Words to Live and Bike By - Dream

Artist: Ben Pawlowski

“As soon as I heard about the ‘Words to Live and Bike By’ project, I was immediately interested as someone whose life would have been unfathomably different if not for the bicycle and also as someone who likes to make big pieces of Art,” Pawlowski reflects. “As I considered each word, I knew I wanted to work with a word that would give me an opportunity to do something unique and within my sensibilities.
“When I considered the word ‘dream’ I immediately thought about the surreal nature of dreams, which then got me thinking about surreal art. And as I was thinking about incorporating different surreal concepts into the design, I remembered the series of paintings by Rene Magritte entitled “Empire of Light” where he captures rows of houses that are lit like it is nighttime, even though it is clearly daytime around them. So I decided to would parody this concept but incorporate some Marquette architecture and use the letters of the words as this sort of point of dividing the two realities. I often think of Marquette itself as being pretty surreal in the way that the landscape completely changes depending on what time of year it is. It’s like living in two places at once.”

The Words to Live and Bike By project involves the painting of five text-inspired, site-specific murals on the surface of the Holly Greer Bike Path in Marquette. Applicants were asked to submit design proposals that reflect a unique and imaginative interpretation of each word and their accompanying locale. This project was brought to life by the City of Marquette Public Art Commission.