Philadelphia's Magic Gardens

Maggie and me with our tour guide 

Our visit to Philadelphia's Magic Gardens was by far the most unique art experience Maggie and I had during our recent trip to the City of Brotherly Love. Imagine walking into a 3,000 square foot space with mosaics everywhere you look. I am not exaggerating. Artist Isaiah Zagar mosaicked nearly every square inch of his art studio, inside and out. And he didn't stop there. He also created a fully mosaicked bi-level sculpture garden. The result is an interesting -- if somewhat overwhelming -- art environment.

Zagar didn't set out to create a tourist destination. He just wanted to make art, but he was running out of studio space. He had noticed a nearby lot that was clearly not being used given the amount of trash littering the site. He built a fence to secure the property (despite not owning it) and, as the website says, "spent the next 14 years excavating tunnels and grottos, sculpting multi-layered walls, and tiling and grouting the...space." Once he got started with his endeavor, his neighbors participated in the project (if you consider throwing objects they no longer wanted over the wall for him to use in his creation "participating"). 

Eight years later, the existence of what would become the Magic Gardens was threatened when the owner decided to sell the property. Zagar couldn't afford the $300,000 purchase price and resigned himself to leaving his art behind and moving on. After all, isn't the joy in the making? The community had become attached to Zagar's work, though, and rallied behind the artist to save what he had created. The Philadelphia Magic Gardens was incorporated as a non-profit, and the funds were raised to preserve this unique space. 

You might wonder how Zagar started creating mosaics. It turns out that the art form that became his passion began as a type of therapy. At just 29 years old, the young artist attempted to commit suicide. During his subsequent hospitalization, he was diagnosed as suffering from bipolar disorder and depression. 

When Zagar arrived back home, his wife Julia knew something had to change. She also knew he needed to keep making art. She looked around their house and noted that the walls were empty. She suggested he might want to try his hands at mosaics. He took to it like a fish to water.

Being an artist, Zagar didn't head over to Home Depot to buy the tiles he used in his art. He made most of them himself, painting and firing the ceramics only to break them into pieces. Sometimes he painted figures into his work, most often of himself or Julia. A careful observer can also find names and quotes in his work. "Julia" of course appears many times. But you might also come upon full sentences such as "art is the center of the real world" and "remember walking around in a work of fiction." (While I didn't see the latter expression, it is quite perfect.) 

Zagar's art sometimes incorporates found objects, like the bottles you can see in this photo. Most of the objects were made by the artist, though. I especially liked my new friend in the little alcove who seems to reference the couple's time in Mexico. And if you look carefully, you can see a small figure in the top left of this photo. Wth his arms outstretched to viewers, he appears to be saying, "So, what do you think?" 

In addition to the Magic Gardens, Zagar created more than 250 mosaic murals over his lifetime, most of which can be found in Philadelphia. He also turned five other spaces, including the couple's home, into art environments. Passionate about his work to the end, Zagar continued to create mosaics until just three days before his death this past February. He was 86 years old. That is someone with a true creative spirit. For more about Zagar and his Magic Gardens, click here.

With that, my musings about Maggie's and my trip to Philadelphia are done. Whew! We packed a lot of art into our time there. Maybe on my next visit I'll check out some history. Hmm. Probably not. Art is so much more fun.