Tony Goldman, founder of Wynwood Walls, dead of heart failure at age 68

Tony Goldman was a developer and preservationist acclaimed for revitalizing neighborhoods in Miami and New York. Long after South Beach was considered past its prime, Goldman Properties turned the sleepy, moth-ridden strip into one of the most glamorous destinations in the United States. He has also been accredited with endeavors to salvage Center City Philadelphia and SOHO in New York. But what does the death and life of a great American businessman have anything to do with street art? Because Goldman’s interest in street art and graffiti late in his illustrative career has spawned some of the most prestigious and contentious mural projects in the world. One of Tony’s more recent rejuvenation projects is the Wynwood Walls compound: a museum of murals flanked by two upscale restaurants, cordoned off from the street and protected by security. This lush oasis or mausoleum, depending on your perspective, has been the beachhead for Wynwood’s transformation into an arts district fueled by the feverish energy of Art Basel Miami. In an interview with the New York Times, Tony explained that he felt Wynwood had “an urban grit that was ready to be discovered and articulated.”

This quote is perfectly representative of Street Art’s slow growth into a movement that manages to simultaneously encompass the smallest illegal act to the colossal legal wall. While the story of the avant-garde getting over and becoming the establishment is an old cycle that is endlessly vilified and reenacted, Wynwood Walls, the infamous Houston Street Wall and Goldman Properties’ recent collaboration with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program are distinctly American approaches to mural making and Street Art. Tony Goldman not only recognized the potential in neighborhoods otherwise disregarded as blighted, but realized the exciting promise that sanctioned walls had for his properties.

Via the Miami New Times

Photo by Wallyg

How and Nosm in Philly – finished mural

Photo by Steve Weinik

How and Nosm have finished their mural in Philadelphia, titled Personal Melody. The mural, by former graffiti writers and depicting falling bombs, is a bit of a change from what the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program usually commissions, but Tony Goldman’s Goldman Properties was also behind the project. Goldman Projects owns the Bowery and Houston mural site as well as the Wynwood Walls site in Miami.

Photo by Steve Weinik
Photo by Steve Weinik

 

Photo courtesy of How and Nosm

How and Nosm have more pics of the mural on their blog.

Photos courtesy of How and Nosm and by Steve Weinik

Nunca : The Wynwood Walls

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There are a lot of pictures out there of Nunca’s wall for the Deitch/Goldman Wynwood Walls Project during Art Basel Miami as it looked at the opening party, but not so many people saw the finished piece. Nunca continued to work on the characters, coloring and background details right up until late Sunday night, and, as you can see from the photo above, developed his mural from something really good into something spectacular. Take a closer look below:

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In case you missed what Aiko, Nina, Shepard, osgemeos, Barry McGee and Clare Rojas were working on around Nunca, check out more of my photos of The Wynwood Walls here, here and here.

– Elisa