Inspiration Spotlight: Artists Use Print to Raise Awareness of Disappearing Mom-and-Pop Shops

New York City-based architectural and interior photographers James and Karla Murray used wide-format printed images of storefronts to adorn a wood-frame sculpture to help raise awareness of the plight of family-owned businesses in a campaign called “Mom-and-Pops of the L.E.S.”

James and Karla Murray — a married team of architectural and interior photographers based in New York City — have been on a mission for two-plus decades to document and preserve images of “mom-and-pop” storefronts scattered throughout the city’s boroughs that not only have fulfilled residents’ retail needs, but created a sense of community through their daily interactions.

From bodegas to newsstands, delis and luncheonettes, this couple has recorded the closures of many of these family-owned businesses due to financially crippling rent increases.

To help raise awareness about their plight, the Murrays created “Mom-and-Pops of the L.E.S.,” a large-scale wood-frame sculptural installation designed to resemble a store. Each of the installation’s four walls is covered with a lifelike 8x12-ft. photograph of a neighborhood storefront from Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Three of these businesses have closed.

The pop-up installation, which was printed and installed by Unique Visuals NY, was placed in New York’s Seward Park in June of 2018.

“When viewing the near life-size photographs, one can get a visceral sense of the impact of the losses of these businesses on the community and on those who once depended on the shops that are now gone,” said the Murrays in an artist’s statement describing this mixed media piece. “The installation is an artistic intervention and plea for recognition of the unique and irreplaceable contribution made to New York by small, often family-owned businesses. These neighborhood stores help set the pulse, life, and texture of their communities.”

Installed in the city’s Seward Park in June of 2018, this public art installation features large-scale storefront images printed on vinyl and laminated to durable, weather-resistant 3mm DIBOND aluminum composite material.
“It was awesome to print large photos of these mom-and-pops for installation in Seward Park and to get our message out to the fabric of the community,” said Karla Murray. “When you come up from the subway, you can see this piece right away. We wanted to print the photos so big that people couldn’t ignore it.”

The Murrays built the installation’s wooden framework and turned to Unique Visuals NY — specialists in indoor and outdoor signage and custom graphics — for image printing, fabrication, and installation. Unique Visuals NY used an Epson SureColor S60600 eco-solvent large-format printer to digitally print the storefront images. The printed vinyl was covered with an Avery Dennison anti-graffiti over-laminating film to offer additional protection.

The large-scale storefront images were printed on vinyl and laminated to durable weather-resistant 3mm DIBOND aluminum composite material. The 8x12-ft. photographs were then installed on a wood-frame.

“When James and Karla came to us with this project, we asked a lot of questions especially when we learned they were building framework,” said Fernando Luciano, executive VP/founding partner, Unique Visuals NY. “We had a couple of concerns about weight and durability in a public park, so we narrowed down our list of possible substrates. When we added everything up, DIBOND was lighter than some other materials but offered a lot of durability.”

“We’ve gotten really positive responses from neighborhood residents in raising awareness about mom-and-pop stores,” said Karla Murray. “They got it and they love it. The piece adds life to this corner of the park and beautifies the park. We couldn’t be happier with it.”

The Murrays have photographed the sculptural installation through the seasons and are pleased with how well it has withstood changing weather conditions. “We would love to do another public art installation and would definitely use the DIBOND material again,” said Karla Murray. “We’ve seen how beautiful this piece looks and how really well it’s held up.”

The “Mom-and-Pops of the L.E.S.” public artwork was installed in Seward Park From June 2018 through June 2019. The Murrays hope to find a new home for the piece where it can be displayed intact following its removal from the park.