My World Tuesday: Philadelphia Murals

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While in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a few weeks ago, I ran around and photographed just a few of the more than 2,000 murals that add color and life and interest to this amazing city. These murals celebrated just about every aspect of life there.
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The Mural Arts Program grew out of the city's attempt 25 years ago to eradicate graffiti in the city. Eventually, the anti-graffiti crowd realized it had to work with the creative minds behind the graffiti. The Mural Arts Project has involved graffiti writers as well as painters who create in other genres to produce artworks of high standard throughout the city.
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The artists have chosen subjects that reflect the nature of life in the city and the subjects of debate that have come to this birthplace of our independence. Beautiful thing.
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I hope to go back soon and to see more of the murals and to take more time with the camera. I am greedy that way. I loved the excitement of finding these murals and of being swept inside the vision of the artists. To my way of thinking, this is the ultimate American dialogue. (Click here for a few more images.)
Mural

My World Tuesday

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73 Comments

  1. Sandy! How beautiful! Such graffiti is not bad at all! This is art. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for your visit and very kind comment!

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  2. Great shots of the murals. I love the trend towards having murals on the walls of buildings. I always enjoy them.

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  3. What amazing art! enJOY your Monday!

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  4. That's not graffiti Sandy. It's art. I enjoyed looking at these. I imagine the people who created them to be very talented and creative. My favourite is the Frank Sinatra one.

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  5. Sandy I've been working on a post of my own Philly murals and I had no idea there were more than 2000!! We got different ones by the way. I love these!! The flag, wow!

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  6. Much to say about street murals. Certainly beats billboards and ugly graffiti. Cultural expression is great as long as it isn't mean- spirited. A lot to be said about patriotism. Pithy aphorisms abound.
    Thanks for the thoughtful post!

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  7. Thanks for visiting my blog. Also for sharing these lovely murals. I saw some of these murals while in Philadelphia many years ago. You did a wonderful job capturing them in beautiful shots.

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  8. There are many great artists out there and nothing could be better then make the city a canvas. All the frescoes are beautiful and unique. I can understand your urge to go and discover them.

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  9. Beautiful murals. 2000 by no means a small number.

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  10. WOW. I didn't know there were these murals in Philly. I haven't been there since I was 10, which is to say I don't remember being there. These are fantastic.

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  11. it's great to channel artist's into more acceptable and productive art than just marking gang areas. We need to do more of this in other cities in America.

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  12. Anonymous4:08 PM

    Do go back soon. These are outstanding murals. I love them. Thanks for showing.

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  13. They are beautiful. I love the reason for them, the fact that they reflect the city's diversity and the beauty of their execution. It made me think of the Mexican murals of the early part of the 20th century.
    Janice.

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  14. I, too, enjoy seeing the murals in different communities. These are fantastic.

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  15. Beautiful murals! So much thought in them. Thanks for sharing!!

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  16. They are awe inspiring and true works of art by those who have a wonderful talent.
    Thanks for sharing them, Sandy

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  17. Sandy these are absolutely astonishing! I'm ... speechless. I knew tag artists were good, but this is... masterful. Simply masterful.

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  18. Very nice pictures. I've seen some of these murals. Philadelphia is a great place for free art.

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  19. Interesting murals, Sandy. It'd be great to see more.

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  20. Anonymous8:49 PM

    lovely pics..

    hey you lead a very nice life...

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  21. very interesting murals. its great that they are well preserved

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  22. what a wonderful collection of artwork! You have captured them in such a amazing way! Thank you My Dear Friend for sharing them with us!

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  23. Great shots of the murals...I hadn't realised there was such an art project in the city..

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  24. Simply beautiful murals. They give a revealing look into the artists' deeper thoughts.

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  25. Wow, 2000 that's a lot! I love the first one. And I have seen some posts by other bloggers. This is a good way to eliminate graffiti.

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  26. Sandy, I well understand your wish to find and photograph more interesting murals. They are so beautiful and significant.

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  27. Thank for sharing such magnificent murals!

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  28. Sandy, these are all amazing murals. Good idea to work with the grafitti artists, many of them are very talented. Thanks for tour.

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  29. Lovely murals. Thanks for sharing

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  30. That was great to see. I love that grafitti!

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  31. amazing.... wow!

    am glad you enjoyed my post today!

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  32. Great post Sandy...terrific murals! Can I come with you next time?
    ;-)

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  33. Wow! these are spectacular!

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  34. It's quite hard to get a grasp of the scale of these paintings. The skill of the artists is surprising too. What do the painters do when they aren't making the murals?

