Did the Alexander's mural relocation in Paramus do it justice? - Ervolino

Is it OK for artwork to be tampered with, without the artist’s permission?

What if the artist is deceased?

What if the artwork was sitting in a warehouse for 30 years?

What if, in one man’s opinion — yeah, mine — the art now looks 100 times better than it did before?

Of course, I’m talking about the ginormous, world-famous and ultimately infamous mural that once graced the exterior of the Alexander's store in Paramus — the very same mural that was recently reconfigured on the grounds (and inside) of the new Valley Hospital campus, also in Paramus.

I can still remember my reaction to seeing the original piece in 1990, when I first moved to New Jersey: “What the hell is THAT?”

I then realized that it was on the outside of YOUR Alexander's store.

This is not to be confused with MY Alexander's store, also long gone, in Valley Stream, New York.

My mother worked in that Alexander's for years, in Young Misses, which was eventually rechristened the Feelin’ Groovy department.

When I was in high school, I worked there, too, in the relatively un-groovy boys' department.

Like everyone else in my area, I watched the building go up, brick by brick. The store had a heliport on the roof. No windows. And some odd-looking abstract artwork, squares mostly, which ran around the perimeter of the building.

According to the village of Valley Stream website, the creator of these provocative images was Polish-born Stefan Knapp, a painter and sculptor who, according to Wikipedia, “had developed and patented a technique of painting with enamel paint on steel.”

His pieces were colorful, cartoonish and kinda cool looking. (In retrospect, one looked like a giant COVID illustration. Another one reminded me of a hula dancer.)

When customers asked, “What the hell are those things?” I generally smiled and replied, “Art.”

I’d clearly grown to love them.

Knapp had created the Paramus mural years earlier. As Wikipedia notes, “The 280-panel mural was sized at 200x50 feet (about 60x15 meters), and at the time of creation in 1963 was the largest mural in the world.”

I didn’t love that one.

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I do think Valley did a great job of reconfiguring some of the panels on towers outside the new hospital. I think they’re stunning. So do a lot of other people.

But not everyone.

Two North Jersey residents were furious, telling me last week on social media that the mural was supposed to be a map of the world.

(Really? I always thought it was a red boot kicking a cat into an owl.)

Evelyn McHugh of Fair Lawn also disapproved.

“A work of art is a whole,” McHugh said. “Alexander Calder created mobiles out of individual pieces. To display one piece, alone, would not show what he was trying to express as an artist. Taking Knapps's image of the world in his mural, and using it in pieces as done in this case, is rejecting his vision and his art.”

When I posted about the mural last week on Facebook, two other respondents compared the work’s reconfiguration to altering sections of the Mona Lisa.

(I’m not sure I could compare the two with a straight face. But I get the point.)

The Italian website ARTEnet.it is rather clear on the matter, writing that alteration of a piece of art “because the subject is considered unpleasant or poorly conformable” is “the most subtle and dangerous type [of artistic counterfeiting].”

OK! But are there exceptions?

The panels, which could conceivably be re-reconfigured at some point, were in storage for 30 years. No one seemed able to find a new home for them.

Eric Scott, a union carpenter from Clifton who worked on the installation for the Union-based Edward Leske contracting company, said it took over a year to restore the panels “so they wouldn’t further deteriorate. Five of us worked on the installation. I think we were supposed to install four panels originally, but the hospital decided to expand the scope of the project.”

Scott said he wasn’t sure how the installation was going to turn out. “I grew up with this mural,” he said. “It was a landmark. A local icon. But when you see it now, you won’t believe it. It looks phenomenal.”

Art is subjective, of course. I appreciate that. I also appreciate that this work has gotten a new lease on life — like certain classic musicals that have come back to Broadway recently (“Grease,” “Showboat” and others) with significant alterations.

Sadly, we have no idea what Knapp might have thought about his altered work. He died in 1996.

One thing I do know: This story has me wondering what happened to the Knapp panels at MY demolished Alexander's.

Do they still exist? And if so, where are they?

“Hi! Are you the lawyer for the defunct Alexander's stores? This is ace reporter Bill Ervolino…”

“From the boys' department?”

“Yes!”

All leads welcome.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Alexander's mural in Paramus NJ receives varied comments