Park City Public Art Board's Favorite Local Pieces // China Bridge Parking Structure Mural

Each month we’ve been featuring a Park City Public Art Board Member’s favorite local art piece, and this month we heard from Kathy Kahn. Her favorite Park City public art piece is the mural in the China Bridge Parking Structure by Emily Herr. See what she has to say about the piece here, and then head over to the China Bridge Parking Structure to experience it for yourself.

It's a beautiful fall day, 2018, when I show up in the early morning at the China Bridge Parking Structure to join Emily Herr, the visiting artist, and numerous other Park City art lovers, to paint the first of four murals in the parking garage. Emily and her assistant have already been working to provide buckets and trays of cool-color paints, along with brushes and rollers for the community to use. Our theme for this large north wall is “Winter”. The chilly mornings are already getting us stoked for the upcoming ski season, so our imagination abounds with snowy landscapes.

After some “winter word association” brainstorming facilitated by Emily, the volunteers are quickly covering the concrete with images of the upcoming season. Our joy and enthusiasm are equal to Emily's.  She will use our inspiration to transform this wall into a work of art. 

One of the primary reasons I love the China Bridge art is because the community was able to paint each wall and then Emily made each wall into seasonal murals, which add beauty and vibrancy to an otherwise mundane space.

Unlike my hometown of San Diego, Park City has four very distinctive seasons. I love how the seasons define our lives here.  These murals remind me of the different moods and landscapes that surround us, depending upon the time of year.

Noteworthy to this public art is the informational “key”, which acts as signage to each mural.  The artist delineates all the names and shapes of the native wildflowers she has incorporated into the art.  These flowers adorn the foreground, while the background consists of the silhouette image of the mountains we see from Old Town.  Emily used photos of our mountains touching the skyline to replicate their silhouette within each mural. Her dedication to making this art meaningful to its location is extraordinary.

There is so much to love about these murals.  See for yourself. Spend a little extra time at China Bridge to appreciate our community, our commitment to public art, our seasons, our flora and the mountains we call home.