Valley gets new perspective on ‘Mona Lisa’ masterpiece

It took local artists a year to create the mural.

By Jordan Cohen

NILES — “Mona Lisa,” one of the most famous works of art, is the backdrop for what may be the only mural of its type in the United States — and it’s located in Eastwood Mall.

In a ceremony attended by several hundred people Sunday evening, the 14-foot-by-20-foot mosaic made up of 70 individual canvases inspired by the famous artwork was unveiled in the Target concourse of the mall.

Each canvas, measuring 2 feet by 2 feet, is the work of 80 local artists ranging in age from 18 to 88. Some of the artists worked in groups.

The mural, which took one year to create, is the brainchild of Susan Jacobs of Cortland, director of the Community Art Projects Foundation.

“I saw that a similar community mosaic was done in Canada, but I don’t believe it has ever been done in the United States, so I thought we should do it,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs said she began contacting artists asking for their participation. The only requirements were that it had to be something important to them and to the community. Each artist was assigned a specific portion of the “Mona Lisa” painting and asked to make the work consistent with that part of the mural.

The oldest artist, Peter Balaban of Youngstown, said he worked with a group of seven from a senior center on a drawing of Lanterman’s Mill in Mill Creek MetroParks.

“I love painting in oils, and I’ve won ribbons for my work,” the 88-year-old retired railroad worker said. “I’ve been painting since I was a little boy.”

Andy Bednar of Warren is an architect and another of the contributing artists. His work depicts the entrance to his home highlighted by an outdoor light.

“We were told to depict what is important to me and my community, and that’s my home and my work as an architect,” Bednar said, adding that he is a self-taught artist who has taken several classes.

Jacobs, who said she had the final word on each artistic submission, also contributed one of the canvases — a drawing of her cocker spaniel Georgie Girl. The dog appears near the top of Mona Lisa’s dress.

For many of the artists, the emphasis was equally personal.

Linda Brink of Brookfield titled her canvas “In the Womb” to depict the gestation of her grandson, Robert Brink, now 6 months old. She, too, is self-taught.

“All I could think about was his upcoming birth, so that’s what I wanted to draw,” Brink said.

Jacobs calls the mural “Mosaic Masterpiece” and said the huge canvas will hang indefinitely in the concourse, although she expects it to eventually be relocated.

“This is a community project, and I hope it will make everyone more aware of the artistic talent we have here,” Jacobs said.

Photos of each individual canvas contained in the mosaic are on display in the mall’s Art Outreach Gallery along with an explanation of the work by each artist. The foundation also has placed information about the work on its Web site, www.communityartworks.com.