User:Strawtree/Phillip Danzig

Phillip I Danzig (August 15, 1935, - October 27, 2004) was an American muralist born in Brooklyn, New York. After working in England and New York as an achitect, Danzig became involved with the Cityarts Workshop project to build The Rolling Bench, a mosaic tile bench around Grant's Tomb in upper Manhattan. Danzig had earlier that year visited Park Guell in Barcelona and was inspired to use tile mosaic to created the benches. Danzig along with Pedro Silva designed the benches in such a way that non-artisits could contribute mosaic images along a unified theme. The designs were not abstract as were the tile mosaics in Park Guell. Danzig was in charge of the back side of the benches and Silva was in charge of the front sides. Danzig created a mosaic portrait of Grant, based on the fifty dollar bill. He also produced images of horses among many other designs. But the goal was to incorporate the community in the project. Therefore many designs were executed by non-artists and children. It was thougth that by incorporating community members in the project, vadalism would be greatly reduced. The project continued for several years, taking place in the summer months.

Danzig's next major project was in Paterson New Jersey were he create a large painted mural depicting the history of the city. This mural was painted on large wooden panels.

In 1978 danzig started a community mural project at Columbus Homes.