Isaiah Zagar (born 1939) is an American

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

artist based in Philadelphia. He is notable for his

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s, primarily in or around Philadelphia's

South Street South Street may refer to: Streets by that name * South Street (Durham), England * South Street, Mayfair, England *South Street (Manhattan), United States *South Street (Perth, Western Australia) * South Street (Perth, Scotland) *South Street (Ph ...

Early life

Zagar received his Bachelor of Arts from the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Soon after, Zagar met his wife, Julia. After getting married, the Zagars volunteered for the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

and were sent to

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, where Isaiah became inspired by Peruvian folk art. After three years in Peru, the Zagars moved to

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

in 1968 where they opened the Eyes Gallery, a folk art shop on

. In December 1968, the Eyes Gallery was the site of Zagar's first mosaic; Zagar mosaiced it as a way to create a folk art environment for the art they were selling.

Works

Philadelphia's Magic Gardens Philadelphia's Magic Gardens is a non-profit organization, folk art environment, and gallery space on South Street (Philadelphia), South Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. To date, it is the largest work created by mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar ...

, Zagar's largest South Street mosaic work, is a three-dimensional, immersive piece of installation art and a museum gallery space. The mosaics are inlaid with poetry, quotes, names of artists who have inspired Zagar, and portraits and forms of people and animals. The gardens use a variety of materials, including bottles, bike wheels, and folk art. Zagar says of his personal creative inspirations,

In 1959, when I was 19 years old, I was introduced to the
folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...
environment of
Clarence Schmidt Clarence Schmidt (September 11, 1897 in Queens, New York – November 9, 1978 in Woodstock, New York) was an “outsider artist” and a pioneer of monumental environmental sculpture. His ongoing life's work, the “Miracle on the Mountain,� ...
, ''My Mirrored Hope,''
Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...
, USA. Soon after in 1961 there was a groundbreaking exhibition at
The Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, and includes over 200,000 works of arc ...
, in New York City called ''The Art of Assemblage''. Because that exhibition included assemblages of artists like
Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
,
Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (; 31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor of the School of Paris, École de Paris (School of Paris). His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" a ...
,
Kurt Schwitters Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters (20 June 1887 – 8 January 1948) was a German artist. He was born in Hanover, Germany, but lived in exile from 1937. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including Dadaism, Constructivism (a ...
,
Antonio Gaudi Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...
alongside of untrained brickaleurs Clarence Schmidt,
Simon Rodia The Watts Towers, Towers of Simon Rodia, or ''Nuestro Pueblo'' ("our town" in Spanish) are a collection of 17 interconnected sculptural towers, architectural structures, and individual sculptural features and mosaics within the site of the artis ...
and
Ferdinand Cheval Ferdinand Cheval (; 19 April 1836 – 19 August 1924), often nicknamed Facteur Cheval ("Mail Carrier Cheval") was a French mail carrier who spent 33 years building Le Palais idéal (the "Ideal Palace") in Hauterives, in southeastern France.
that gave me as a trained artist the rationale to include their concepts as manifestations of
fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...
. At a crucial time in my life, it allowed me to begin what could be called a life's work making the city of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
into a
labyrinthine In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
museum that incorporates all my varied knowledge and skills.

Zagar began the work that would become Philadelphia's Magic Gardens by cleaning up two vacant lots next to a property he purchased in 1994. After clearing the lots, setting up a chain-link fence, and mosaicing his own property, he began to mosaic the fence and other parts of the abandoned lots. In 2002, the owner of the lots demanded Zagar buy the property for $300,000 or he would have it demolished. Through fundraising, private donations, and a lot of community support, the property was able to be saved. A nonprofit organization, Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, was established to preserve and display the work. Painted Bride Art Center 230 Vine Street front from east

Painted Bride Art Center 230 Vine Street front from east

From 1991 to 2000, Zagar mosaiced the entire exterior of the

Painted Bride Art Center The Painted Bride Art Center, sometimes referred to informally as The Bride, is a non-profit artist-centered performance space and gallery particularly oriented to presenting the work of local Philadelphia artists, which presents dance, jazz, wo ...

on Vine Street between North 2nd and 3rd Streets in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, a work he entitled ''Skin of the Bride'', which he donated to the center. Zagar continues to create mosaic murals in Philadelphia, mainly around the South Street area. He has completed more than 200 of these murals since 1968. He hosts a weekend workshop during the last weekend of each month from April to October where participants can help him create a mural. Much of Zagar's work is completed free of charge or is commissioned by businesses or people in the area. A walking tour is available from Philadelphia's Magic Gardens that takes visitors to 20 of these mosaic murals.

Awards and honors

Pew Charitable Trust The Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO), founded in 1948. Pew's stated mission is to serve the public interest by "improving public policy, informing the public, and invigorating civic life". ...

Individual Artist Fellowship Grant of $50,000 for work in the interdisciplinary arts,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

1995. *

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

for sculpture,

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

1979. *Member of the

Philadelphia Dumpster Divers The Philadelphia Dumpster Divers are a group of Philadelphia-area based artists, collectors and friends who work largely with found objects and recycled materials. The group was originally founded by neon sign artist Len Davidson and photojournalis ...

Artists Association.

References

External links

Philadelphia's Magic GardensIn A Dream: A Film by Jeremiah Zagar
about Isaiah Zagar's life and work
Cinelan 3 minute video on Isaiah Zagar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zagar, Isaiah Artists from Philadelphia Pratt Institute alumni Living people 1939 births American mosaic artists Pew Fellows in the Arts South Street 21st-century American male artists

Early life

Works

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links