Venus (mural)
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Venus: a ten story high mural painting by New York artist Knox Martin [1] on the south side of Bayview Correctional Facility at 19th Street and 11th Avenue.
Venus was commissioned by Doris Freedman of City Walls (later the Public Art Fund) in 1970.
"To the New York public, Mr. Martin is probably best known for the 10-story abstract mural he did some years ago on the wall of the Bayview Correctional Center at 19th Street and the West Side Highway [...] A fine traffic stopper whose brightly colored circular and rectangular elements play off one another in a carefully orchestrated arrangement, it deserves the restoration it will soon undergo."
Grace Glueck, The New York Times, May 23, 1997 [2]
Venus was repainted in 1998 with the support of the Public Art Fund. A new weather-resistant acrylic paint developed and donated by the Golden Paint Company was used, which will last 75 years. (Art in America, July 1998, p.25)[3]
Featured on the DOCS website’s “History of Bayview” is the following statement:
"In 1970, prior to the rejuvenation of the district, Bayview's entire south wall was decorated with a red and pink abstract painting, called "Venus" by artist Knox Martin. The mural, conspicuous for its size and beauty, has often been used on post cards. It is also conspicuous - in a culture that regards large, exposed surface as prime advertising space - for not being a billboard. Not surprisingly, advertisers call from time to time with proposals to lease the wall for commercial messages, but Bayview doesn't want its beautiful Venus covered over with a beer or jeans ad. Besides, it's state property." [4]
[edit] Additional References
- "After a 37-Year Run, a Roadside Venus to Be Veiled" by ALEX MINDLIN, February 11, 2007, The New York Times[5]
- p.12-13, "Mural Paints: Current and Future Formulations" by MARK GOLDEN, 2003, The Getty Conservation Institute[6]
