Rumph-Mallery Recreation Center Basketball Court (untitled mural)

This temporary, untitled mural was located at the Rumph-Mallery Recreation Center Basketball Court in 2022. It was created by artist Nathanial Lee, who provided this description of the project:

“This Mural Arts initiative was done around the peak of the COVID Pandemic in November of 2022. Everyone was on lockdown, physical activity/exercise was at a minimum across the country, and [Mural Arts Philadelphia] coordinated with [Philadelphia Parks and Recreation] to do some temporary art installations on the recreation center basketball courts to give some pizzazz and entice the neighborhoods to come out and use their public spaces for some fresh air and exercise. The four staff artists all got assigned two basketball courts each and more recreation sites were planned for the following spring; -but with the art ed teaching artists doing the temporary installations for those.

“We were to limit the artwork’s palette to the seven manufactured colors of temporary marking spray paints. That paint has an estimated 6 month exterior lifespan and is the spray marking used by surveyors in the construction and field marking industry.

“[The art prompt called for] simple, fun, playful colors or patterns. Kind of like something you can freestyle a bit on site, similar to what you would do for the “Free Streets” initiative. Maybe something at the corners and end of each basketball pole. Something at the center court circle, etc.

“I did my art pieces as abstract “pendulum paintings” where I rigged the spray paint to be dispensed from a “Rust-Oleum Marking Wand” with a modified trigger. It was suspended with paracord from an ad-hoc collection of my ladders and painter’s extension poles… I had free range to do whatever I wanted so I had some fun out there!”

Location Note: Mural no longer on view at this location (temporary project).