Institution

The Iver Johnson Mural pays its respects to Iver Johnson, a famous Norwegian gunsmith turned cyclery owner. This mural features Johnson’s portrait and key elements associated with his profession. Completed in the autumn of 2018, this personal favorite of Allen’s stands at 75 feet by 15 feet. The mural took 11 days to paint by Jon Allen and a friend, Jason Mombert from Rochester, New York.The mural’s concept was inspired by a conversation between Jon Allen and Peter Capodagli, one of the owners of the Rollstone Art Gallery. Dynamic graphic visuals were used to make the color palette ‘pop’ in the eyes of the viewer. The visuals also include a collage of different elements of a bike, including a head tube and a pedal gear, as well as a bike by itself to show it in more detail. The mural was painted on the wall of a former bicycle shop located at 35 Main Street, where Allen bought a bike at the age of twelve.Working his way from the ground up, Iver Johnson became a well respected individual in the Fitchburg community. Through his collaboration with a gunsmith named Martin Bye, he helped build a five-story plant in the span of four years. In 1883, this became the Iver Johnson’s Arms and Cycle Works. Johnson’s company would go on to produce and sell firearms and bicycles through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although Iver Johnson died in 1895, his sons would continue to carry the family legacy at the shop, which began to manufacture motorcycles in 1907. The company later went out of business in 1993 before being resold as Iver Johnson Arms in 2006. Johnson was an entrepreneurial trailblazer whose vision for Fitchburg’s development continues to unfold, inspired by this remarkable mural.

Website

The Iver Johnson Mural was designed by Jon Allen, who used dynamic graphic visuals to make it ‘pop.’ The 15-foot tall mural was completed in autumn 2018, and is located at 35 Main Street. The unique color scheme and incorporation of Johnson’s portrait alongside imagery of his past makes this mural awe-inspiring.

Iver Johnson Mural by Jon Allen, 2018, acrylic paint on brick

Director

A walking tour throughout the city of Fitchburg that takes users on a journey into the culture and community of Fitchburg through its public art. Presented by students of Fitchburg State University’s Communications and Media Department and Fitchburg Art Museum. 

Artist Douglas Kornfeld recalls in his own words from the winter of 2015 when Nick Capasso, Director of the Fitchburg Art Museum (FAM) told him, “we really just want a signature work, something that everybody will connect with and will really be a symbol of the Museum.” With the help of a diverse team, Kornfeld accomplished that in the ensuing months, and Thurston was installed on the Fitchburg Art Museum grounds the following fall. The massive sculpture stands at 18 feet tall by 18 feet at its widest point and weighs in at a substantial 4,000 pounds. Its size and shape were designed to integrate it into the architecture of the museum bridge. Through an artistic collaboration between Kornfeld, Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical Schools welding and autobody shop, the Fitchburg Art Museum, and the Fitchburg Public Schools the red epoxy painted steel sculpture became a reality. This sculpture is not only a fantastic work of art, but a key icon for the Fitchburg Art Museum and the city of Fitchburg.Thurston was officially commissioned in early 2015, and after tireless efforts by the teachers and students of the Montachusett Technical Regional Vocational School welding shop and under Kornfeld's guidance, the sculpture was finished and installed in the fall of 2015. The enormous red figure is ensconced at the center of the FAM bridge in an Atlas-like pose. According to Kornfeld, “The role of the artist is to shake things up, to ask questions, and make us a little uncomfortable. Other people may say the role of an artist is to support our culture and make it stand up. Depending on how you look at this figure, you can see it pushing against it (the building) or pulling it down.” The sculpture remained unnamed until May 1st, 2016 when the Fitchburg Public Schools partnered up with FAM to give this nameless giant an identity through an essay contest. The winner of this contest was Alyssa St. Cyr, a 7th grader from the McKay Arts Academy. St. Cyr was announced the winner, and on that same day her name immortalized on a plaque next to the sculpture; she also received a $1,000 dollar scholarship. From that point on, the sculpture would forever be known as Thurston, named after a metal worker who lived in Fitchburg in the 1800s. Reflecting on the iconic sculpture, St. Cyr shared, “Thurston’s metal physique will continue to stand proud and tall along with carrying on the rich history of the city of Fitchburg for many years to come.” Thurston represents the collaboration and unity of Fitchburg’s vastly diverse personalities and peoples. Reflecting on Thurston’s impact on the community Kornfeld shared, “It's something that people can connect with, people gravitate to it, people want to make it part of their experience. I'm very grateful for that. To me it makes it a successful piece that people want to be seen with.” Thurston is a widely recognized figure within the Fitchburg community as well as becoming a symbol for The Fitchburg Art Museum, displaying the qualities of strength, creativity, and camaraderie associated with the Museum.