    That said (and I really do think they are astonishingly interesting and skillful) I think I would find them a bit overwhelming if I had to live near them all the time.

    What happens if someone decides to put graffiti on the 'graffiti'?

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  35. great murals, great post, POTD nomination too!!

    Very painterly and evocative, love their style!

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  36. So much nicer than the usual unappetising scrawls.

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  37. Well done, Sandy! Such great shots and unexpected to boot! Congrats on POTD nom from David...
    hugs
    Sandi

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  38. Absolutely WONDERFUL post!!! Thank you!!!

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  39. It's better to have the youngsters do graffiti rather than crack. I venture to guess schools don't do much in the way of encouraging art or music, so the streets do it. Tremendous idea to use the graffiti artists to do something valuable and constructive.

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  40. Sandy great post We have a few murals in Lancaster I'll have to post them sometime great idea. How do you do so many blogs? and Looking at your picture does your hair have a tint of red?

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  41. Anonymous8:44 AM

    These are stunning. Wouldn't it be nice if all grafitti was like this..!

    CJ xx

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  42. Wow. This is real art and such a good way to channel people's graffiti urges into creating something beautiful.

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  43. Sandy: That is such a wonderful show, better then the tagging I see.

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  44. Sandy,
    They are a great work of art. Thanks for sharing.

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  45. Sandy,
    These are great! Love murals. You were busy! Looks like you had a great time.

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  46. Thanks for posting that. I saw some of those murals in May. Each one has a story to tell. They are beautiful.

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  47. These are incredibly well done. I wonder how well they stand up to the weather.

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  48. beautiful murals...wish our town had more of them...i think my fav is the poster hanger...congrats on the POTD mention.

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  49. Murals and graffiti. The canvas of life. I especially love the third one and the city within a city.

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  50. These are very beautiful murals, dear Sandy. What a great way to stop graffiti and decorate a city so beautifully, making all those who live there feel it is truly their city :)

    You are invited to see the amazing variety of colours in my annual poppies :)

    http://ourlittlecornerofparadise.blogspot.com/2009/08/ephemeral-poppies.html

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  51. Incredible art, Sandy! I have to go down to Philadelphia one of these days! :)

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  52. Fabulous works of art! I love that one of the guy putting up the poster for independence day 1966 and a car driving through...

    I'm quitting for a while- the last post is up - but I'll pop in from time to time.

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  53. Great graffiti works!
    Stunning and silencing!!

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  54. Anonymous1:29 PM

    Guess I need to visit Philadelphia asap..
    Amazing place..Lovely paintings..Heritage binding murals..
    Thanks a lot for these awe-inspiring snaps..
    I believe graffiti speaks the truth of life, the mind of people..
    Keep writing..this one was too good!

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  55. 2000 murals? I had no idea there were that many. Your photos are wonderful. Congrats on POTD.

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  56. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful,
    a wonderful initiative,
    urban art ...
    I am enchanted!
    Thanks for the series of photographs
    and your thoughts ...
    :-)

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  57. Sandy, these are just lovely. I would feed off this energy also. Thank you so much for showing these to us!

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  58. Some are just so special they deserve a proper mention. So much work must go into them and so much talent.

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  59. Excellent post. Should be the winner.
    Street art is NOT Graffiti .
    I hate tagging and graffiti.
    Your presentation wery much appreciated.
    :)

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  60. They look almost like photos ! very nice. It was hard to leave England yesterday today I am homesick, lol !

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  61. These are beautiful. Because of the textured surface, some of these remind me of old tapestries - particularly some of those in the slide show.

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  62. Interesting murals! We have many in our city also. Ours were not done to get rid of graffiti tho. Ours were commissioned.

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  63. Interesting murals! We have many in our city also. Ours were not done to get rid of graffiti tho. Ours were commissioned.

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  64. Interesting murals! We have many in our city also. Ours were not done to get rid of graffiti tho. Ours were commissioned.

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  65. Wow!! Such time and TALENT exhibited! What a tribute to those artists~

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  66. Top Class,
    since it's wednesday, I say no more but look at this glasspainting:
    http://toraa.blogspot.com/2009/08/wordless-wednesday-2009-08-19.html

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  67. These are outstanding, Sandy. I love the tomato detail on the extras you gave us to click to.

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  68. those are so so cool! and what a variety! I think I like the one with the man painting on the wall the best... but this last one is quite nice too!

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  69. I had no idea. What a creative idea!!

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Thanks for being here.