Michael Borders
.jpg)
Michael Borders (born 1946) is an African American artist from Hartford, Connecticut, who is noted for his murals. Borders received a Bachelor's Degree from Fisk University and a Masters in Fine Art from Howard University. He studied under David Driskell and did a summer residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine.[1] Borders has said that large-scale murals are the most effective way for him to convey important messages to many people.[2]
One of Borders' most prominent works is an 8-panel mural titled Panorama of Connecticut Industry, which depicts the interplay of natural, human, and manufacturing history of Connecticut from the 1600s through modern times. Each panel in the mural represents a different Connecticut county, showcasing that county's particular industrial specialization and historic figures. Borders has said that the mural was inspired by his world travels in the mid-1970s, which helped him to see Connecticut's marketplace in a new way. He has described the work as "a documentary mural."[3] Although each panel is 10 feet high and 5 feet wide, it is portable and has been displayed in various locations throughout Connecticut. It is designed to be configured in multiple ways -- as individual panels, as one flat contiguous 40-foot wide image, or in an octagon shape that people can walk all the way around.[4][5]
Borders' mural titled The Genesis of the Capital City was installed on a building on Trumbull Street in Hartford in 1973, but only lasted there for a few years; the mural was destroyed when the building was demolished in 1978. The 68 foot tall by 110 foot wide mural showed the gold dome of the state capital building being lifted into the sky by three brown hands, with well-known Hartford landmarks (the Colt Armory dome and the Travelers tower) and a natural landscape in the background.[6][7] Approximately 10 years after The Genesis of the Capital City was destroyed, the Connecticut legislature passed an Act Concerning Art Preservation and Artists' Rights. For works of art valued at $2,500 or more, the law preserves the right of the artist to intervene to prevent the destruction or defacement of their artwork, even if the artist no longer owns it.[8][9]
Another of Borders' Hartford murals, Children, was completed in the late 1990s with help from children attending a summer art camp in the city. As of 2025, that 15 foot tall by 85 foot wide mural is still visible on the eastern wall of a building located at the intersection of Main Street and Albany Avenue.[10][11]
References
[edit]- ^ Neurock Schriner, Aryn G. "David C. Driskell's Students". THE driskell CENTER. The David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ Libov, Charlotte (December 28, 1986). "MURALS: A HUGE ART FORM THAT IS REGAINING WIDE FAVOR". New York Times. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
First, I can reach a lot of people at once... And second, I can design the images, to move people with greater intensity than through a salon painting. This is not to say the same image wouldn't have the same impact, but I'm most confident saying things on this scale.
- ^ "Mural captures state's unique industrial history". Hartford Business Journal. June 10, 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ Gordon, Jane (February 8, 2004). "OUR INDUSTRIAL PAST, WRIT LARGE; CONNECTICUT CREATOR MICHAEL BORDERS". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ Dunne, Susan (November 14, 2013). "MURALS BUILD CASE FOR STATE'S MANUFACTURING". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ Gordon, Jane (February 8, 2004). "OUR INDUSTRIAL PAST, WRIT LARGE; CONNECTICUT CREATOR MICHAEL BORDERS". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ Faude, Wilson H. (1995). Images of America - Hartford Volume II. Arcadia. ISBN 9780738535371. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ Libov, Charlotte (October 2, 1988). "Law Protects Art from Owners". New York Times. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ "CHAPTER 737c, ART PRESERVATION AND ARTISTS' RIGHTS". Connecticut General Statutes. Connecticut General Assembly. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ DeJesus, Rosalinda (August 3, 1998). "WHAT THE MURAL IS SPEAKING TO IS CHILDREN AND CREATIVITY -- MICHAEL BORDERS CELEBRATING THE PROMISE OF KIDS". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ Gordon, Jane (February 8, 2004). "OUR INDUSTRIAL PAST, WRIT LARGE; CONNECTICUT CREATOR MICHAEL BORDERS". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved 5 May 2025.