Michael Rushmore ’14 is a street art enthusiast. He maintains a blog that chronicles the phenomenon around the world, and last year, he brought artists to campus for a panel discussion and workshop (which culminated in the painting of a mural on James House by an artist named Gaia).
After the popularity of that project, Rushmore was eager to do it again. So last week, he brought Troy Lovegates and Labrona to campus to create another mural and add more character to the student art house’s walls. “There are a lot of talented artists in the world, so my decision to invite Troy and Labrona came down to thinking about artists I knew whose style would fit in well at Haverford and who I’d be happy to spend the better part of a week hanging out with,” says Rushmore. “Most of what they make outdoors is done illegally, quickly and in the dead of night, but both Troy and Labrona would like to paint more legal murals [like this one].”
Unlike the Gaia mural that was created in only a few hours in one night, this latest mural was created over the course of a weekend. Rushmore is especially pleased that this offered campus community members many opportunities to interact with the artists and watch their creation unfold before their eyes.
The mysterious artists offered the following statement about the mural’s creation: “It is very important to disseminate murals all across the world. Having never painted in Pennsylvania before, it is a new place to explore and work from. There is no particular significance to the mural. It is more of a freestyle, working within the shape of the wall formed what was painted… The wall is very long, so the mural came out more panoramic. Each artist started from one side of the wall, slowly painting towards each other until they [met] in the middle.”
“I hope that Haverford can continue bringing people to paint murals, particularly on James House,” says Rushmore. “It’s a space on campus that is completely controlled by students and so it’s already a bit different from a lot of other buildings, but I think having murals on James House helps to set it apart visually as well.”