What compels art? In this case, it was the idea to honor Mount Vernon’s firefighters.
And a father.
Jody Murphy Stewart, owner of The Hair Salon at 201 First Street West, arranged for the creation of an 8-foot by 12-foot mural on the Second Avenue side of her building.
The storytelling mural’s seed sprouted from a convergence of recollected history and present-day collaboration.
Stewart, a 1979 MVHS grad, was inspired by memory of her father Joe Murphy and brother RJ who were firefighters that February night in 1975 when disaster struck the town’s centerpiece.
Then, the beloved theatre The Strand crumbled in flames. The theatre stood on the present-day site of City Hall and Stewart’s salon.
Community activists converged to bring this mural to fruition.
“Honoring my father, my brother, and firefighters,” is close to my heart, Stewart said.
“He knew my wish to create this mural,” Stewart said of Joe Jennison, the energetic director of the Mount Vernon Lisbon Community Development Group. Jennison helped connect the personnel to make Stewart’s dream true.
Susannah Biondo-Gemmell, associate professor of art, was scheduled to teach the Art and Community course at Cornell College. The prospect of her class producing a detailed mural in 3½ weeks was no small task. “It was feasible, but had to be done in a compressed timeline,” Susannah noted.
Besides addressing their other individual course projects, her 15 students teamed to paint the mural’s details.
Local artist Mark Benesh became project consultant. Among Benesh’s most visible creations is the American Gothic barn mural on Hwy. 30 just west of town.
The Strand’s burning remains vivid in Benesh’s memory, who witnessed the fire at age 10.
“I lived two blocks away. From our home on Second Avenue, I could see the smoke rising,” Benesh, a 1983 MVHS grad, recalled. It too was history close to his heart.
Benesh applied his mural expertise to guide Biondo-Gemmell’s novice students in the understanding of materials and process. The final design, chosen from three initial drafts, was projected onto the plywood sheets for tracing. Details of firefighters and the Strand aflame took shape in a Cornell’s McWethy Hall art center.
Like an antique photograph, the final production is rendered in a dreamy sepia tone to emphasize the fire’s historic nature.
Stewart’s project received funding from the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council and Cornell. Liberty Iron Works owner Dale Merrill custom designed a frame, binding together the three 4-foot by 8-foot plywood sheets which comprise the mural. Merrill also affixed the creation to the Hair Salon’s east wall.
Stewart will install an informational plaque to explain the mural’s historic depiction.
“I want to leave a mark on our community,” Stewart said, adding people come by and say, “this is so cool.” Many long-time residents remember this fiery event from 46 years ago.
Mount Vernon’s unique business district stays vibrant with public art installations. This latest mural is a collaborative labor of love, memory, and honor.
Biondo-Gammell described the project as a “huge learning curve to get it done” within her course’s limited time frame. “But I would do this again,” she added.
Stewart offered that her building has space for two more murals.
Mount Vernon’s illustrious history may continue to be illustrated.
Bob Campagna is a local photographer and writer. His email is: [email protected].
Honor thy fathers — and more
October 28, 2021
Jody Murphy Stewart (1).jpg
