Oxford St, and Central Ave. That is where I was standing when I took this photo – a great view of two immense murals. They are very different from each other and they are both fabulous.
below:Ernesto Maranje, flora and fauna, rhinocerus, black bear and at least two species of birds.
below: ‘The Resident’ by Smug on Central Avenue painted in 2019.
Both of these murals, and many others, are because of the work of Beyond Walls, a non-profit agency that promotes art in the community. They believe that art and the active spaces that go with it, strengthens cities.
Portuguese artist Bordalo II (aka Artur Bordalo) is known for his animal creations using trash and found objects. There are now two examples of his artwork in Lynn including this bear. Another feature of Bordalo II’s animals is their ‘split personality’ – one half is colourful while the other is in shades of grey.
below: On the same building as the bear is another piece by Bordalo II, a mouse with perky ears and long whiskers.
below: A side view of the mouse gives a good look at the depth of the artwork.
below: A hardhat, vacuum hoses, a pink skateboard, and something yellow with wheels, are among the items used to make the mouse’s eye.
below: A closer look at the face of the bear and all the bits and pieces that were used.
below: Pieces of metal make claws on bear paws including a lone yellow one.
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Eyes on the Streets 