isaiah zagar – master of mosaics

I first bumped into Isaiah’s wild art work while venturing out to dinner on South Street in Philadelphia a few years ago.  And every time I revisit the city, I always must tour his magnificent mosaics.  There are over 30 buildings he worked his wonder on and they’re all mapped out in this great book Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens. 

Here are some of the photos I took on my latest excursion…

This is his studio, grotto and garden.

… some close up shots

A portion of Magic Gardens reads, "He says he doesn’t know WHY he makes murals, only that he feels he MUST.  The idea of making a walking tour of art occurred to him after a visit to Florence, Italy.  The fact that strangers enjoy his work satisfies him that what he is expressing is not simply personal, but something appreciated by many.  He refers to the process as sharing of dreams."

This is Isaiah’s home on South Street.

An additional excerpt from the book reads, "His fondness for including bits of mirror in his murals is related to his dyslexia.  He says that the quality of reversal has always interested him and is what attracted him to printmaking, where everything is reversed.  He describes dyslexics, as people who are ‘not tightly metered or very rational, but are all over the place in their concentration’. Making mosaics has allowed him ‘to concentrate on macro cosmos and micro cosmos at the same time.  I never get tired of working.  The mirror is endless energy, reflecting everything.’ "

Another beautiful building is The Painted Bride Art Center which Isaiah helped found.

I love this saying "the Bride has many Suitors"

"One more reason why Isaiah uses so much mirror in his work is to remind each passing observer: ‘Yes, it’s YOU. YOU’RE here.  YOUR dreams matter too."