This mural was painted In downtown Scranton by Emanuel Wisdom of UNA design and myself, Eric Bussart. We wanted to create a mural that would inspire togetherness in these polarizing times. The gorgeous lettering centerpiece inspires a message of hope and unity, while the background elements carry a more somber connotation. The Poplar trees depicted in this design draw inspiration from the Heart Wrenching classic rendition of "Strange Fruit" by Nina Simone. The song depicts the horrors of a post slavery america. With powerful poetic imagery she depicts the victims of Lynchings as "Strange Fruit" hanging from "Poplar trees".
the design draws from the first four bars of the poem:
Southern trees
Bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves
And blood at the roots
Black bodies
Swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hangin'
From the poplar trees
By using the imagery of the POPLAR trees leaves and flowers we are drawing a parallel between the unjust murder of african americans by police to the lynch mobs of the distant past. This subtle use of iconography gives a greater historical context to the plight of african americans in this country without depicting morbid subject matter outright. When creating public art it is of the utmost importance that one considers the entire viewing audience of a piece, puts care and tenderness into the execution, and produces a beautiful end result. With all these factors in mind we set out to create a visually striking and thought provoking mural for this wall in downtown scranton. We believe that mural art is immensely important for any community, both as a way to improve quality of life, and a vehicle to inspire positive change.
Special thanks to:
Masila Muli of ELYSIUM CREATIVE GROUP for making music for this video.
https://www.elysiumcreativegroup.com/
EMANUEL WISDOM of UNA DESIGN for designing and painting The letteringing portion of this mural
NORTH EAST ART PROJECT for assisting with wall prep and helping us lock down the wall.
Eric Bussart ILLUSTRATION 2020