This studio explored preservation possibilities for Philadelphia’s collection of public mosaics by artist Isaiah Zagar, a Pratt-educated but self-described “outsider” artist active in Philadelphia since the late 1960s. Zagar has produced a body of more than 200, mostly public, mosaic murals in Philadelphia, including an immersive art environment on South Street called the Magic Gardens. His works have become a recognizable environmental attribute of the neighborhoods where Zagar has been most active and are a popular draw for visitors.
Philadelphia is unique, perhaps in the world, to have such a large concentration of mosaic murals by one artist in one city – a significant contribution to Philadelphia’s claim to being the American city with the “largest and oldest” collection of public art. Philadelphia also is unique in its efforts to preserve, in place, another local mosaic masterwork: Maxfield Parish and Louis Comfort Tiffany’s “Dream Garden,” located in the lobby of the original Curtis Publishing House building on Washington Square. Zagar’s legacy expands on this unusual circumstance of a city claiming identity through place-based art.
The Eyes Gallery and The Painted Bride, two of Zagar’s largest and most important works recently faced existential threats, raising timely preservation questions. Students developed preservation strategies for their client, Philadelphia Magic Gardens, the nonprofit that stewards Zagar's works.
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