SIX-STORY MURAL RISES ON HAMILTON STREET
Matt Halm paints large. His surface is more often brick and mortar than canvas, and his work is measured not in inches but footage.
Halm is a muralist who paints walls (inside and out), the sides of buildings and just about anything else that requires design writ large.
The Allentown native is finishing a a mural measuring roughly 20 by 90 feet. His canvas is the painted cement of a glass-enclosed stairwell facing Hamilton Street in Allentown. What he has designed is playful, historic and way cool.
The stairwell is part of the 520 Lofts at 520 Hamilton St., on land once occupied by Crocodile Rock nightclub. Built by City Center, it’s a six-story structure with 68 loft apartments and retail/office space with a design the Center City website says was “inspired by the grand inns and gathering places that once lined the busy streets of Downtown Allentown.”
It is designed to appeal to creative-types who want to enjoy a downtown lifestyle as well as a “work space for artists.” It’s City Center’s first residential project on Hamilton.
Halm’s mural is meant to emphasize that artistic vibe, as well as the history of the building and the city.
“The mural has been planned from the beginning of the project,” says Jane Heft, City Center design director, and a member of the Allentown Arts Commission. “The stairwell was purposely placed forward on Hamilton with floor-to-ceiling glass, so the mural would be viewable from Hamilton Street, with the bonus of being lit 24/7 by the emergency stairwell lights.
“We asked Matt to incorporate elements of the traditional and fashionable history of Allentown, and the raw innovative music history of the Croc Rock, which once stood in 520’s place.” Heft says the idea was
“to create a fantastic piece of old rock poster style art you could experience … as you traveled up or down the stairwell.”
Halm’s imagery is striking and rendered in what he calls “a collage-poster style.” It is realistic with a strong pop sensibility of bold color, iconic imagery and compelling forms. He uses graphic lines and color and incorporates collage, photographically derived elements and a comic book feel.
For inspiration, City Center looked into the city’s past with a nod to the historic hotels of Allentown, particularly the Hotel Allen, which stood on the northeast corner of Center Square at Seventh and Hamilton streets. Halm incorporated a famous photo of Teddy Roosevelt waving to a crowd as he leans out of a window of the hotel while on a speaking tour in 1914.
Halm’s playfulness is found in the face of his girlfriend subtly placed on the first-floor landing. An homage to Croc Rock is on the second-floor landing. There, the giant jaws of crocodile are about to snap on a tower of TVs that morph into a fish on a hook. Halm also places little “Easter eggs,” or add-ons, where he can, such as a bird perched on a branch that extends from a hand rail on the second-floor landing.
The third floor pictures the crowd at a concert and that quickly blends into a sci-fi landscape of moon craters and stage-diving characters wearing space helmets.
The fourth floor features two life-size bears rendered in a paint-by-numbers style in collaboration with students at the Baum School of Art and Central Elementary School in Allentown. The bears were painted at the schools on something called parachute cloth, a thin canvas with an adhesive back, then glued to the stairwell wall.
Residents of the building — which is actually still under construction — also contributed to the work on a special paint day.
Halm says he will complete all eight sections of the stairwell by the end of the year.
Halm attended Allen High School and earned his BFA from Syracuse University. His first mural project was in 2004 as an assistant. “I didn’t know what I was in for,” he says. “I thought, ‘If I can paint a picture, I can paint a mural.’ Well, I found out that’s not true.”
Halm soon learned about the the technical and logistical requirements of a mural. Creators have to consider issues of the surface and permanence.
Halm completed his first solo mural in Allentown in 2009 for a commercial space at Fifth and Gordon streets. The mural is no longer there, but since then Halm has done projects for commercial and community clients, including neighborhood revitalization projects. He also has done many artist in residencies, most recently with students in the Allentown School District.
Halm says he has completed more than 20 murals in the last decade.
“Usually I do it myself,” he says of his projects, “but I do occasionally use one or two helpers.”
For the 520 Lofts space, Halm met with community groups, such as the nearby Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Center to gather ideas. He then created preliminary sketches.
“The mural is a symbol of the raw talent and creativity that has grown in this city,” Heft says. “We believe in supporting our local artists and enhancing the community fabric in all of our development endeavors. Matt Halm is a fabulous local artist. He was selected for his artistry, his particular painting style and his commitment to our community.”
She says City Center plans a mural dedication in early spring.