Welcome to the Fitchburg Contemporary Art App, presented by the Fitchburg Art Museum! This tour will take an in-depth look at a range of different artworks that are found throughout the city of Fitchburg. These visual artworks beautify their specific locations and collectively the city as a whole, enriching the city’s culture and the lives of its residents. Beginning our tour is the giant, figurative steel sculpture Thurston by artist Douglas Kornfeld. The product of teamwork, ingenuity, and innovative design, Thurston rapidly became an icon for the unity and collaborative can-do spirit in the city of Fitchburg. Read on and follow the tour to discover more about Fitchburg’s diverse collection of public art and the artists who created them.

Thurston by Douglas Kornfeld, 2015, epoxy painted steel sculpture

Anna Schuleit Haber's project for the city of Fitchburg inhabited the first page of the Sentinel and Enterprise, Fitchburg’s daily newspaper. This public artwork involved 26 typographers from around the world and a team of students from Fitchburg State University. Schuleit Haber worked with FSU interns and typography artists to create the paper’s most unusual run of front pages in history. Each typographer was encouraged to imbue and amplify an alphabet letter using their own original aesthetic style. The letters were big and bold, dominating their respective front pages of the Sentinel; they were intended to inspire the engagement and scrutiny of the reader. Typographers from all over the world designed these letters. The typographer from farthest away was artist Catherine Griffiths in New Zealand. Griffiths created an eye-catching installation that consisted of opaque blue, pink, and yellow circles, all overlapping in the shape of the letter U. One of the most intricate letters printed was the letter O created by Russell Maret of NYC. Intended to be subtly colorful, the creator described the letter O saying, “In its simplest form the letter O is rendered as a circle, a closed line that passively waits to be animated.” His letter had a bold, Black-and-white centripetal pull that moves the eye inwards, but upon closer examination you saw that there were blue, yellow, and red lines moving throughout the O, illustrating an alternate movement that also lead the eye towards the center.When discussing why the Alphabet was the basis of this project, Schuleit Haber said “The alphabet, in the most general sense, is nothing less than our most ubiquitous means of record-taking, of concrete and abstract thinking, of telling and sharing. The alphabet is the miracle of written language: a series of moveable, flexible marks that contain the entire universe, the foundation of all civic experience. Without the alphabet, our cities would be mute and our societies could not engage in self-definition, reflection, and change… I propose to use the alphabet therefore as a natural and emotionally neutral parameter to celebrate the newspaper, the tradition of printing and typography, the uniqueness of Fitchburg and Leominster, and the variety and breadth of local storytelling, by creating a series of 26 daily chapters.” Roughly ten thousand papers were printed and sent to Fitchburg every day. In search of inspiration for this project, Schuleit Haber walked around Fitchburg looking for an area that seemed to have the “architectural integrity of a Post-Industrial American city,” as Schuleit Haber put it. She couldn’t decide on one place until she came across the home of the Sentinel &amp; Enterprise, standing since 1838. Schuleit Haber recalls thinking that “could be a transgression of sorts, a true adventure in what public art means.”

Here you can see the Sentinel &amp; Enterprise building where each installation was printed. Although it is not on view, you can see more at the Fitchburg Art Museum's Alphabet Project website page, linked in the sources at the bottom of this entry. The Alphabet Project is a series of innovative front-page design installations in the Fitchburg Sentinel &amp; Enterprise that ran from July 13th - August 11th, 2015. Over the course of these 26 days, a new alphabet letter with its own original typography would take over the cover of the Sentinel &amp; Enterprise accompanied by stories, poems, and essays about life in Fitchburg.

