Commissioned Mural Painted April 2022 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Threshold and Kapel Group are excited to present a new mural in historic downtown Lebanon by internationally renowned artist BK FOXX. The New York based artist, famous for her striking photorealistic scenes and portraits, creates unique and meaningful works of art tailored to their specific physical, cultural, and geographic contexts.
The mural, located at 38 S 8th St on the recently renovated Market View Apartments building, is a modern take on Norman Rockwell’s “Sunset” piece from the April 24, 1926 cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Rockwell is revered as the quintessential Americana painter known for depicting American life, values, and the diversity of experience that makes this land great.
The piece represents the connection between older and younger generations of Lebanonians of all backgrounds. It is meant as a symbol of unity, friendship and continuity of culture and history. The two children depicted are real, local Lebanon residents (and so is the dog!) and the scene was set up and photographed in Lebanon’s very own Coleman Memorial Park, making the piece a hyper-local expression. The painting embodies the American Dream and the simple joys of life as they are seen and experienced by Lebanon residents of all ages and cultural identities.
The work will instill a sense of pride in the community while it creates connections between the diverse groups that call Lebanon home. It shows investment in Lebanon’s continued growth and prosperity and provides a different perspective, causing people to stop, look, admire, and think.
Threshold and Kapel see this as an opportunity to contribute to creating a positive impact on the community at a time when it is desperately needed, as external pressures of inflation, international conflict, and other issues threaten to divide us. High quality artwork in the public sphere has the ability to lift people’s spirits, to make them think, and to create important cultural connections between people and the place they call home.
Threshold, founded by Lebanon native, Jared Odrick, serves as a steward of the visual landscape of Lebanon through facilitating formative public art and thoughtful redevelopment projects in the city. Threshold seeks to deepen the critical thought process that goes into public art creation, spurring independent thought and adding positive layers of meaning to the public space of Lebanon.
Kapel Group, founded by Ari Sznajder, seeks to revitalize and invigorate Lebanon’s real estate landscape through redeveloping historic properties in Downtown Lebanon, working to rehabilitate older buildings and repurpose them to current day needs. In this project, Kapel’s role has been to go above and beyond the traditional developer by working with arts organizations to create a lasting positive impact on the building’s surroundings.
Author: Amaury Abreu
