“Generations” – “Generaciones” installed September 2023, Harbor St/Congress St, Salem
“The mural design reads like a timeline narrative from the past to the present, from top to bottom.“*( quote from David Fichter’s narrative 2023)
Visits to “Generations” – “Generaciones” on site or online (or both, many times) will powerfully connect us to people and events in the history of a significant part of Salem. This mural is just one of many that David Fichter has designed for numerous communities to relate dramatic moments and human interactions in their history. Families, school groups, and anyone attentive to what’s happening up on the wall will find lots to enjoy and discuss! This post offers quotes, links, and photos* that should lure you to explore “Generations” – “Generaciones !”
“The mural design for “Generations” reflects the history, identity, and faces of El Punto, La Pointe, The Point through the changing times of the 20th and 21st centuries. It depicts the story of many of the Point leaders whose organizing efforts in the past have led to the vibrant and welcoming community we know today as El Punto.. The central core, the backbone of the design, is a series of large-scale portraits of different generations of women who lived or worked in the Point neighborhood: “ ( quote from David Fichter’s narrative 2023)“The narrative at the top of the design, which is entirely in “sepia” greys, focuses on the early 20thcentury history of the Point when it was primarily a French-Canadian neighborhood (La Pointe).“(quote from David Fichter’s narrative 2023)“In the top left corner, we see the ruins of the 2nd St. Joseph’s cathedral which was burned along with the textile mill and most of the Point in the tragic 1914 fire.” ( quote from David Fichter’s narrative 2023)“..moving to the top center, at the pinnacle is Lucy Corchado a long time community organizer and president of the Point Neighborhood Association; moving down to the right is Punto businesswoman Altagracia who works with the “rollos” in a teenager’s hair at her hair salon…”( quote from David Fichter’s narrative 2023)“.in the lower middle there is a portrait of a smiling Laura Assade director of diversity and inclusion for Salem Public Schools; below Laura, a young child eats an empanada at an event in Espacio, a Punto community space.” (quote from David Fichter’s narrative 2023)
Important addition from David Fichter: [The mural ] “was designed and painted on metal panels with the assistance of Xerxes Butt, Bianca Oppedisano and Joshua Winer. Yinette Guzman from El Punto Urban Art Museum worked with me for over a year to learn about the community through oral history interviews, research, and surveys.”
KEY RESOURCES:
PUNTO URBAN ART MUSEUM Background about this open-air museum’s ever-growing array of murals
writer, educator, museum volunteer;
My camera and I are reflected in the blue globe within the sculpture installation,"The Sky is the Limit" by Geoff Nelson. From slideshow in post: HISTORIC AND CURRENT ART AT CHESTERWOOD
Art Outdoors 