ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Joshua Bonifaz of RAW Art Works in Lynn sketches a section of mural that will end up living at Neptune Court in Lynn.
And a child shall lead them … that expression could not be more appropriate when it comes to the newest spark of hope for beautifying vacant lots across the city.
To their credit, Raw Art Works student artists have teamed up with neighborhood activists and the city’s legislative delegation to create a mural that will be mounted at the end of Neptune Street Court in West Lynn sometime in the summer.
The artists and local elected officials, including state Sen. Thomas M. McGee, view the mural as a spark that will bring attention to a corner of the city by beautifying it. The mural will feature a train and other images connecting the viewer to the railroad abutting Neptune Street Court and other side streets.
The mural artists call themselves Good 2 Go, and all of the young painters and drawers have experience in creating public art intended to inspire and educate people. Art has the power to change the way people look at places. Stroll through Central Square under the commuter rail tracks, where oversized photographs ingeniously blend images of Central Square 100 years ago with contemporary images.
Take a stroll down the once-abandoned alleyway bordering the tracks, where the concrete wall is lined with dozens of photographs blended into paintings depicting local residents. The portraits bring life and humor to a once-dead section of the city’s center.
Imagine if Good 2 Go branched all across Lynn — to Liberty Street, where a lot is littered with old furniture, to the Lynnway, where blowing trash greets drivers crossing into the city over the General Edwards Bridge, and Union Street, where gradual improvements could use an artistic boost.
What if Good 2 Go artists fanned out across the city and turned unused former city fireboxes into works of art? Painting, photography, sculpture — all art displayed publicly — has the power of awakening, energizing and unifying people.
The Neptune Street Court mural is a pioneering idea easily duplicated on other streets dead-ending along the unused rail tracks. Taken together, the murals could be the spark required to generate ideas for reusing the right-of-way. After all, when inspiration and imagination are in play, the possibilities are endless.