Rescue Public Murals to Assess Philadelphia Mural
This fall, Rescue Public Murals will assess the prominent Philadelphia mural, Common Threads, by Meg Saligman. The mural, which is eight stories tall and located in downtown Philadelphia, is seen by more than 5,800 people on a typical weekday. Common Threads is Meg Saligman’s best-known mural of the more than 50 she has painted around the world including those in Omaha, Nebraska; Shreveport, Louisiana; and Mexico City, Mexico.
 Common Threads, Meg Saligman, 1998, Broad and Spring Garden Streets, Philadelphia. (Photo by Joyce Hill Stoner.) Note people in the photograph for a sense of the size of the mural. |
The successful completion of Common Threads in 1998 encouraged Ms. Saligman and other muralists to think bigger, not just in execution, but in community involvement. The artist recruited students from nearby Benjamin Franklin High School and the School for Creative and Performing Arts to pose for the fifteen figures in the mural that imitate a porcelain figurine from the past, such as Egypt, eighteenth century Europe, and China. These posturing figures surround a larger figure posed by Tameka Jones (17 at the time). Her contemplative gaze suggests the competing claims and roles that confront us all throughout our lives. Several high school students also assisted in painting the mural, one of whom went on to become a professional muralist.
Common Threads was funded in part by the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, one of the country’s premier public art programs, which has established Philadelphia’s reputation as a mural city. This mural represents Philadelphia in its complexity, diversity, aspirations, and beauty. It was nominated to Rescue Public Murals by a local committee of artists and arts administrators to assess the mural’s general condition and maintenance needs as it celebrates its tenth anniversary. Common Threads is also at risk because a building is being considered for the parking lot the mural faces. This new construction would obliterate the view of at least part of the mural. One question before the conservators who will assess the mural, Carole Abercauph and Barbara Ventresco, is whether it will be possible to remove sections of the mural for possible relocation. If not, changes to the composition of the mural may be considered by the artist as part of a proposed rescue plan.
Read more about Meg Saligman’s latest massive mural project in Omaha that is serving as a best practices case study for Rescue Public Murals.
Click here to read about other murals that Rescue Public Murals has assessed.