Downtown Building Art

No one enters or leaves the city of Shreveport, Louisiana on Interstate 20 without noticing this amazing over-sized piece of art work.

Titled "Once in a Millennium Moon," this visually busy mural covers 30,000 square feet and took two years to paint.  The mural is on two sides of a 14 story building and the largest in the US.

In 2000, Meg Saligman, internationally renowned for her large murals, invented the “community paint day” as a way to include thousands of community members in the making of "Once in a Millennium Moon."  The technique is now widespread across the mural industry.

The artist perfected the picture on a paint by number grid, then paint parties were held all over town.  It took almost two years and over 2,000 folks worked on the painting which was applied to sheets of plastic cloth much like wallpaper.  More than 40% of the mural was done by the Shreveport community.

The mural contains 19 people from the ages of 3 months to 80 years old. They represent diversity in race, age, gender, religion and neighborhood.  The people and over 40 objects capture the people of Shreveport, their treasures, triumphs, and tragedies.

 Each of the forty heirloom objects that might have had meaning to a person, or family can also be found in the mural.  Examples of them are a clown doll, ceramic cup, fork and a cast iron skillet.

Cycles of life can also be found in the painting:  birth is represented by a christening cap, puberty by the Torah, a veil and garter for marriage, and a veteran's dog tag for death. 

The water symbolizes the flow of the Red River after the break of the Great Log Jam by Captain Henry Miller Shreve for whom the city was named.

Near the bottom of the painting is a cornucopia of northwestern Louisiana produce including strawberries, peaches, tomatoes and dewberries.  They are being held in a Cast Iron Skillet. This skillet is symbolic because it had been passed down through three generations, and each new recipient received an accompanying card, which read: "This skillet is for making cornbread, and for keeping your man in line."

It is certainly a mega mural with a magnificent message of joy and hope!  

The young woman on the South wall is holding a glowing flame in an orb, which "symbolizes Shreveport's hopes and dreams for the future." Her billowing skirts represent "wind."

No minute detail was overlooked in these massive pieces of art.

The Magnolia, the official state flower and the Shreveport Rose, the city flower are beautifully mingled.

The following are paintings on various buildings throughout 9-blocks around the city referred to as Shreveport Common.  They are part of the "12 Uncommon Murals" project designed by area Artists.

The large painting on the side of this printing company is a scene from the local Caddo Lake.

"A Call to Action" by Al Bahler is on the side of the Shreveport/Bossier Convention & Tourism Building and spectacularly lite at night.

The old hotel in the foreground is being partially demolished to make room for a new locally owned brewery company.

These tumbling jokers are a fun accent to the side of this multi-storied apartment building.

This artist was determined to turn the dead, gray and rusty browns of the city into colorful, interesting scenes.

"Frog Prince" is a larger than life painting of a young girl laying in the grass.  It was done by J. Ben Moss on the side of a 6-story building and is my favorite.

"Putting on the Arts" replicates the door scroll work on the now deteriorating B'Nai Zion Temple.

This 80' x 15" mural was designed by local renowned author, filmmaker and illustrator of children's literature, William Joyce.  "Rolie Polie Olie" is an illustration from one of his books and films.
Check him out HERE

There are many more, but I will save them for another day.

What's something fascinating about where you live?