Project Overview
Natural Gathering and Panorama City | Cooper Young
“This is a really beautiful work and a true example of how a community coming together can change the face of a well-traveled part of Cooper Young, for the better!”
Jay Crum and Kong Wee Pang created two murals for recycling containers in Cooper-Young adjacent to the Cooper-Young Farmers Market: a cityscape in reds, greens, and yellows by Crum and garlands in select hues on blue and green by Pang. Streets weave through the buildings of Jay Crum's densely packed urban silhouettes of Panorama City. Water towers and sections of color patterned roof shingles top the vertical facades.
Kong Wee Pang's detailed Natural Gathering design wraps around the 8' by 22' by 8.5-foot container as a continuous band. They consist of small figurative vignettes with objects that have been created from recycled materials. Hence, the detailed creatures and plants feature imaginative and sometimes perplexing "mutations." To Kong Wee, a transformation occurs when materials are recycled, which she was trying to make visible in her designs.
The artist selection process and mural installation were facilitated by Siphne Sylve of the UrbanArt Commission with the support of summer 2013 interns Jacob Gambill (Memphis College of Art graduate student) and Yidan Zeng (Rhode Island School of Design), and community volunteers. The project was funded by Project Green Fork and local supporters.
The Artists
Jay Crum
Jay Crum is a designer, illustrator, and artist. He was born in New Orleans, LA, and currently lives in Memphis, TN. He received a BFA in printmaking in 2005 and has since been navigating the line where art and design meet. In 2007 he co-founded TaroPop, a small studio producing T-shirt designs and limited-edition art prints. His whimsical and colorful illustrations depict fantasy realms and creatures. He received his MFA at Memphis College of Art in 2012. He has exhibited work in Memphis, Rome, and Barcelona.
Kong Wee Pang
Kong Wee Pang, Memphis, TN, is a Designer and Artist from multi-cultural Malaysia and Singapore. She graduated from the Singapore Nanyang Academy of Fine Art. In 2001, she moved to the United States. She received a degree in Fine Art and Design and an MFA from the Memphis College of Art. Her colorful designs and sequin murals combine nature with magic and movement. She currently works as an art director at the Mid-South’s largest ad agency, archer>malmo. Recently, she has shown her work in Times Square, New York, Spain, Italy, Berlin, Atlanta, Memphis, California.
