The mural near the Busway is ‘so much more than art’
There’s a new resident in Wilkinsburg.
Meet “Flyboy.”
Flyboy sits taller than any human and can be seen for blocks.
He’s got certain powers no human would ever have. After all, he’s a superhero.
Flyboy is the name of the character that was illustrated on a building at the corner of Wallace Avenue and Pitt Street in Wilkinsburg, near the Busway. The mural was created by Hebru Brantley, an internationally-known African American artist from Chicago.
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presented Brantley’s gallery show, “I wish I knew (how it felt to be free)” at the August Wilson Center last year. The Trust brought Brantley back to the area this year to do the mural. The mural is a project of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.
“Yesterday, there was a moment where there was an African American kid walking along the street,” Brantley told the crowd at the April 28 unveiling. “He stopped at the wall, and I was standing across the street watching his interaction. I didn’t engage him, but you saw in that moment where he connected with this wall, and whatever that message was for him, it was impactful. He slowly walked down the block taking apart the piece and really engaging with it. More than anything, that’s really my intended purpose.”
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