Prescott Downtown Series
Public art encompasses any form of art you see in a public place, large or small, statues, murals, graffiti, gardens, parks, etc. The art should be visible from streets, sidewalks, or outdoor public places. Let your imagination and photographic eye show us diverse samples all over the world.
Last week for PPAC #31 Wickenburg, I had a marvelous response from all of you. I want to say thank you to each of you for joining along in our challenge. Here are the featured bloggers for this week. Their posts really grabbed my attention. They are all worthy of a second or third look.
FEATURED BLOGGERS
My Choices for PPAC #35 Prescott Public Library
This week marked my second visit to the public library. I went to the second floor where fiction resides along with the librarians’ desk. After a little mini-tour to the new arrivals, I happened to glance outside, and see a marvelous mural. I told the librarian about PPAC and walked outside and started snapping pictures with my iPhone. The library would close in a half an hour so I did not have time to photograph the entire mural and check out a book.
“Outside the South entrance is a mural which starts at the east side of the library lawn, continues under the stairs that lead to the South parking lot and around the corner to the alley that leads from the automated book drop driveway.
The mural’s theme is “Beyond Words” and it starts with the history of words, includes highlights of the history of Prescott, and ends with a glimpse into the future. The project directors were R.E. Wall and Maggie Dewar, who are also known as the Mural Mice.
With help from 800 community members, they created the mural, starting painting it in 2008, and continued throughout the summer of 2009. “Beyond Words” celebrates the passage of free knowledge to the public.” Prescott Public Library Public Art Displays
Newspapers continue to be a part of the public library experience. There were several men seated inside reading newspapers the day I was there.
A Brief History of AZ
When Arizona was acquired from Mexico in 1848, it was part of the New Mexico territory and as such was declared to be slave territory. The 1850 U.S. Congress assumed that Arizona would follow the leading of New Mexico, so hesitated to grant statehood so they would not add another Confederate State.
In 1863 Arizona was organized as a separate territory. Slavery was abolished in the new Arizona Territory but did not abolish it in the portion that remained the New Mexico Territory. Arizona was not granted statehood until 1912.
I wonder whose picture is vaguely visible on the front of the bag. Can you see it or am I just seeing things?
The mural also contained a mosaic integrated as part of the pictures and as a border as well. The entire style of painting reminded me of the painting on the restroom building in PPAC #11 and the mosaic wall at Acker Park in PPAC #12. The Acker Park project was painted in 2010, a year after the mural was finished.
There are some other amazing pieces of public art that I discovered in Prescott this past week and I will share more in upcoming editions of PPAC. Thanks for joining me!
Updates on Always Write
- If you host or participate regularly in a challenge and would like an interview on Always Write contact me.
- KL Caley’s new short story, “HANDLE WITH CAUTION” on Story Chat is receiving a lot of attention! Come be part of the conversation.
- For a list of topics for WQW 2022 check out my page. This week we are romantically in love.
Now it’s your turn.
If you are one of the PPACers who hasn’t joined us in a while, then don’t panic! The tag is #PPAC and we are looking for any photographs whose subject matter is an art exhibit that’s free to the public best seen when walking or driving.
Feel free to double dip because many times your mural or fountain, statue, or engraving fits someone else’s challenge, too. Thanks so much for stopping by and having fun with PPAC.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
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