Neighbors have been abuzz about the black-and-white mural that recently appeared at 2001 W. Division St., on the southeast corner of Damen and Division.
The mural is not to announce a new restaurant or ultra-exclusive speakeasy, but instead is a work of public art on the facade of a highly visible building in the neighborhood. Commissioned by the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce, the mural was completed by Bernard Williams, a local Chicago artist. We asked him to tell us more about it:
"This mural is titled "Birds and Flowers." Many graphic symbols of birds and flowers are delivered from multiple points of view, culturally. Several bird and flower symbols come from Native American sources, others from folk quilt patterns, ancient Mexico, Europe, Asia, and Africa.The repeated and varying motifs suggest a human connectedness within the difference, which attempts to reference Wicker Park Bucktown as a hub of cultural diversity in Chicago and in the nation.My mural design follows a program of composition which I have practiced within my studio activities for over ten years. I have collected a group of signs and symbols which speak about the complexities of American history and culture. The strategy of arrangement is inspired by ancient picture-writing seen in multiple cultures, notably, Egyptian hieroglyphs, ancient Mexican glyphs, Chinese and Japanese Kanji or pictographs."
You can find out more about Bernard Williams' work at www.bernardwilliamsart.com.
Great research.
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