SOUL CROSSINGS | Leonardo Benzant

MTA Arts & Design

Park Avenue Viaduct Public Art Proposal

Soul Crossings draws inspiration from ancient pictographs, hieroglyphs, ideographic writing systems and futuristic urban architecture. It presents a unique visual vocabulary that seeks to bridge the gaps between the past, the present and the future and between the material and spiritual worlds. Soul Crossings represents the fusion of cultures in El Barrio synthesizing ancient symbolism as an expression of a larger collective consciousness through my personal artistic vision.

Although this neighborhood represents many cultures, I was deeply inspired by what could be called the soul of the neighborhood-its relationship to African diasporic spiritual traditions. As an initiate of Yoruba and Kongo spiritual practices I pull from these interwoven narratives for this work. Additionally, I found myself drawn to the memories of my Dominican grandmother, who lives in El Barrio and is approaching the end of her life. Her altars and ritual objects have left an indelible mark on my imagination since childhood. In this project, I pay homage to her influence and the impact her spiritual practices have had on shaping my artistic vision. Moreover, Harlem is also the place where my daughter was conceived. I wanted to evoke these stages of life in this project as well as the transformative power of love.

After speaking with fabricators at Powerhouse Arts I am able to confirm my project’s feasibility. I envision a stainless steel mural consisting of 22 panels, 11 on both the westbound and eastbound Park Avenue Viaduct. There will be layers of cut out shapes superimposed to create a unified effect. I plan to incorporate LED lights to illuminate the mural at night. The utilization of powder coating techniques will add vibrant bursts of color. The black and red represent the Yoruba deity Elegua, which symbolizes the crossroads. The turquoise and yellow represent the Yoruba deities Yemaya and Oshun that characterize water. The nearby Harlem River connects the ways that water has traditionally been a place where civilizations are built. It is also another kind of physical and spiritual crossroads.

Many of the shapes in the drawings are forms that represent hybridity, they are amorphous, seemingly aquatic and in transition. The shapes are also inspired by otherworldly architectural elements of Harlem revealed to me in dreams and reminiscent of a personal and timeless dimension. The forms in my drawings also grew out of a life-long fascination with machetes and blades which symbolize the deity Ogun, the blacksmith who is also associated with train tracks and clearing a path to civilization.

Soul Crossings celebrates the diversity that defines El Barrio and its inhabitants. It bridges the profound connections these communities have to each other and the larger African diaspora.