1.12.2022
The Mural at the Max
In 2014, the real estate corporation TFCornerstone contacted Karlssonwilker, a New York City based design studio, about a mural project.
Karlssonwilker was recommended to TFCornerstone by their past client Anne Pasternak, who at the time was the Executive Director at Creative Time and is now Director at the Brooklyn Museum. Creative Time had commissioned Karlssonwilker to design CreativeTime: The Book.
TFCornerstone’s site for their upcoming apartment building development at 606 W. 57th Street faced a particular challenge; a large proportion of their residential units would directly face the back of the Department of Sanitation garbage truck depot, a 120 foot tall unfinished concrete windowless wall. This was not an appealing view for 400 of the 1000 plus units.
A mural was suggested to be painted on the wall to serve as an artistic amenity to the residents who would view it from within their homes and from the expansive garden courtyard and terrace.
Between 2015 and 2018, various designs were presented and explored, including an idea of using autonomous robots that would continuously paint and repaint murals on the wall. This plan was nixed as it was eventually deemed to be logistically challenging in rain and snow.
The final design features a futuristic rendering of a three dimensional cloud-scape above New York City. Hidden Easter eggs of poetry are interspersed throughout the cyber clouds which overlook the skyscrapers and skyline below. Karlssonwilker, whose work has a recurring theme of storytelling, designed the cloud-scape with hidden poems to create an engaging interactive experience between the artwork and the viewers, whereby the viewers would be able to explore the art while discovering literary works as well as details of the mural, such as the morphing winged creatures. Each apartment with a view of the mural will receive its own pair of binoculars and there will also be a permanent telescope installed in the courtyard to aid in this discovery.
Karlssonwilker worked with The Poetry Society of New York to identify local poets from various New York City neighborhoods. Ten poets were commissioned to write 25-40 word poems that celebrate the New York city neighborhood, paying particular attention to its history and architecture. Ten poems from the public domain were also selected to be included in the mural.
The Mural at the Max was completed mid October of 2020.
Facts and Figures:
40,000 square feet mural.
North Facing Wall: 129’ tall x 250’ wide.
East Facing Wall: 101’ tall x 62’ wide.
110 apartments directly face the mural.
Approx. 1,800 pounds of paint were used.
It took 6 painters 5 weeks, working 12 hour days, 7-days a week to paint the mural.
The Department of Sanitation requested to have the word “Sanitation” added onto one of the buildings in the mural. A garbage truck was also integrated into the artwork.
The mural is the equivalent of a 11-story New York building, and roughly one third of a New York City block in length.