From tags by legendary crews in Wynwood's famous "RC Cola" block and high-rise installations in Downtown Flagler, Miami, to the mouth of the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, Mana Public Arts chronicles a near-decade's worth of eye-popping murals by today's leading street artists. Readers will also discover essays from four preeminent experts on street art and graffiti - Carlo McCormick, Steve Harrington, Alan Ket, and T.K. Mills - that provide invaluable cultural, artistic, and historic context on these works and the cities they occupy.
Together, these 300+ murals are but a sample of public art's power to energize neighborhoods, evoke empathy, inspire dialogue, and draw attention to critical socio-political issues. A must-have for street art enthusiasts and casual fans alike, this book shows what can happen when artists are given free rein to express themselves at their highest capacities on public canvases.
Established in 2014 as an offshoot of Mana Contemporary Arts Center, Mana Public Arts (MPA) is a mural program devoted to large-scale, site-specific installations by renowned artists from around the world. MPA's mission is to give our local communities access to exceptional art and remove class-based barriers traditionally associated with museums and galleries. Our goal is to curate works that energize neighborhoods, celebrate diversity, evoke empathy, create educational opportunities, inspire dialogue, and amplify marginalized voices.
Editor KURT BOONE is a New York City based author and photographer known for his work documenting all aspects of street culture. Several of his 20+ books have been collected by the Museum of Modern Art, Harvard Fine Art Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cornell University Library and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Most recently, Kurt completed an oral history project on the mass incarceration system in the United States for Columbia University's Oral History Archive and was the subject of "Speed Walking NYC", a short documentary about his former job as a courier in New York City. His photographic work documenting COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests in New York City, 2020 has been exhibited at the International Center of Photography and the Museum of the City of New York.
Editor DANIEL SACKS is an Art Business Professional and Pianist based in New York City. Since joining Mana Contemporary in 2019, Sacks' role has encompassed the planning and execution of public events, co-leading a teen mentorship program for Jersey City arts honors students, managing Mana Public Arts, and assisting the director with large-scale exhibition planning. Prior to his work at Mana, Mr. Sacks studied Piano Performance and Political Science at Northwestern University. He currently maintains an active Classical Music career through performances, teaching young pianists, and participating in Summer Music Festivals abroad.
Introduction by CARLO MCCORMICK who is an American culture critic and curator living in New York City. He is the author of numerous books, monographs and catalogues on contemporary art and artists. McCormick lectures and teaches extensively at universities and colleges around the United States on popular culture and art. His writing has appeared in Effects: Magazine for New Art Theory, Aperture, Art in America, Art News, Artforum, Camera Austria, High Times, Spin, Tokion, Vice and other magazines. McCormick was Senior Editor of Paper.
