Source: http://​www​.flickr​.com/​p​h​o​t​o​s​/​s​i​x​t​e​e​n​-​m​i​l​e​s​/​s​e​t​s​/​7​2​1​5​7​6​2​3​8​4​2​8​4​8​5​34/

Way back in 2007, before the finan­cial cri­sis, Goldman Sachs’s com­mis­sioned Ethiopian born artist Julie Mehretu to con­struct a 23′ by 80′ mural in their new steel and plate glass build­ing in lower Manhattan. The now-complete mural has come under a lot of recent con­tro­versy, the obvi­ous being the $5 mil­lion dol­lar com­mis­sion from Goldman Sachs, who played a large role in the crash of 2008. The mural is also sup­posed to be an abstract rep­re­sen­ta­tion of the his­tory and devel­op­ment of cap­i­tal­ism, but Mehretu refuses to actu­ally com­ment on the cur­rent eco­nomic envi­ron­ment or Goldman Sachs’s par­tic­i­pa­tion in the down­turn of the world­wide econ­omy other than: “I don’t see it as an evil insti­tu­tion, but as part of the larger sys­tem that we all par­tic­i­pate in. We’re all a part of it.” Another point of con­tro­versy is the lack of public-ness of this pub­lic art. The wall used for the mural faces plate glass win­dows, but with struc­tural and nat­ural obstruc­tions, as well as glare and reflec­tion, it is hard to actu­ally see the mural.

Source: http://​www​.flickr​.com/​p​h​o​t​o​s​/​s​i​x​t​e​e​n​-​m​i​l​e​s​/​s​e​t​s​/​7​2​1​5​7​6​2​3​8​4​2​8​4​8​5​34/

I per­son­ally have never been a huge fan of abstract art, and in this case I don’t feel much of a con­nec­tion between the growth of cap­i­tal­ism and these bright shapes and col­ors, though I can appre­ci­ate the work and detail that go into such a mas­sive piece of art. I feel like the actual mean­ing of this work is more shared between the artist and Goldman Sachs and holds less value to the public.

To learn more about the artist and her process check out The New Yorker’s pro­file on Mehretu.