The Alphabet Project by Anna Schuleit Haber, 2015, Newspaper Installation

The Fitchburg Youth Library Mural welcomes all library-goers through its celebration of culture and mythology. This 900 square foot mural was completed during the summer of 2020 and was executed by Monique Guthrie and Erin Cregg. In total, Guthrie and Cregg spent 4 months and over 700 hours creating their artwork. The mural employs a modern twist on specific Greek gods that incorporate different skin tones to radiate a sense of inclusion. Since the mural resides on a wall of a youth library in Fitchburg, it was important to mirror its diversity within the painting. When viewing the mural from left to right, one sees this unique interpretation of Zeus, Hera, Hades, Persephone, Artemis, Apollo, Poseidon, and Athena. This project was funded and located with a grant from the Community Development Block Project in Fitchburg.Having a space that allows proper representation for both the Greek community and the general diversity within Fitchburg was essential for the artists. Illustrating the iconic Greek Gods Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena in different skin tones provides a contemporary perspective on Greek mythology that empowers everyone. Specifically, Monique states, "We wanted to represent the Greek gods to highlight the Greek community… and if any kid can look up and see themselves in art, it is just such an empowering feeling.” Art is a potentially transformative medium, and provocative public art can have such an impact on the surrounding community. Being able to give back to the community of Fitchburg was essential to Guthrie and Cregg. From family ties to a general love for Fitchburg, their connection to this community is unbreakable. When asked about the initiative to create this specific mural, Guthrie states “We both grew up in the area... I can see the growing arts community and how it makes Fitchburg lively… It has grown to have a nice art and cultural scene.” Both artists want to help further the growth of their community by showcasing their eye-catching mural. Their time and dedication have not only transformed a red brick wall into a masterpiece but has highlighted the richness of Fitchburg’s artistic and diverse population.

The Fitchburg Youth Library Mural uses a progressive and highly inclusive adaptation of Greek mythology to capture Fitchburg’s remarkable diversity. Contrary to what well-known Greek Gods are normally depicted as, Guthrie and Cregg incorporated various skin tones to reflect on today's society. Continue reading to learn more about Guthrie and Cregg’s artistic process behind their mural.

Fitchburg Youth Library Mural by Monique Guthrie and Erin Cregg, 2020, acrylic paint on brick

That Was Fun, Let’s Do More is a fantastic representation of how public art can have an impact on a community. The artwork is a large spray-painted mural, at 16 by 100 feet. This beautiful seascape mural consists of an ark containing blue illustrated figures surrounded by a landscape where spiky mythical creatures are located. It consists of vibrant, electric greens, reds and blues giving shape to the scene. Caleb Neelon used pointillism for this mural, a technique in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form the overall image. The composition of these dots visually separate the sky, sea, and the land from each other. On the ark, there are playful blue illustrated figures that resemble those of a children's book. These characters can be seen consistently as a motif throughout Neelon’s murals. The historic Johnsonia building that originally stood at this site burned down in June 2011, leaving the once popular space empty and colorless. After the Johnsonia building was torn down, it left an unfinished wall, which became the site for this mural. It wasn’t until 2014 when The Arc of Opportunity, a day center for adults with disabilities, partnered with Neelon to make That Was Fun, Let’s Do More. The mural is located on the side of the Arc building at 564 Main Street. When given the opportunity to create this mural he said, “Any time one gets to work in a prominent location, it is special.” The community collaborated with Neelon to bring this mural to life with members of The Arc of Opportunity and people of the community, who helped by spraying their own dots to create the mural. Neelon guided this project by doing the framework of the mural and by prepping the wall with rough paint rollers. He especially loved working with the community on this mural saying, “Given that the mural site was on the side of The Arc of Opportunity... involving them was natural, and was a rewarding experience for me, and I hope for those who took part as well.”Neelon is an artist based in Cambridge, Massachusetts who has been creating murals across the globe for 20 years. He is known for using bright colors to create murals that are exciting, by combining characters inspired from illustrations in children's books with bright colors. After its two-week community production, That Was Fun, Let’s Do More restored the life to a prominent, historical space in Fitchburg.

The following mural is That Was Fun, Let’s Do More, created by muralist Caleb Neelon. The colorful and joyful spray painted mural was completed in the summer of 2014. A collaborative production, That Was Fun, Let’s Do More is a product of the community working together to accomplish a common goal.

