News Release
June 2003
(Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania) — The Moravian College art club recently
participated in Miles of Mules, "History with a Colorful Kick," a
public art project brought to Pennsylvania by the Delaware and Lehigh
National Heritage Corridor in Eastern Pennsylvania and sponsored locally
by the Banana Factory in Bethlehem. The students gave the mule the
"Moravian treatment," covering the life-size fiberglass
mold with a patchwork quilt in Moravian blue and gray, and a unique
Moravian Star painting
in each patch. Moravian’s "Mule-seum of Art" can
be seen on the sidewalk at Church and Main Streets on the Priscilla
Payne Hurd Campus.
Miles of Mules is a public art project based on
an idea first introduced in Zurich, Switzerland several years ago,
where decorated, life-sized
cows were placed on public display throughout the city and countryside.
Miles of Mules expanded this idea to bring together the expressive
power of art and the richness of history throughout the five counties
of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor in Eastern
Pennsylvania and beyond. In Pennsylvania, the mule was chosen as a
representation of its industrial roots. The painted mules will be placed
along the canal, where they once pulled boats full of coal headed to
Philadelphia and New York. Area businesses, schools, nonprofit organizations,
individuals and families have sponsored more than 150 life-sized, fiberglass
mules.
“Much like the mules were chosen as a symbol of Pennsylvania’s
past, when the Moravian Art Club got together to submit a design our
thoughts were with the rich history of Moravian College,” said
Nicole Casola, president of the art club at Moravian. “We decided
to cover the piece in a patchwork quilt in Moravian blue and grey,
with a different Moravian star in each patch.”
Each star is done in the style of an artist that
has had an impact on contemporary art. Artists who are featured include
Seurat, Degas,
Van Gogh, Cezanne, Lichtenstein, and Mondrian. “As the Moravian
College Art Club, we wanted to design a mule that would define our
organization. The Moravian Star represents a part of who we are as
Moravian students, just as the different styled stars represent our
appreciation and admiration of artists before us,” Nicole said. “Working
with Miles for Mules was a great opportunity for us to work with the
community as well as get the unusual experience to paint on such an
odd medium. How many people can say they painted a life-size fiberglass
mule?”
The Moravian “Mule-seum of Art” (coined by
Moravian’s
Jan Ciganick), sponsored by Payne Gallery at Moravian College, is one
of five presently on Main Street. It was painted by students Nicole
Casola, Kelly Warner, Nate Kappenstein, Kristin Roberts, Laura Werner,
Jon Latiano, Jon Narmita, Kim Mabry, Katrina McDaniel, Danielle Geist,
Tracy Maalouf, and Sarah Handfest, as well as faculty and staff members
Anne Dutlinger, Gerard Maynard, Doug Zucco, Jan Ciganick, and Dave
Leidich.
