Presidential past

We recently had the opportunity to memorialize Kennedy Boulevard’s namesake president, the first sitting president to visit Tampa, on the Paradise Ventures Inc. property on the same boulevard that President Kennedy toured on his visit in 1963. 

For this project, we paired artistic representation of the era with its practical representation in architectural features and civic planning. We were inspired by the building’s 60’s modern style and Tampa’s history during that decade. The work offers residents and visitors a reminder of local history that people can encounter during their regular routes around the city.

In one mural, we drew inspiration from Robert Rauschenberg’s “Retroactive 1,” which features president Kennedy and other space-age imagery. Our work references Rauschenberg’s composition in color and style but features a titular reference to a front-page news story about Kennedy’s visit in the St. Petersburg Times. The mural recreates visual elements of Rauschenberg’s silkscreen style on a large scale amid the structural elements of the midcentury space.

A modern approach

The modernism and growth of the 1960’s offer a lens to display the historical and enduring importance of Tampa’s beloved icons like architectural features from downtown, sports teams, historic theatre, Gasparilla, and the reflection on the river at sunset. We captured the tones of this reflection in the second mural that displays these icons in a modern repeating circle motif.