 That Was Fun, Let’s Do More by Caleb Neelon, 2014, airbrushed mural

The Immigrant is a representation and recognition of all the immigrant communities of Fitchburg. This sculpture was created by the artist, Nora Valdez in 2013 and is located on the corner of Main and Prichard Street in Fitchburg. The sculpture was inspired by her grandmother, who wore the style of clothing seen on The Immigrant. It has two pockets, one of them containing a chicken and the other containing a family and on top of the sculpture's head lays a boat with a village inside. The boat represents an immigrant's journey, while the village is a symbol of the immigrants’ original home. Valdez explains, “the village is so we (immigrants) never forget where we came from.” The sculpture is faceless, anonymous because she did not want it to represent just one group of immigrants, but rather all immigrants: “I want to represent all immigrants and I want it to represent everybody.” She wanted this sculpture to be a visual representation of immigrants who carry their culture with them to a new life in a new land.In addition to representing the immigrants from Fitchburg, this sculpture speaks to how our country was built by immigrants. The Immigrant focuses on the many struggles faced by immigrants and “the feeling of being from here, there, and nowhere; the constant feeling of drifting without ever finding a place to call home.” Valdez expresses the immigrant’s struggle through the imagery on the sculpture. She achieves this through the boat, symbolizing the immigrant’s challenging journey, and the village, which symbolizes the personal journey they go through to discover their identity in a new place. This piece was created for the Main Street Art Project in collaboration with the Fitchburg Art Museum, the City of Fitchburg and the University of Massachusetts with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.Valdez’s work has been exhibited and installed in various public spaces from Europe, Asia, North and South America to many states in the USA. The Immigrant is a symbol for all immigrants who have made the sacrifice to move to an unknown place. She uses sculpture to create images that reflect on the nature of change and the life of the individual. The Immigrant is an acknowledgement to all the different communities that have helped shape Fitchburg for over 100 years.

‎The Immigrant was created by stone sculptor Nora Valdez. The limestone sculpture, unveiled on September 7th, 2013, is a model that symbolizes the hard work and effort that immigrants go through to reach a new life.

 The Immigrant by Nora Valdez, 2013, limestone sculpture‏

Welcome to Fitchburg uses local iconography and imagery to greet newcomers as well as long time residents to the city. This mural was completed with the collaboration of Jon Allen, a local Fitchburg artist and NewVue Communities. NewVue is a local non-profit focused on civic engagement. The punchy pop art mural was started in the middle of August 2017, and the process lasted about a month and a half, finishing in late September. NewVue partnered with Allen and donated numerous materials to make Allen’s vision a reality and beautify the city of Fitchburg. The artwork gives the once plain wall a new bright, bold, and inviting greeting for viewers.Allen grew up in the Ashburnham and Fitchburg area. Being an integral part of the art community in Fitchburg, Allen consistently works on beautifying the city with the addition of vastly different murals, such as Welcome to Fitchburg. NewVue offered to supply Allen with multiple tools and acrylic paints to complete this artwork. The massive mural located on Pritchard Street resembles that of a postcard and within the lettering are scenes depicting different aspects of Fitchburg. These depictions range from Fitchburg State University to old mill buildings and smokestacks connecting to Fitchburg’s origins as a mill town. Originally, the design was supposed to be a visual walking tour of the city of Fitchburg. Allen reflects on how NewVue, “originally wanted a map, like a visual walking tour mural… —but I suggested the postcard-looking typography with different elements of Fitchburg inside the lettering and they liked that.”With the exploding red and orange contrasting the grey lettering, the mural stands out and livens up the area. This burst of color draws your eyes immediately, with the real beauty and soul of the art lying inside. Welcome to Fitchburg depicts the strong sense of human connection and community within the city.

AS OF 2023, this temporary artwork has been taken down, as part of the building's renovation. This next artwork on the tour is Jon Allen’s acrylic paint mural titled Welcome to Fitchburg. The postcard like mural immediately captures the viewer’s attention and brightens up its surroundings with its bold reds and yellows, while the lettering showcases captivating aspects and imagery from Fitchburg’s past and present.

