by Miquon Brinkley
On a dreary Thursday morning, at 9 am, I traveled halfway across the city to Kensington. If you’ve ever taken the El from at least City Hall to Kensington & Allegheny, you’re familiar with the K&A welcoming committee of slouching silhouettes suffering addiction which most of society, perhaps myself included, has written off.
Eyes straight forward, fists clenched and walking briskly, I mentally prepared for who and/or what I may encounter on my walk to my destination, the Kensington Corridor Trust Community Garden, for a Mural Arts installation. Upon arriving, I was pleasantly surprised… it was…a garden!, complete with vegetables, herbs, flowers, and greenery, which would require hours & countless Googles to name.
Then I saw it. At the end of a secret garden-esque pathway, a cement circle. Hovering just above it, a crane with what looked like a gigantic piece of pottery lowered into place. A vase? No! This was something else. The artist, Roberto Lugo, looked on as if someone was cradling his newborn. “We’ve been organizing this for over a year; no, it could potentially be even two years that we’ve been working on it,” said Lugo. He quickly noted that this project had 100+ people involved, like Daniel Gwynn from Johnson Atelier, where it was crafted. “So this piece is in a two-pound EPS, a type of styrofoam–inside the piece is a steel armature; the piece was broken into about ten segments. Once all those segments were milled, they were then fastened together to make the vessel you see today,” Gwynn stated.
You could feel the excitement from onlookers, like Daisie Cardona & Neyda Rios, mother and daughter, both on the KCT board. “We’ve been working hand in hand with the artist and Mural Arts,” said Rios when asked about community involvement. “This is the first piece of three. It’s amazing. We’re even going to be giving out tours!” she added. “They really took all of our input into account on everything from placement to the patterns.” shared Kate Stolier. “I think it’s a representation of what this community is all about!” said Jasmin Velez of KCT.
The beautiful patterns mentioned–cover the entire outside of the sculpture and vary in shape, size, and color. They evoke memories of a grandmother’s home, Sunday dresses, upholstery, linoleum floors, bathroom tiles, and even African fabrics. Completely hollow inside, the piece appears like a doorway to another dimension. Inside, intricate designs could be nearly mistaken for a different artist. Lugo leaves the bright colors exclusively for the outside while taking a more subtle approach to the interior with multiple drawings in blue paint on a white background. Even without the splashes of color, the interior doesn’t lack anything in the nostalgia department. With not a single straight line present, it feels reminiscent of the graffiti or doodles one might have done in the back of a composition book during class. Flowers, dominoes, big bubble letters, and crowns dance across the walls. Sitting atop it all, at a glance, resembling an uncapped can of spray paint, a dome painted in a very distinct pattern matching a certain classic Hip-Hop album cover. (You’ll have to find that easter egg for yourself!)
Like Kensington, this piece delivers two perspectives. Standing inside and looking out one way, you see a beautiful garden but are still aware of the close proximity to K&A. However, looking out the other side, you see a large mural by John Zerbe, full of bright faces of children from the area, photographed by Daisie. Behind them, patterns, shapes, and colors–work in unison to create something beautiful. I believe that’s exactly what the people of Kensington are doing… working together to make something beautiful.
After speaking with members of We Here, KCT, Mural Arts, and Lugo, who lived in the area himself for many years, I couldn’t help but feel inspired to see the neighborhood through a different lens than the one I’d been conditioned to see it through. Like much of Philly, Kensington has its issues. But, also like much of Philly, the people in the neighborhood are not easily deterred and will stop at nothing to better their community.
My walk back to the train (despite the torrential downpour) somehow felt lighter. I made eye contact with people. I spoke at times and took in my surroundings. I had always seen Kensington as K&A, but today, thanks to Lugo and a host of others, I was finally able to see the people.
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