Original Sin on West 57th Street

 Painting outside of the American Fine Art Society at 215 W 57th Street.

I first passed the American Fine Arts Society when I was working on a project for my photography class about art in New York City.  Most people went to art museums to photograph new collections, but I chose to focus on street art and as I was walking by, I couldn’t help but notice the large paintings that covered the scaffolding outside of the building.

Each painting is different, with a different style: some use lots of color, some are abstract, etc.  However, with this project in the back of my mind, the one that caught my eye was the simplest painting with the least color.  In it is an angel floating in the sky, and beneath three naked women, each holding an apple; beneath the women is a man, crouching with his arm over his head.  At first, I wondered if the painting was finished as only the women were in color, and the angel seems to be painted in much less detail.

Even as a non-religious person, I immediately recognized this as some sort of representation of Adam and Eve from the apples that the women are holding, but all other meaning was lost to me.  Did the image represent some kind of hierarchy, as the angel is placed above the women and the man under them?  From what I do know about Catholicism, is it both very hierarchical and patriarchal, but then why are women above the man?  Is that the angel Gabriel?  The face is feminine but there are no breasts.  Why are the women so calm while the man is seems to be scared, and what is he holding?  The angel holds his arm out, but it does not seem to be in the way I remember the angel looking as Adam and Eve were banished.  Rather, his arm is extended gently, and he is holding some sort of wreath.

This reminded me a lot of the exercise we did in class when reading The Long Loneliness, comparing and contrasting the images of the same Saint.  We looked at the image from stained glass in a church, and then an image from The Catholic Worker, and we noticed huge differences.  The Catholic Worker depicted the saint as an everyday woman, while the stained glass showed a woman who appeared to be above others, and we agreed the Catholic Worker image promoted the idea that anyone can be a Saint—you don’t have to be special.  It reminded me that all art is subjective, and can be affected by everything from what it is drawn with to what it is drawn on.  The two images have different meanings not just because of the style, but because one of them was in a church, while the other was published in a newspaper.

One of the most interesting things about this mural to me was that it is not really a “proper” painting, but it’s not really street art either.  It was painted by art students, but it is temporary.  It will come down when the scaffolding comes down, and it has already seen some damage from the elements.  Also, it is placed directly across from the panel with a comic drawn onto it. It is outside of the American Fine Art Society, which gives it a sense of importance, but does not necessarily make it sacred.

I presented a lot of questions and not a lot of answers, but that is what I like most about this painting: it is subjective and everyone will have a different opinion based on their beliefs.  The fact that it is not sacred, in my opinion, leaves room for more interpretation.   As someone with very little education about the religion, I see the piece as representing the fall of man.  It really struck me that the women are the only ones in color, highlighting their importance.  However, I’m unsure of whether that is a good or a bad thing.