A Tale of Two Whales

Technically, there are more than two whales in this story.

More precisely, there are two whale-themed murals, one a familiar and popular sight for motorists overlooking the Southeast Expressway, the other a brand-new homage adorning two sides of the same building, the Planet Self Storage location at 33 Traveler Street. Painter Ron Deziel's "Killer Whales Mural", which has graced the I-93-facing side of Planet Self Storage since the late 1990s, is now mostly obscured by one of the Ink Block residential towers, although it can still be seen as one is approaching from the north on 1-93. However, Deziel's frolicking killer whales have been joined on the building by a colorful, new street-level mural by painter Tyson Andree. Andree's work, commissioned by Ink Block builder, National Development, is a more abstract seascape incorporating the whale theme.

Andree's new mural is inspired by his 2014 painting, "The Sole Controller", which hangs in the Ink Block lobby. Harrison Avenue's Adelson Gallery, which works with Andree, helped arrange the commission with National Development. In a written statement, National Development managing partner Ted Tye commented, "While this area of the South End is undergoing massive change, the talent and creativity exhibited in this mural at its core is what has defined this neighborhood for centuries. Art is integrated into the design of Ink Block on every level. We are honored to be able to support the work of an artist like Tyson, as we share a passion for this creative neighborhood, which attracted us to invest here in the first place."

Former graffiti artist Andree sees his mural, which wraps around to the back of 33 Traveler Street, as a nod to both the Deziel whales and the street art seen all over the South End during his youth in the 1980s and 1990s. The mural bears both the usual artist tag, which appears on the back of the building, and an Ink Block tag just above the mural on Traveler Street. A Brookline native who studied psychology at Lewis and Clark College and graphic design at Rhode Island School of Design, Andree is proud and passionate of his history in graffiti, which got him into some early scrapes with the law. "The legal definition of graffiti is 'malicious destruction of property', but I don't think there is anything malicious about it. I like to paint outside. On a beautiful day like today, I like to set up an easel in a public park," he said in an interview.

Andree's previous mural was painted on the side of a building across the street from the Adelson Gallery in 2014. "The people in the neighborhood wanted to know if I had permission," he recalled. Some neighbors cast a skeptical eye on the mural until they found out that Andree was associated with Adelson Gallery. "There were a lot of scrutinizing eyes, and as the painting went I started hearing, 'It looks so good! Thank you so much!'' Andree said.

Now working as a graphic designer as well as a painter, Andree enjoyed the approximately two weeks he spent creating the Ink Block whale mural. "I painted it over the past couple of weeks every day. The weather has been great and it's been nice being out in the sun and in the neighborhood. People stopped by all the time to watch and say, 'Nice work'," the artist said.

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