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ART, COMMERCE, AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION: PUBLIC ART AND THE MARKETING OF PHILADELPHIA A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Maria Schelle Solano May 2012 Examining Committee Members: Dr. Judith Goode, Department of Anthropology, Temple University Dr. Jayasinhji Jhala, Department of Anthropology, Temple University Dr. Raquel Romberg, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tel Aviv University Dr. Elaine Simon, Urban Studies Program, The University of Pennsylvania i © Copyright 2012 by Maria Schelle Solano All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT The field site for this US-based ethnography is the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The overwhelming presence of murals in the urban landscape calls into question how these figurative wall-sized paintings improve the lives and neighborhoods in which these paintings are found. With Philadelphia suffering the consequences of deindustrialization and neoliberal globalization, characterized by high poverty and inequality, and consistently low rankings in quality of life indicators by the national media, what role do murals play in change? Do murals mask urban problems by literally painting over blight, and, therefore distract from vital issues? Alternately, are murals a beacon of hope in an aging post-industrialized city? How do these murals contribute to the city – socially, culturally, and economically? This research study employs the following in its methodology: archival research, participant observation, interviews, visual and audio documentation, web site analysis of the Mural Arts Program’s public transcript, and documentation of contemporary media coverage of the MAP and tourism related economic strategies. I participated in and observed seven talks/events, attended nine mural dedications, and experienced nine mural tours. Within this time span of active research, I interviewed “various publics” - a diverse audience of eighteen individuals, that includes residents and artists. Over the course of its almost thirty-year history, the MAP has seen its mission shift from dealing with erasing graffiti, to helping transform (i.e. empower and motivate) communities and individuals, as a way to deal with poverty and increasing political and iii economic inequality. As globalization placed pressures on cities to compete in a global economy, new urban branding practices changed the scale of operations from place-based local communities (that focused on rehabilitating “at-risk” populations) to the city as a whole (city-wide murals and related projects/events), that increased local media coverage and brought the MAP to the attention of national media outlets – the kind of publicity necessary to advertise Philadelphia as an “urban brand,” “The City of Murals.” The promotion of Philadelphia as “The City of Murals” is premised on art having a “social life” by virtue of human interaction, and therefore, has the capacity to engage, captivate, and transform – its “value” is in being commodified and consumed. At the same time, the consumption of particular art objects and experiences demonstrates “taste” and marks social difference and maintains social hierarchies. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Goode and Dr. Jhala for their guidance and encouragement for the past eight years. Specifically, I would like to thank Dr. Goode for challenging me, for questioning me, for spurring me to “look at the forest” instead of being lost among all the trees. I would like to thank Dr. Jhala for his unwavering belief in me, despite my occasional self-doubt. Muchas gracias to Dr. Romberg for her commitment to being a part of my committee, despite the distance. Thank you to Dr. Simon for agreeing to be my External Reader. Thank you to all of my informants – for taking the time to share your world with me. To the various Philadelphia residents – for your enriching insights. To the artists – your cause is an inspiration to me. It has been a truly rewarding experience. Thank you to George Rich, Trevor Purcell, and Gerardo Gonzales – for being a part of my intellectual discovery. Thank you to Bonnie Bade – for your honesty. Thank you to Jane Town, Lynne Kataoka, Joan Tucker, Shu-Fan Wen, Muriel Kirkpatrick, and Jessica Rowe – for making the road bearable. Thank you to Juanishi Orozco and Steven Kaltenbach – who saw the “potential” in me. Thank you to my sisters – for their support in times of challenge. Thank you to my mother for being “unconventional.” Thank you to my father who expected nothing less than the best for and from his daughters. Lastly, thank you to the women artists and anthropologists in my quest for “meaning and purpose” – Camille Claudel, Katherine Dunham, Zora Neale Hurston, Fridah Kahlo, Anais Nin, Remedioa Varo, and Virginia Woolf. v This is dedicated to the lone adventurer and free-spirit – may you find your true calling. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 2. BACKGROUND: PHILADELPHIA’S ECONOMIC HISTORY AND CURRENT ECONOMIC STRATEGY .................................................................30 3. THE MURAL ARTS PROGRAM: FROM A COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION TO A PROMOTER OF TOURISM AND URBAN BRANDING ..........................................................................................................62 4. PRODUCING PUBLIC MURALS: EVOLVING PROCESSES - FORMER WAYS AND NEW WAYS ..................................................................98 5. FORMALLY PRESENTING MURALS TO THE PUBLIC ..............................124 6. UNMEDIATED MURAL ENCOUNTER ..........................................................150 7. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................174 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................181 APPENDICES A. MAP HISTORY, TIMELINE, AND MISSION .................................................188 B. MAP PROGRAMS, CLAIMS, AND STRUCTURE ..........................................194 vii LIST OF FIGURES Table Page 1. Dedication “This We Believe” city-wide mural project (30th/Market) ..................122 2. Dedication “This We Believe” city-wide mural project (30th/Market) ..................122 3. Legacy (7th St and Chestnut St., Center City) .........................................................126 4. Holding Grandmother’s Quilt (39th St and Aspen, West Philadelphia) .................131 5. Holding Grandmother’s Quilt (39th St and Aspen, West Philadelphia) .................131 6. Mantua mural (West Philadelphia) .........................................................................139 7. Mantua mural (West Philadelphia) .........................................................................140 8. Mantua mural (West Philadelphia) .........................................................................140 9. Dr. J (North Philadelphia) .....................................................................................142 10. Multiculture (North Philadelphia) ..........................................................................143 11. Graffiti (N. 5th St/Cecil B. Moore, North Philadelphia) ........................................143 12. To Mondrian (North Philadelphia) .........................................................................144 13. The Journey: Viet Nam to the United States (South Philadelphia) .........................146 14. Seeds of Change (West Philadelphia) .....................................................................149 15. Metamorphosis (North Philadelphia) .....................................................................153 16. Larry Fine (South Philadelphia) .............................................................................154 17. Independence Starts Here (Board St and Race St) .................................................155 18. Independence Starts Here (Board St and Race St) .................................................156 19. Independence Starts Here (Board St and Race St) .................................................157 20. Common Threads (Race and Spring Garden) .........................................................159 viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This research project endeavors to understand the role that public art plays in the social and economic vitality of the city of Philadelphia - specifically, with regard to murals, the most ubiquitous public art displayed in the urban landscape. In The City of Brotherly Love, over 3000 wall-sized paintings dominate the urban environment. The organization that is largely responsible for the production and display of these very public art forms is the Mural Arts Program (MAP) – a highly visible, aggressively promoted, community-oriented non-profit organization, partly funded by the city of Philadelphia, but mostly funded by corporate sponsors and private donors. The MAP’s fundamental ideology is that art is as