Art Fills the Void
| Art Fills the Void | |
|---|---|
_-_077.jpg) The mural in 2021 | |
 | |
| Artist | Gorilla Wallflare |
| Year | 1982 |
| Dimensions | 7.6 m (25 ft) |
| Location | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| 45°30′19″N 122°39′14″W / 45.50528°N 122.65389°W | |
Art Fills the Void, often referred to as the "banana mural", is a 1982 public artwork by Gorilla Wallflare in Portland, Oregon, United States.[1] The mural is maintained by the Portland Street Art Alliance.
Description
[edit]Art Fills the Void is a mural of a banana by the art crew Gorilla Wallflare (or Guerilla Wall Fair),[2] located at the intersection of 12th and Division Street in southeast Portland's Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood.[3] It also has the text "Art fills the void!"[4] Marie Claire has described the work as a "Velvet Underground/art fills the void tribute".[5] It is approximately 25 feet wide.[3]
History
[edit]The work was created in 1982. It considered the city's second oldest street mural. After Gorilla Wallflare disbanded, the mural was maintained by property owners and community members from 1982 to 2015. The Portland Street Art Alliance (PSAA) has maintained the work since c. 2015. It costs approximately $1,000 per year to maintain, according to PSAA.[3][6]
The mural was vandalized in November 2024. PSAA launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the restoration and was successful in surpassing a goal of $1,000.[3]
The work is the only surviving mural by Gorilla Wallflare.[4]
Reception
[edit]Marta Yousif included the work in the Portland State Vanguard's 2019 list of the ten "most Instagrammable" murals in Portland.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Portland Street Art Alliance Works to Keep Southeast Mural "Art Fills the Void" Out of the Compost Bin of History". Willamette Week. 2025-03-05. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
- ^ "As Portland invests more in graffiti cleanup, advocates offer other solutions". opb. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
- ^ a b c d "The Banana Mural on Southeast Division Bruised by Vandals". Willamette Week. 2024-11-21. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
- ^ a b Conklin, Tiffany Renée. "Street Art, Ideology, and Public Space" (PDF). PDX Scholar. Portland State University.
- ^ Studarus, Laura (2021-11-12). "Portland, Oregon Has It All: City, Nature, Food, and Art". Marie Claire. Archived from the original on 2024-11-03. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
- ^ "Nonprofit seeking donations to preserve longtime Portland banana mural". kgw.com. 2024-11-21. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
- ^ Yousif, Marta (2019-06-18). "Top 10 Most Instagrammable Murals in Portland". Portland State Vanguard. Archived from the original on 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
External links
[edit]
- Art Fills the Void, Portland Street Art Alliance
