66 Artists Magazine December 2019
assassinated on South Street in 1871 after advocating for
black voting rights. Dr J, (above) by Los Angeles muralist
Kent Twitchell, is a portrait of the legendary Philadelphia
76ers basketball player and hometown sports hero.
Installed in 1990 at 1219 Ridge Avenue, it was the first
mural in Philadelphia to be created by the parachute-fabric
method, which enables the artist to paint the mural in
sections in the studio and then adhere it to the wall of
a building. It’s a process that Twitchell pioneered and that
Mural Arts continues to use to this day. Philadelphia’sDr J
by Kent Twitchell
located at 1219 Ridge
Avenue, Philadelphia
acrylic mural paint on
parachute cloth
PHOTO BY STEVE WEINIKFinding Light
Within, by James
Burns (120 South 30th
Street, Philadelphia;
acrylic mural paint)
addresses the theme
of suicide intervention.
PHOTO BY STEVE WEINIK