New York University

New York University

The Office of Public Affairs

Monday, Apr 28, 2008

N-427, 2007-08

MEDIA ADVISORY

New York University wi Zora Neale Hurston,ll unveil “At Home with Their Books,” a mural by New York-based Mexican artist Elena Climent, at a ceremony on Thurs., May 1, 5-7 p.m. The mural, which will be on display for 24-hour, street-level viewing on E. 8th St. (at University Place), is part of NYU’s newly renovated, six-story Languages and Literature Building.

Reporters interested in attending the event must RSVP to James Devitt, NYU’s Office of Public Affairs, at 212.998.6808 or james.devitt@nyu.edu.

Climent is a distinguished painter in the realist tradition whose work has been seen in some of the principal museums and galleries in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. The mural, measuring 30 ft. wide by 10 ft. high and comprising six panels, is the artist’s largest work to date. It is read from left to right and depicts intimate scenes of the spaces in which famous writers from New York City composed their well-known novels, poems, or essays, presented in chronological order. The writers are Washington Irving, Edith Wharton, Zora Neale Hurston, Frank O’Hara, Jane Jacobs, and Pedro Pietri.

“I left the writer out of the scene to give the impression that she or he will be back at any moment and allow the viewer to imagine the possibility of walking into the room,” said Climent. “The mural also shows what has not changed and this is the continuing emergence of new writers and the love of writing.”

• WHAT: Unveiling of Mural by Artist Elena Climent
• WHEN: Thurs., May 1, 5-7 p.m.
• WHERE: NYU’s Languages and Literature Building, 19 University Place (at E. 8th St.)