OCEAN CITY — The Art League of Ocean City announced the installation of a community art mural on the tennis court fencing on 94th Street bayside under the blue water tower. Artist Jeanne Anderton of Hebron designed the giant mural, entitled “Seaside Recollections,” featuring seven of her photographic “solar” prints – or photograms — made from the trash and treasures she found on the Ocean City Boardwalk and beach.
The mural is a public art initiative by the Art League in collaboration with the Town of Ocean City. Funding for the project was provided by the Tong Family Charitable Trust.
Art League board members Brooke Rogers and Don Lehman coordinated the exhibition. Anderton created the artwork and worked closely with Rogers and Lehman on the design and execution.
“The mural is cyanotype photograms of items collected at various locations on the Ocean City Boardwalk,” Anderton said. “Collected items — food, wrappers, cigarettes, clothing tags, napkins, and natural elements including sand, feathers, leaves and broken shells — are collected and placed on coated, light sensitive paper and exposed to the sun.”
Opaque objects block the light, leaving a white shape. Transparent and translucent items reveal words or shapes in different shades of blue. After exposure to the sun, the paper is washed in water to remove the chemicals, revealing the final image.
Anderton’s intention with the mural is to inspire viewers to look at trash and everyday objects in a new way.
“A reminder of the memories of visiting Ocean City’s Boardwalk, ‘Seaside Recollections’ asks the viewer to consider how commonplace objects can be transformed into something to be admired, making trash into something beautiful,” she said.