COURIER L 38 IFE, OCT. 18-24, 2019
Cooking the books
Artists unveil literary-themed murals at
burnt-out Prospect Heights laundromat
A Beastie Boys and “Where the Wild Things Are” mural from artist @subwaydoodle.
BY BEN VERDE
A group of painters unveiled the latest
chapter in a recurring series of mural
enhancements to a gnarly, old ruins
of a former laundromat in Prospect
Heights.
The new mural project saw artists
take on famous book covers, such as
“Moby Dick,” “Water for Elephants,”
and “Tales of the City,” along with many
famed literary tales. One mural features
a spin on “Where The Wild Things Are”
featuring the original children’s book
characters dressed as Brooklyn hip–
hop trio The Beastie Boys.
The art graces the dilapidated laundromat
at St. Johns Place and Underhill
Avenue, which was gutted by a fi re
some 16 years ago. The owner was never
able to renovate his ramshackle edifi
ce, but the building received an unexpected
facelift in 2015, when artist and
longtime Prospect Heights resident Jeff
Beler contacted the building’s owner
and convinced him to donate the construction
fence surrounding his burntout
husk for use as a canvas.
Since then, Beler and his band of professional
and amateur painters have repainted
the barricade every six months
or so. Past themes have included “Urban
Jungle” and zodiac signs, and the recurring
makeover has become a cause for
celebration among community members.
“It’s changed the community,” Beler
said. “Every time we do an installation
it just brings the children and everybody
out.”
Paulie Nassar, a Brooklyn-based artist
who has been involved with the murals
since it was last updated and contributed
a “Charlottes Web” mural last
weekend, said he loved being a part of a
project of local renown.
Artist Jeff Beler with a “To Kill a Mocking
Bird” mural. Photos by Colin Mixson
“I love the reaction,” said Nassar, who
runs Off the Wall Graffi ti, a Brooklyn
based nonprofi t for kids who have gotten
in trouble for doing graffi ti. “People
coming up all day and saying thank you,
and that they love coming by on their
way home.”
And while Nassar’s mural may only live
for half a year, that just means he gets to
go back and paint something new.
“So many times you get these things
where people put in a mural project and
they want the mural to be there for 20
years,” he said. “To know when I do my
piece, that it has a six-month shelf life, I
kind of enjoy that as a street artist. I feel
like we fi ght to make everything permanent
now, no one wants anyone to go over
their thing, that was never the point, the
point was to paint on stuff, let’s just get
back to that.”