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Isaiah Zagar

Isaiah Zagar
Isaiah Zagar crop.jpg
Isaiah Zagar in his Magic Gardens (2007)
Born 1939
Nationality American
Education Pratt Institute
Known for Sculpture, Ceramics, Mosaic
Notable work Philadelphia's Magic Gardens

Isaiah Zagar (born 1939) is a Philadelphia mosaic artist. He is notable for his murals which are primarily in or around Philadelphia's South Street.

Zagar received his Bachelor of Arts from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York City. Soon after, Zagar met his wife, Julia. After getting married, the Zagars traveled to Peru to volunteer through the Peace Corps. Zagar was very inspired by Peruvian folk art during this time. After three years in Peru, the Zagars moved to South Philadelphia in 1968 where they opened the Eyes Gallery, a folk art shop on South Street. In December 1968, the Eyes Gallery was the site of Zagar's first mosaic; Zagar mosaiced it as a way to create a folk art environment for the art they were selling.

Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, Zagar's largest South Street mosaic work, is both a three dimensional, immersive piece of installation art and a museum gallery space. The mosaics are inlaid with poetry, quotes, names of artists who have inspired Zagar, as well as portraits and forms of people and animals. The gardens utilize a variety of materials, including bottles, bike wheels and folk art. Zagar says of his personal creative inspirations,

In 1959 when I was 19 years old I was introduced to the folk art environment of Clarence Schmidt, My Mirrored Hope, , USA. Soon after in 1961 there was a groundbreaking exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, in New York City called The Art of Assemblage. Because that exhibition included assemblages of artists like Pablo Picasso, Jean Dubuffet, Kurt Schwitters, Antonio Gaudi alongside of untrained brickaleurs Clarence Schmidt, Simon Rodia and Joseph Ferdinand Cheval that gave me as a trained artist the rationale to include their concepts as manifestations of fine art. At a crucial time in my life it allowed me to begin what could be called a life's work making the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania into a labyrinthine mosaic museum that incorporates all my varied knowledge and skills.


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