A new public art installation celebrating America’s 250th anniversary now has a permanent home in downtown Murfreesboro.
The USA 250 Mural Mosaic, titled “The Patriot’s Flag,” was unveiled July 3 and attached to the side of Shacklett’s Photography, 105 S. Church St. The majestic eagle now overlooks the green space just across from the Rutherford County Historic Courthouse on the Murfreesboro Public Square, near the corner of Main and Church streets.
The 8-by-16-foot outdoor mural is made up of 650 individually hand-painted tiles created by residents from across Rutherford County. A team of volunteers that included children, veterans, seniors, families and civic organizations each painted a small portion of the artwork, with every tile becoming a part of the finished American flag mosaic.
Rather than being painted by a single artist, the project was created using a collaborative Mural Mosaic system designed specifically for community art projects. Participants receive individual painting kits with preselected color palettes and instructions, while professional artists create the remaining tiles and provide the layout that transforms hundreds of unique paintings into one cohesive image.
An individual tile may contain a portrait, symbol, flower, acorn, guitar, horse, T-rex, butterfly, a piece of pie, snowman or even a Chick-fil-A logo, but when viewed as a whole, the presentation displays the face of a bald eagle against a red, white and blue background.
Similar America 250 mural projects are being created and installed in communities across the United States as part of the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration.
The Murfreesboro mural serves as both a public artwork and a lasting community keepsake, with hundreds of local residents contributing their own creative brushstrokes to commemorate the nation’s 250th birthday.
Photos by Bracken Mayo