Welcome to Fitchburg by Jon Allen, 2017, acrylic paint mural on brick

Activate Mill Street is a collective art space in Fitchburg’s downtown area. It is a gathering place where the community can listen to live music, browse art, and take time to relax. Mill Street has been a forgotten alleyway in Fitchburg for a long time, that is, until the summer of 2019. The goal was to rejuvenate it and foster community in this area. The installation of the artworks displayed on Mill Street created a lively and vibrant energy. Many of the artworks displayed were also created by local artists to carry on the energy of community and authenticity.One artist, Monique Guthrie, created a mural of a woman fighting off a dragon. Dragons are found in nearly every culture, so this is used in her art to encourage diversity in the community and connect the various cultures in Fitchburg. The artist chose to create this image because it displays a powerful woman fighting and not giving up regardless of the struggles she faces. The idea to make a woman of color the main focus was intentional by Guthrie. She explains, “...knowing that my mural was going to be in Fitchburg I really wanted to showcase a person of color to be the icon in the image I drew. I thought it would be really cool for some little girl in Fitchburg to look up at my mural and see themselves in it.” Guthrie is aware that the representation of different races and cultures is very important. She expressed her experiences growing up and seeing characters that looked like her everywhere and how she wants the same for other girls growing up in the area. Nayda Cuevas is another artist who worked on Activate Mill Street. Her artwork Adios: Puerto Ricans Always In Migration displays a mother giving her child a hug goodbye. The child is leaving to find better opportunities, making this farewell bittersweet. Adios fits well on Mill Street as it displays other powerful people of color and the importance of diversity in the Fitchburg community. Many people in the community are able to find themselves in this painting just as they can with Guthrie’s.In addition to all of the current paintings, a new installation was recently added in 2021, Break the Pattern. This art project was done by local artists Justin Tarbell, Eugene Finney and Thomas Moser. Break the Pattern consists of colorfully painted cubes on panels that cover the windows on the 350-356 Main St. building in the Mill Street corridor. The concept of the project was creativity, exploring possibilities, and overcoming adversity. Finney explained how these strong traits are “a true testament to their [Tarbell and Moser] character and demonstration of the spirit of Fitchburg.” Tarbell exclaims, “It’s my little haiku to the city that I call home.”Activate Mill Street promotes universal inclusion and acceptance. It is a place of celebration, creativity, and fun for all. Events scheduled to take place in the performance area, at the corner of Mill Street and Boulder Drive, include yoga, dance, and concerts. The revision of the alleyway is symbolic of Fitchburg’s attributes within the community and shines light on Fitchburg’s beauty.

Activate Mill Street is a recently rejuvenated alley in downtown Fitchburg. It was revamped in the summer of 2019. This collection of public art works, comprised of many different mediums by multiple artists, is designed to inspire community and bring life back to this popular alleyway, a home to events of all kinds for the Fitchburg community.

Activate Mill Street by Various Local Artists, 2019, mixed media

The Nashua River Mural tells the tale of the Fitchburg community’s perseverance and passion for the nature that blesses their town. This mural was unveiled at the 11th Annual Blacksmith Festival held at the Riverfront Park on Boulder Drive. The mural was created in August, 2014 and took a month to complete, standing at 156 feet by 21 feet. Jon Allen used various hues of cascading blues to represent the clean river we know today. Marion Stoddart’s portrait appears on the left side of the mural, while golden fish juxtapose the painted water to the right of Stoddart. The paint for the mural was donated by Aubuchon Hardware and the lift used during the production was provided by Grand Rental. According to Allen, “That’s the first project I’ve done on that scale.”Stoddart, herself, is an activist and community leader born in May 1928. In the early 1960’s, because there were no laws regulating disposal of industrial waste, manufacturers usually dumped it into nearby rivers. The Nashua River was one of the top ten polluted rivers at the time. Through various and tireless efforts, in 1965 Stoddart was able to get the first anti-water pollution bill enacted in the United States. This was known as the 1965 Massachusetts Clean Water Act. She also founded the Nashua River Watershed Association, which aimed to protect all 174 miles of the Nashua River and its major tributaries.Jon Allen, along with Sophy Tuttle, a visual artist from Lowell, Massachusetts, and Jerry Beck, a conceptual artist from Massachusetts and founder of The Revolving Museum in Lowell, were discussing ideas for a mural in Fitchburg. Beck recommended Stoddart. As Allen listened, sitting on a couch at Chaibo Coffee shop, he was looking at the back wall of Gamache’s Cyclery. Inspired by the history of the Nashua River and Stoddart, Allen chose to paint a mural on the back of the then Gamache’s Cyclery. The process of getting it from concept to wall started in June 2014, and with the help of the community we have the mural we see today. The building it is on is now known as Zeda’s Pizza and Restaurant on 65 Laurel Street.

The Nashua River Mural is a massive cerulean painting by Jon Allen. This 21-foot tall mural was completed in September 2014, located directly by the Nashua River itself. It was made as an homage to the history of the Nashua River, and Marion Stoddart’s major role in rallying the community to restore the river’s purity.

