Global Fiesta is a planned 11' by 64' mural on a wall facing the Stop and Shop parking lot at the Park Town Center complex on Raritan Ave.
Celebrate the cultural diversity of Highland Park
Exploring feelings we share through the common human experience, Global Fiesta highlights the musical nature of human beings. There can never be a party without music, so this mural expresses a universal language by exploring rhythm and movement through color and form. This mural shows all types of people just letting loose, because as people dance, all is forgotten and we unite as one. When people feel what unites us, they forget about differences and embrace similarities.
Unite through art
Different figures represent bodies in action and movement, tied together to reflect the common thread that binds humanity. Particular color combinations and ambiguous imagery hint at various different cultures. Rather than represent a dominant language, and alienate those who don't speak that language, the painting speaks to everyone through lines that simply allude to certain scripts. Everyone can read this painting the same way and understand its message.
Appreciate the significance
Kids will relate to the vibrant colors and identifiable figures, adults will embrace the deliberate composition and aesthetic qualities, while the artsy intellectuals will appreciate the strong theoretical foundation informed by a semiotic exploration of the universal human experience through the Apollinian and Dionysian duality. This mural will add a great amount of cultural capital to the town.
Meet the artists
My name is Jonathan Horowitz, Highland Park based artist and founder of PAZ culture system. You may have seen me covered in paint, putting finishing touches on my downtown murals, maybe you met me at the PAZ culture system organized Winter Art Bazaar, or perhaps I've even tutored your children, or you.
I was raised in Highland Park and I live here now. I want to show what makes Highland Park so great, translating our energy into substantial public art projects. This will be the first of many public art projects and part of the bigger campaign to transform downtown Highland Park as outlined in the Highland Park Redevelopment plan. This comprehensive document emphasizes the importance of public art and explains how it can translate into real economic gains for the town.
I will be hiring and training other local artists so that they will be able to execute murals in the future. Basically, this mural provides a great opportunity to introduce new artists to public art in Highland Park and get them ready to help us show why our town is so great. We want to involve the public in our campaign so everyone can be part of this project.
Help us make this happen
The mural should take approximately 3-4 weeks. We will begin in late March or early April and be done in time for the annual Street Fair in May.
We will execute sixteen panels. Each panel should take approximately 20hrs. Each panel is approximately 44 sq/ft and we estimate that each square foot should take at least a half hour. This adds up to around 320hrs.
- The mural will require three layers of paint. One layer to prime, one base coat, and one final layer.
In addition to these costs we have various other costs to address:
- Final scaled drawings and blueprint: 8 hrs
- Marketing, Promotion, and Press: 8 hrs
We will need various funds for supplies such as paints, primer, ladders, brushes, and to pay for the various perks. If there are any funds left over, these will be used for future projects.
Make an impact
Highland Park has the resources to transform the public sphere through public art. We can make it happen. Public art stimulates interest and helps the local economy. It will brighten the town and let people see the type of artistic resources that Highland Park has to offer.
This is the start of something bigger.
We are promoting this mural heavily and we will get press coverage. People from other towns will want to come to Highland Park to see what all the buzz is about. Highland Park is a wonderfully diverse town with an abundance of artistic and intellectual energy! We have the resources and we need to use them.
Don't hesitate to share this link!
We will also be having a reception and art opening to celebrate the completion of this mural. The mural will be started in the end of March and finished just in time for the annual Street Fair in May.
Additional Comments:
This is a preliminary, conceptual sketch. Since most people won’t be seeing this close-up, and parts of the wall are obscured by greenery, detail may be lost, so large, solid, complementary colored shapes are applied to enable easy long distance viewing.The final sketch will have more effective color choices while the movements of the figures will be tighter and more expressive. The design may be simplified slightly in order to accommodate the limited resources available to execute this large endeavor. Also, some of the imagery or symbolism will be slightly adjusted so that the overall message is more cohesive and coherent.
Send any questions to Jon@PAZculturesystem.com