The Edgewater branch of Chicago Public Library no longer wears sad beige after a colorful mural — covering almost the entire facade — was installed this fall.
Vivid portraits representing the faces of Edgewater — with a mixture of races, genders and skin colors — gaze from the front of the brick library at 6000 N. Broadway. Brightly-colored stripes of various widths and hues stretch up and down behind the images, while dazzling birds and flowers frame the faces. White bubbles seem to float in front of it all. Titled “Our Way Bloom,” the mural is by Japanese-American artist Tomokazu Matsuyama of New York.
“Now people can see us. They know who we are,” says Joanna Hazelden, the Edgewater branch manager. Previously, she said, folks would wander in and ask, “What are you? Are you a bank?”
Matsuyama created the mural by painting each image — bird, flower or person — by hand using acrylic paint on canvas, he says. Then he took photographs of each one and arranged them digitally over a background of rainbow stripes. That allowed him to adjust the design as he negotiated for more space on the library’s exterior.
The original proposal requested a mural on one of the library’s side walls. “I made a counterproposal,” Matsuyama says. He envisioned the mural on the front of the building instead, which is where it eventually was installed. Now it surrounds most of the windows and doors on the facade.
Chicago Public Art Group worked with Marsuyama and Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events to coordinate the mural’s creation.
Next, Matsuyama found a printer who could blow up his images to many times the size of his original paintings, while maintaining the artwork’s high definition. Those were printed onto polyester cloth panels for installation. Aluminum rails were installed on the front of the library, then resin-treated plywood panels were hung on top of the rails. The high-resolution, polyester image panels were adhered to the plywood.
The image details remain so clear that brush strokes are obvious in the work.
“I was shocked,” Matsuyama says, at how well it turned out. Framed by the library’s architectural details, the mural takes on an almost 3D appearance for patrons and pedestrians walking in and out and passing by, he says.
Because Matsuyama isn’t from Chicago, he and his staff extensively researched the city and the Edgewater neighborhood before assembling his design.
“Chicago has developed its own character and voice in the art world,” Matsuyama says, with “fantastic large-scale public works.”
Creating art that speaks for Chicago’s residents, he says, was a task he took seriously.
The peonies he painted represent pride and longevity, he says, while the cherry blossoms represent sensitivity. The lotus flowers signify rebirth, and the diverse faces overlap to represent connection.
“I wanted to engage human nature and Mother Nature,” Matsuyama says, about his inspiration for the piece. “I wanted to make it iconic and graphical. … I want the viewers to say, ‘That’s me. That’s us.’”
“I’m so grateful that I’m being invited to represent a community,” Matsuyama says. “It’s a lot to take in and I feel very responsible for that.”