Wall of Respect for Women meeting - Wed 1/24

[ron_newman]

The next meeting of the Wall of Respect for Women mural project will be this Wednesday, January 24 at 6:30 pm at the Nathan Tufts Field House in Powderhouse Park.

(for those tuning in late: the group is planning a replacement mural for the deteriorating one that Brooks Pharmacy painted over last year.)

Comments

[cleanup-davissq.livejournal.com]

I'll get the ball rolling by saying that I do not want a mural on this wall. I like the clean unadorned, easy on the eye terracotta color as it is. The mural that was there looked like something out of the projects.

[ron_newman]

Do you mean the Somerville Arts Council projects? What's wrong with them?

[billharnois.livejournal.com]

I agree. These murals really make me feel like I'm in a down-in-the-dumps area that needs a big positive colorful painting to brighten things up. But that's not the case for this area. And I think it looks just fine now.

I also think a wall-of-respect-for-women is really outdated. Do women really need this to feel equal in 2007? Maybe I just don't get it.

'wall of respect'

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

I also feel it's a silly, out-dated idea and does indeed look shabby. If you notice you only see murals like this in depressed areas, housing projects, etc. You won't see any on Newbury St., that's for sure. They're just a way for the Arts Council to promote themselves, and the politicians to feel good about themselves, and they'll use us as their guinea pigs. What's next, will we pay to paint a wall of respect for.....Italians, football players, geeks? I hope others who disagree with this proposal attend the meeting!

Re: 'wall of respect'

[billharnois.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they should repaint that Boston Harbor blue painting on the bike path instead. At least I think that's what it was. It's really starting to fade, and I think it's worth saving.

Re: 'wall of respect'

[spettacolo.livejournal.com]

That was the Mystic River

Re: 'wall of respect'

[ron_newman]

Newbury Street had a mural for many years, on the side wall of a French restaurant, facing onto the street's only parking lot. I think it was recently painted over because the restaurant had closed and the mural was deteriorating beyond repair. But that wall, too, could use a new mural.

Re: 'wall of respect'

[ron_newman]

Well yes, it looked shabby, past tense, which is why it was painted over. But a new mural will look just fine if it is done properly and some attention is paid to durability.

Re: 'wall of respect'

[billharnois.livejournal.com]

We should just wait until they turn it into a Trader Joe's. They can have one of those Trader Joe's murals, and everyone's happy. I really don't want to look at another mural that shows a women giving birth.

Re: 'wall of respect'

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

It's not "a way for the Arts Council to promote themselves" if they are not initiating nor funding this project. I was on the Arts Council board and have been an Arts Council volunteer for many years. I support arts in the community and I was dismayed by how Brooks Pharmacy handled the whole thing, but I feel that there are better ways to spend $63K (at least I recall that was an estimate for how much a new mural would cost on that wall).

I *will* send a letter to Ms. Gewirtz to voice my opinion since I cannot attend this meeting, and I encourage others to do the same, whether they support or oppose the idea.

don't do it!

[cleanup-davissq.livejournal.com]

$63,000??? That is just foolish. That much spent on local artists' artworks in the Square would be a better bet. You'll find a few diehards are lobbying to get this mural done but in general the majority are indifferent if not downright against it.

[billharnois.livejournal.com]

So what was the outcome of this meeting? I wasn't able to attend. Did we find something better to spend $63,000 on?

[ron_newman]

I did not attend the meeting. Maybe someone else here did?