New London, CT: The Songs of Our City mural by artists Mark McKee and Qimin Liu. is located on the façade of the Caruso Building. Commissioned through Connecticut Office of the Arts, City Canvas Initiative, 2012, Image. https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/decd/arts_culture/ct_communities_012315.pdf
The Songs of Our City mural is 80ft long and celebrates New London’s rich immigrant cultural community and its musical history, from the jazz saxophonist and the classical cellist, to the Spanish guitar and the beats of the conga drums. – InkCT. New London Mural Project: A Walk to Remember by Nancy LaMar-Rodgers.
Image: From one of the preliminary concept paintings by Mark McKee and Qimin Liu
Excerpt from the original Songs of Our City proposal, 2012
New London’s art scene is not limited to its visual artists. The music scene in New London has always been a vibrant part of the city’s identity, and Caruso Music has been providing musicians with the tools of the trade for decades. Caruso Music takes up the corner of State and Eugene O’Neill Drive, which is why artists, Qimin Liu and Mark McKee felt it befitting to choose the Caruso wall to compose their Songs of Our City mural. “We knew that New London was known for its deep roots in the visual arts community, but we also knew how much music plays a part in this town. I had done a mural in Philadelphia that highlighted musicians and dancers, so I knew that I wanted to work on the mural that would show how important the music is to this city,” McKee and Liu explain.
Historically, the contemporary structure itself is largely unremarkable. However, its present occupant, Caruso’s Music, is among the oldest continuously operating businesses in the City of New London, having been established in New London CT in 1960 by John Caruso. Furthermore, Caruso’s Music has consistently played an integral role in the musical history of New London and local musicians, both student and professional, from the moment it opened its doors. The establishment has a colorful history and many now-famous musicians have frequented it for decades. The Caruso brothers have long supported the development and education of musical talent and the promotion of music as a vital form of artistic expression.
The mural itself is composed on the south façade of the building, a location with much foot and vehicular traffic and high visibility. It faces Eugene O’Neil Drive and is directly opposite another mural (“Whaling Wall”; completed in 1993 and repainted in 2007). The length of the
specified site totals 88 feet, although this length is not much more than half the entire length of that façade. Presently, the surface is painted a brick red to match the actual brick of the State Street building. This brick partially includes the south façade, though this is not the designated mural location. The mural incorporates the physical environment into its composition such that it utilizes much of the local brick red color within the overall composition. The project utitlized a figurative representational approach that integrates contemporary with traditional mural idioms. The result is a dynamic composition which assembles a striking series of images that nevertheless remain visually consistent and in harmony with the building itself, just as the subject of the mural is consistent with the building’s purpose, history and significance to the culture of the greater New London community.
Mark Gerard McKee 