Muralist Dave Loewenstein completed work on "The Illuminated City," on the north wall of the Majestic Theatre in Wayne. The scene celebrates aspects of the community and drive-in movie culture of the past.
"It's first, inspired by the location, The Majestic Theatre..." Loewenstein said. "It's really inspired by that kind of signage we used to see at drive-in movie theaters all around the country, some of which were right around here. My thought was to celebrate the culture, the history, the pride of the community, using these drive-in movie theatre marquees as the format for talking about other things."
The mural has symbols celebrating the area's landscapes, as well as businesses, Wayne's educational institutions and some local businesses. Within the work there are also constellations and something Loewenstein said he saw a lot of as we was working throughout the summer, fireflies.
"The idea is really to create some energy, excitement, vibrancy around this place, but also to uplift and celebrate the community as a whole," Loewenstein said.
The work got its name from Loewenstein's incorporation of different types of light.
"What I realized as the design came together was that my theme was, as much as it was about Wayne, it was about different forms of light whether it was light generated by electricity or light generated by stars or light generated by fireflies," Loewenstein said.
The City of Wayne commissioned the work and chose Loewenstein who began working in July. He said the final design grew out of several meetings, both with City officials and with community shareholders who were interested in bringing fresh art to the community of Wayne.
Loewenstein is from Lawrence, Kan. and is both a muralist and printmaker. He's worked on around 20 public works like that of Wayne's. More examples of his work can be found on his website, daveloewenstein.com/
