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Venus (mural)
Encyclopedia
Venus is a twelve-story-high mural
painting by Knox Martin
on the south side of Bayview Correctional Facility
at 19th Street and 11th Avenue in New York City
.
Venus was commissioned by Doris Freedman
of CityWalls (later the Public Art Fund
) in 1970. Knox Martin chose this wall for its unique location, over the West Side Highway
, visible from the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, the Statue of Liberty
, New Jersey
, and the West Side Highway itself.
Marilyn Kushner of the Brooklyn Museum
wrote:
Today, Venus stands opposite the Chelsea Piers
complex in a revitalized Chelsea
, surrounded by art galleries and artists.
"The painter Knox Martin was exhibiting in Chelsea a good 20 to 25 years before the art scene caught up with him.... At the time he was commissioned to paint Venus (1970), an enormous mural on the exterior wall of Bayview Correctional Facility on West 19th Street, no one had an inkling that this out-of-the-way place would become the place to be."
Venus was restored in 1998 with the support of the Public Art Fund
. A new weather-resistant acrylic paint developed in collaboration with the artist and donated by Golden Artist Colors
was used, which will last at least 75 years.
The prison is a facility of the New York State Department of Correctional Services
. The Department made this statement in 2001:
Construction is scheduled for a 20-story condo on the parking lot adjacent to the mural, which will permanently block the mural from view. Completion of the condo is expected for 2010.
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
painting by Knox Martin
Knox Martin
Knox Martin is an American painter, sculptor and muralist.Born in 1923 in Barranquilla, Colombia, he studied at the Art Students League of New York from 1946 till 1950. He is one of the leading members of New York School - a group of artists and writers. He lives and works in New York City."Art is...
on the south side of Bayview Correctional Facility
Bayview Correctional Facility
Bayview Correctional Facility is a medium-security women's prison located at the corner of West 20th Street and 11th Avenue in Manhattan, directly across the street from the Chelsea Piers sports complex. It is highly unusual to find a state penitentiary in the middle of a major city. Bayview...
at 19th Street and 11th Avenue in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Doris Freedman
Doris Chanin Freedman was a pioneer in the field of public art, active in New York City. She was the daughter of architect Irwin Salmon Chanin and his wife Sylvia Schofler....
of CityWalls (later the Public Art Fund
Public Art Fund
The Public Art Fund is a non-profit organization founded in 1977 by Doris Freedman , a Director of New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs, and the President of the Municipal Art Society. They have organized highly visible artists' projects, new commissions, installations and exhibitions in...
) in 1970. Knox Martin chose this wall for its unique location, over the West Side Highway
West Side Highway
The West Side Highway is a mostly surface section of New York State Route 9A that runs from West 72nd Street along the Hudson River to the southern tip of Manhattan. It replaced the West Side Elevated Highway, built between 1929 and 1951, which was shut down in 1973 due to neglect and lack of...
, visible from the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and the West Side Highway itself.
Marilyn Kushner of the Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
wrote:
Traditionally the goddess of love and fertility, Venus represents woman, erotic and supple, but it also conveys Knox Martin's love affair with New York. Venus is his love poem to the city where he has always lived, a place that is part of his being. The feminine, curvilinear shapes of the image are in direct contrast with the straight forms that intersect the composition. The overwhelming size of this enormous mural only intensifies the experience of female shapes, the linear aspects of the painted composition, and of the surrounding architecture. In an era when art was reaching out to the masses with pop culture, this huge mural was Knox Martin's way of touching a public that would never venture into an art gallery.
Today, Venus stands opposite the Chelsea Piers
Chelsea Piers
Chelsea Piers is a series of piers on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City that was a passenger ship terminal in the early 1900s that was used by the RMS Lusitania and was the destination of the RMS Titanic....
complex in a revitalized Chelsea
Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
, surrounded by art galleries and artists.
"The painter Knox Martin was exhibiting in Chelsea a good 20 to 25 years before the art scene caught up with him.... At the time he was commissioned to paint Venus (1970), an enormous mural on the exterior wall of Bayview Correctional Facility on West 19th Street, no one had an inkling that this out-of-the-way place would become the place to be."
Venus was restored in 1998 with the support of the Public Art Fund
Public Art Fund
The Public Art Fund is a non-profit organization founded in 1977 by Doris Freedman , a Director of New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs, and the President of the Municipal Art Society. They have organized highly visible artists' projects, new commissions, installations and exhibitions in...
. A new weather-resistant acrylic paint developed in collaboration with the artist and donated by Golden Artist Colors
Golden Artist Colors
Golden Artist Colors is a manufacturing company that focuses almost entirely on paints, used in the fine arts, decoration, and crafts. Based in New Berlin, New York, the company produces the largest line of acrylic colors that is currently available to artists, including recreations of historic...
was used, which will last at least 75 years.
The prison is a facility of the New York State Department of Correctional Services
New York State Department of Correctional Services
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision or NYSDOCCS is the agency of New York State responsible for the care, confinement, and rehabilitation of approximately 63,000 inmates at 71 correctional facilities funded by the State of New York. The department employs...
. The Department made this statement in 2001:
In 1970, prior to the rejuvenation of the district, Bayview's entire south wall was decorated with a red and pink abstract painting, called "Venus" by artist Knox Martin. The mural, conspicuous for its size and beauty, has often been used on post cards. It is also conspicuous - in a culture that regards large, exposed surface as prime advertising space - for not being a billboard. Not surprisingly, advertisers call from time to time with proposals to lease the wall for commercial messages, but Bayview doesn't want its beautiful Venus covered over with a beer or jeans ad.
Besides, it's state property.
Construction is scheduled for a 20-story condo on the parking lot adjacent to the mural, which will permanently block the mural from view. Completion of the condo is expected for 2010.
Further reading
- "After a 37-Year Run, a Roadside Venus to Be Veiled" by ALEX MINDLIN, February 11, 2007, The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/nyregion/thecity/11venu.html?ex=1328850000&en=8f4515c95db4a18e&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
- p. 12-13, "Mural Paints: Current and Future Formulations" by MARK GOLDEN, 2003, The Getty Conservation Institute http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications/pdf_publications/golden.pdf