Natick Pride & The Boston Marathon

It was such an incredible opportunity to paint one of Natick’s electrical boxes and add to the beauty and charm of the town of Natick.  My goal was to capture the spirit of the Town of Natick and the incredible pride people have in Natick’s stretch of the Boston Marathon Route.

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Video showing the making of Artist Eddie Bruckner's Public Art Installation of "Natick Pride & The Boston Marathon." Commissioned by the Natick Center Cultural District and the Public Art Committee and supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Completed in September 2017, the painted electrical box is located in Natick, MA, along the Boston Marathon Route.

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What I loved about painting the Marathon-Themed Box in Natick was that painting it on-site allowed me to interact with people walking by, take photos together, and share my artistic process with them.
 
As I began to think about the project, I created several sketches that included a lot of ideas related to the town of Natick, the Boston Marathon, as well as how best to integrate my artistic style to create something visually appealing.  I wanted to make it uniquely “Natick” by incorporating things like the Gazebo, the church, Natick’s zip code, etc. I like to include the American flag because Natick, I feel, is really an all-American type of town.  Diverse, patriotic, down-to-earth, democratic, and inclusive.

And as I began to think about the Marathon component, I wanted to include visuals like the beautiful Boston Marathon Medal, the Marathon Runner Number, the Trophy, and the amazing runners racing toward the finish line.  I also wanted to demonstrate the inclusive nature of the Natick community and the marathon itself by including a competitor in a wheelchair.  I also gave a lot of thought to how the colors of the Boston Marathon (Blue and Yellow) would integrate into my overall design.  And while most people won't be able to see the top of the box, I’ve painted “Boston Strong” on the top of the box.

​Many of my paintings all use a similar color palette of primary colors, white, black, and neutral greys. 
All my work focuses on lines, shapes, vibrant colors, and the integration of an illusion of mosaic tile.  
This illusion of mosaic tile provides cohesion to my body of work and serves to provide balance, repetition, movement, and other elements of strong artistic design and composition. 
I often think about the mosaic element as confetti, to further my goal of conveying fun, exhilaration, and happiness; the mosaic patterns add life and positive energy into my work.
 
I’m excited about the actual process of creating public art and/or installing the artwork on location with observers and participants.

There were a few funny stories of things that happened while I was on-site painting.  It was the first day on-site at the electrical box.  One of the first things I needed to do was make sure the box was clean of dirt, bugs, cobwebs, etc.  before I could start painting.  So imagine people walking by seeing a guy on a stepstool washing by hand an electrical utility box!
As people walked by, I could tell people were a bit confused or thought I was out of my mind.

As you saw in the video, I began by painting a solid black color on the entire box, and then place lines of tape, to be uncovered later.  ​When I started with the spray paint, painting it all black, again, some people were trying to figure out what was going on, if I was vandalizing the box, or why it was all black.  Maybe they preferred it grey? 

But as I continued with my painting, people began to stop, ask what I was doing, ask me what it was going to look like, etc.  It was a great opportunity to share with people the great things the Natick Center Cultural District has done around town to enhance life for everyone in Natick.

I painted the box over 2 weeks, almost every day, so I got to see a few people on a number of occasions on their daily walk, and it was great to stop and chat with them and hear their reactions as they saw the progress over time.

In Boston, the box I painted is on Boylston Street, a very busy city street so most of my interactions were with pedestrians on their lunch break or people heading to a Red Sox game.  But in Natick, I can’t tell you how many people honked their horns and smiled at me while I painted. 
People even rolled down their windows and shouted things like “Great Job!, I love that! & That’s so cool!”

I’m so pleased that in all my interactions on site, people were really happy to see my artwork. 
One woman said to me, “That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in Natick. And that;s very cool.”

And it was great to see all the wonderful comments on all the Facebook and Instagram posts!
I love watching the first time a passerby sees my artwork on their evening jog, their walk home from work, or pushing a baby stroller on their way to Dunkin Donuts.

These are all inspiring reminders of the transformative impact a piece of public art can have on the overall look of physical space and the pleasure it gives people.

Video featuring the
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for
Artist Eddie Bruckner's
Public Art Installation of
"Natick Pride &
The Boston Marathon"
on Sunday, October 22, 2017.
Features remarks by
Athena Pandolf,
Executive Director
of the
​Natick Center Cultural District
​& Eddie Bruckner.

The Dedication on Sunday, October 22nd was a wonderful event.  It was a beautiful, sunny and warm day.  I'd like to thank everyone who came out to the Ribbon Cutting, especially my wife, kids, my in-laws, and cousins!  It really meant to much to celebrate this special community event with family and friends.  I've posted a video to YouTube, which you can watch here below of the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.

I'd like to also take this opportunity to thank the Natick Center Cultural District and the Public Arts Committee for the opportunity to participate in this wonderful public art project.

I hope everyone in the area will join me to watch the Boston Marathon at the site of the electrical box on Patriots’ Day 2018.

Here are some photos from the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony: