Pop-up cherishes local businesses
A New York-based married couple have created a unique art installation to raise awareness of the troubles faced by local, family-owned businesses.
Thursday, 26 Sep 2019 15:26 GMT
The installation cherishes local businesses which have had to close due to rent increases. Image: James and Karla Murray
James and Karla Murray have been working for over two decades to document images of “mom-and-pop” storefronts that have contributed to the city’s sense of community.
Over this time, the couple found many of these businesses closed due to rent increases. To represent this, they created a large wooden sculptural installation which resembles a pop-up store.
Each of its four sides features a different 8.5ft tall x 12ft wide image of Manhattan’s Lower East Side stores – three of which have now closed.
To complete the installation, the Murray’s turned to New York-based indoor and outdoor signage firm, Unique Visuals NY.
We’ve gotten really positive responses from neighbourhood residents in raising awareness about mom-and-pop stores. They got it and they love it”
The firm used an Epson SureColor S60600 eco-solvent large-format printer to print onto 3M vinyl. To protect the installation from damage, Avery Dennison anti-graffiti over-laminating film was added.
A 3mm DIBOND aluminium composite material in Fine Silver was chosen as a double substrate to mount the artwork, as well as ten, 4 x 8ft DIBOND panels.
Commenting on the project, Karla Murray says: “We’ve gotten really positive responses from neighbourhood residents in raising awareness about mom-and-pop stores. They got it and they love it. The piece adds life to this corner of the park and beautifies the park. We couldn’t be happier with it.
“We would love to do another public art installation and would definitely use the DIBOND material again. We’ve seen how beautiful this piece looks and how really well it’s held up.”
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