NATUREMORPHOSIS - Jersey City Summer Works: Public Art Program

" There are for sure a big group of vibrant young minds out there in the United States ready to participate in an exciting and creative Public Art Project in the urban areas of NY and NJ. The Jersey City summer Works: Public Art Program 2015 - Outdoor Street and Graffiti Workshop, is just an amazing opportunity to empower and shape the consciousness of this generation and create a collective attitude by bringing beauty and life to our neighborhoods throughout the dynamic and diverse City of Jersey City. "

DUDA PENTEADO

If one looks objectively at the trajectory of civilization, it becomes abundantly clear that its destiny is ultimately urban. Whether the result of its necessity for survival of the group or tribe, or for the greater efficiency of the production and delivery of goods and services, or speed of communication, or the aesthetic and cultural appeal of the city itself, the urban environment has shaped the destiny of humankind and will continue to do so. Today the majority of humanity lives in an urban setting.

I have always said that the arts are the soul of a city. Without the arts, a city is merely an amalgam of people living and working in a highly dense and man-made environment with no conscience, soul, or spirit. The arts provide more than an intellectual or cultural relevance to a city; they provide a vehicle for the individual to think beyond his or her individual reality or circumstances. The arts require one to introspect; to think beyond one’s own existence. If even for a moment, the arts foster an aesthetic sensibility, a consideration of the world around us through the lens of the inner eye. And through this Jersey City project, the arts allow the next generation to dream and allow it to participate in changing the physical landscape of their daily existence. By involving our youth in this creation and exploration of graffiti as a uniquely urban art form, these young people are engaging in a social participation experiment. They are claiming their rights as individuals with something to say about the direction and personal significance of their community. This is so much more than a beautification project; it is a recalibration of our relationship to the community in which we live. In leading this wonderful mural creation, fine artist, Duda Penteado, and his assistants Catherine Hart and Gary Wynans are facilitating a movement in which the next generation of citizens of Jersey City will see themselves not so much as passive residents of an urban environment but as activists with a greater sensibility and awareness of their roles and responsibilities as stewards of a more humane and environmentally friendly city. In participating in the project Duda hopes that the creators of this mural will be emboldened and empowered to create more sustainable communities.

Carlos Hernandez,
President Emeritus, New Jersey City University
Open Sky Museum, Board Chair