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Against Domestic Colonialism
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West 46th Street resident Watty Strouss and Patricia Quijano Ferrer unroll the original artists’ maquette of Arnold Belkin’s Against Domestic Colonialism (1972). click to enlarge |
Rescue Public Murals is working with the West 46th Street Block Association, CITYarts, Inc., and other concerned neighbors to raise funds to restore Arnold Belkin’s 1972 mural Against Domestic Colonialism. The 60’ x 67’ mural is located in May Mathews-Alexandra Palmer Playground on West 46th Streets between 9th and 10th Avenues in Manhattan.
Arnold Belkin (1930-92) was Canadian by birth and at age 18 moved to Mexico to study with David Alfaro Siqueiros—one of Los Tres Grandes of the Mexican Mural Movement. Although he produced many murals in Central America, Against Domestic Colonialism is believed to be Belkin’s only outdoor mural painted in the United States. It was one of the earliest community murals to be painted in New York City and today it is the city’s oldest extant community mural. Copyright of Against Domestic Colonialism is held by the Estate of Arnold Belkin and CITYarts, Inc.
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In September 2011, the West 46th Street Block Association and Heritage Preservation funded an assessment of the mural, which has faded and deteriorated significantly. The top portion of the mural has been obscured by concrete stucco needed to repair the wall. The lower portion was painted out after it was covered with graffiti.
Though Belkin passed away in 1992, Rescue Public Murals will work with his widow the Mexican muralist Patricia Quijano Ferrer in restoring the mural. Ferrer brought extensive archival documentation on how the mural was designed and painted to the assessment. She worked with conservator Harriet Irgang Alden and historic preservationist Norman Weiss to inspect the mural. Artists that knew Belkin and the architect that commissioned the work also attended the September assessment.
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Against Domestic Colonialism by Arnold Belkin in its current condition. click to enlarge |
The assessment received extensive media attention including in the New York Times, the Associated Press, and in the Canadian press. The New York Times Web site featured a photo slide show of the mural.
Against Domestic Colonialism’s theme of the community having a voice in planning their built environment exemplifies the debates that raged around urban renewal in New York City from the 1950s to the 1970s. It is still pertinent today as the neighborhood—formerly known as “Hell’s Kitchen” and the setting for West Side Story—is again undergoing intense development. Fortunately, local residents are passionate about their neighborhood’s history and recognize the unique artwork in their midst.
The treatment plan will involve repairing portions of the substrate wall and repainting the mural. It will follow some of the same protocols that Rescue Public Murals used in the 2009 restoration of Eva Cockcroft’s Homage to Seurat: La Grande Jatte in Harlem. Pending funding, the restoration of Against Domestic Colonialism will being in summer 2012—the 40th anniversary of the mural and the 20th anniversary of the death of Belkin.
How you can help: please contact Kristen Laise at klaise(at)heritagepreservation(dot)org to learn how to contribute to this project.