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Tell Me What You See
©1997 Joshua Sarantitis and Chicago Public Art Group, 8'x500', acrylic and wood on cement.

This horizontal piece was painted with 12 high-school age youth in Chicago's north side. Commissioned by Gallery 37 and Chicago Public Art Group as part of a paid summer-youth art-internship program, the students designed and painted the mural in three months under the direction of Mr. Sarantitis.

The imagery depicts each of the participants' "digital portraits," which are flanked by more abstract self-portraits. A poem runs the length of the mural in the background. Written by a student in the group (a mother at age 13), it reads:

Look around you, tell me what you see. Do you see the earth's true beauty? All I see is harmony. When I walk around all I see is people crying and little kids dying. Why can't we have unity?