Artist Jake Dwyer Completes Mural at Three Mile Park
Late last year Detroit-artist Jake Dwyer was selected by the Morningside community to create a mural commissioned by the city of Detroit and its City Walls program. And now, as of June 1st, Morningside has a beautiful, new mural gracing the grounds of the Three Mile Park!
I caught up with Jake after he wrapped up the mural and we talked about the neighborhood, art influences, and his experience creating the mural. Check out his answers below.
NH: What neighborhood do you live in? How does it compare to Morningside?
JD: I live in the Core City neighborhood, and it's very different from Morningside. There are more empty lots, and the architecture is not as timeless. It's close to Wayne State and Downtown, so it remains active despite the lack of density. I live on a nearly empty block, which I kind of enjoy because I have a huge yard, lots of shade, and a couple pheasants on the lot.
NH: Can you describe the mural? Does it have a title? What visual elements did you feature?
JD: The mural is titled ‘The People of Morningside’. The people are composed in a big central mass, and depicts children and adults in activities that I felt were relevant to the community at large, and the park specifically. They include music/art, education, coaching/mentorship, reading, gardening, exercising, cycling, and parenting. I rendered it by applying dynamic symmetry to the panel, sketching in the figures, and then improvising over the top of those two elements to create a graphic composition that walks the line between abstraction and figurative painting. My influences are cubism, stained glass, contemporary graffiti, Mexican muralism, and Renaissance painting.
NH: How was your experience producing the mural? How many days were you in the neighborhood? Did neighbors stop by and ask questions?
JD: I spent about 5 days on the mural. During the week it was pretty quiet, but I did speak briefly with a couple of folks who were using the park. On Friday evening as I was wrapping up, there was a birthday party forming and I had a great conversation with a person whose father is a stained-glass artist. Some folks from the party took a group photo in front of the painting so it felt like a success at that moment.
NH: Anything else you want to say?
JD: Thanks for trusting me to represent your community.
A big thank you goes out to Jake Dwyer and the City Wall program. Stayed tuned for an upcoming event at Three Mile Park to celebrate this beautiful addition to our neighborhood.
