Bringing a Mural to Life--The Birth of:
“Education is a Message: Love, Light, and the Written Word”
Mural by John Lewis at 49th and Spruce Streets
Thanks to my friend, Andrew, I learned that a mural was being painted near his home in West Philadelphia. A day or two later on 9/5/09, while in the area, I saw the artist painting the mural, which was clearly in the early stages. He was kind enough to climb down from the ladder for a few minutes to tell me about the mural he was working on. I soon learned that he was muralist, John Lewis. I knew John's work well. He has created and painted many murals in conjunction with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Many of his murals are on this site--including the anti-smoking mural, “In Living Memory: Those Of Us Alive”, “ The Hero Center”, “Billiards”, and “The Tribute to Wilt Chamberlain”.
This mural is a tribute to education, and is entitled “Education is a Message: Love, Light, and the Written Word”. It is located at 49th and Spruce. John was kind enough to allow me take pictures of his work in progress. Over the next several months, I stopped back from time to time to update this page so we were able to see it as it progressed. The mural was completed and dedicated in the spring of 2010.
Thanks again, John!
-Rob