Nashua River Mural by Jon Allen & Sophy Tuttle, 2014, acrylic mural

Pathways by Gillian Christy was created as an homage to the history of Fitchburg. This public art installation consists of four brushed metal pillars that were placed to represent Fitchburg’s past, present, future, and community. Finding a way to connect these aspects, both physically and metaphorically, was essential to the design. When speaking with community members, Christy felt that it was important to reference different aspects of Fitchburg. Inspiration was drawn from the mill town history, which can be seen through the railroad-like structure, while the contrasting blue river-like feature represents the Nashua River. Pathways stands as a depiction of Fitchburg’s strong identity based on nature and industry.In order to give Fitchburg proper representation, Christy focused her research heavily on the voices of the community. When asked about the community’s impact on Pathways, Christy states, “It made a huge impact, that was the goal to create a community-driven project… we spent about 8 months meeting with community members and I took stories the community provided and found things that meant something to them.” This initiative allowed Fitchburg residents the opportunity to guide Christy into creating a work of art that truly represented them. Pathways has allowed there to be a place where many memories of Fitchburg thrive.  Since Pathways has many viewers daily, due to its busy location, Christy hopes a sense of comfort and appreciation will become its legacy. In Christy’s perspective, public art is meant to serve a higher purpose than being only aesthetically pleasing. Christy states, “I hope it gives a sense of place and that when you arrive or depart you have a sense of I am leaving or coming into a place I hold dear…, it serves in your memory as a positive landmark or gateway into one's hometown.” Pathways is a gateway to learning about the art, culture, and history of Fitchburg.

Gillian Christy’s Pathways serves as a welcoming gateway into Fitchburg. Pathway's intention was to highlights aspects of this community's past, revealing its rich history to all visitors of downtown Fitchburg. Read on to learn more about Pathways and how it properly represents the transformation of Fitchburg across the 20th century.

Pathways by Gillian Christy, 2010, metal and brick installation

Flights of Imagination: Juliet, Kate, and Ophelia is a mural by KK Kozik that resides in the stairwell at the Fitchburg State University Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library. It depicts 650 staggered, toppling books that spiral up and down the stairwell. The original idea for this mural was created in 1996 with a design depicting the interior of a library. From that image, Kozik got the idea to create more paintings showing various books of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Flights of Imagination was created with these paintings in mind.KK Kozik worked with the library to create this vibrant and relevant mural in order to make the staircases of the library just as lively as the rest of the building. Library patrons who regularly passed by, watched the work grow from chalk line sketches to its final creation over the seven-week process. Kozik reflects on this transformation saying, “While the process was physically exhausting, it was cheering to see viewers’ smiles and hear their commendations." On the base level, passersby may see the books in the mural and think they were painted at random to match the theme of the library; however, it goes deeper than just that. The name of this artwork mentions three names: Juliet, Kate, and Ophelia, these names are in reference to Shakespeare’s plays and The Four Humors. The theory of The Four Humors is about personality types and temperaments: Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholy, and Phlegmatic. These are represented through color in KK Kozik’s artistry. As the books spiral on, you will notice that the color scheme changes. What is being displayed are these four humors. The reds and pinks represent Juliet and sanguine. Kate is shown to hold choler as her humor through greens and yellows. Finally, we have Ophelia who displays and represents two humors: Melancholy and Phlegm. These get two different color schemes: Melancholy holds the earth tones and fall-based colors, while Phlegm gets a more winter and “delicate watery palette." The depth of Kozik's design allows students and other viewers to reflect and engage with this mural as they progress throughout the staircase. As you move, you will see the theme changes to match these four humors. As Kozik explains, “The theory of The Four Humors is a consideration of mind and body connections." This is something that anyone can relate to. KK Kozik hopes to inspire wonder for those who walk up and down the stairwell past her mural. As Kozik describes it, “While those climbing the stairs move between floors full of books and words and intellectual history, I like the idea that to experience the fruit of my inspiration and thoughts requires movement.”

On our final stop of this digital tour, we have Flights of Imagination: Juliet, Kate, Ophelia by KK Kozik, a mural in the Fitchburg State University Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library created in 2018. The mural depicts 650 scattered books that spiral up the staircase walls with a color scheme and name relating to Shakespeare’s famous plays.

The Fitchburg Art Museum's Contemporary Art Tour

Iver Johnson Mural by Jon Allen, 2018, acrylic paint on brick

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information