Neighbors of Rainier Valley
One-shot on Stucco, 1995
Last, but certainly not least, this neighborhood mural was painted the summer of 1995 on the south wall of U.S. West's Parkway Building on Rainier Avenue South at S. Eddy Street: a melting-pot neighborhood with its share of problems and promise alike. Over the last few years the Rainier Valley corridor has been enriched by much public art celebrating the diverse traditions of the inhabitants and adding color to the streets. Alessandra Panieri won a design competition for the huge mural (two of whose 8 panels are shown here), and supervised the execution by Foley Sign Co. painters. The project was funded by grants from Metro 1% for Arts and from the South Seattle Arts Council and SEED.
Herself a resident of the South End, Panieri drew scenes depicting a range of activities involving the community's Latino and African-American citizens: shown are Gospel (or is it doo-wop?) singing at left, and a pair of brothers high-fiving on the right. Panieri's keenly observed subjects are rendered with a trace of affectionate caricature (a la Thomas Hart Benton); changes formulated after a public comment period ensured that no one suffered hurt feelings from the exaggerated style of drawing. Together the artist's curvilinear compositions, her vivid palette of contrasting colors, and her gift for story-telling all contribute to richly satisfying public art. Bravo!