A mural a Lakeland artist created to divert people from technology has become the focus – literally – of hundreds of people and their cellphones. Aaron Corbitt’s painting of angel wings on an alley wall in Dixieland seemingly invites passersby to pose for photos. And many have obliged, posting photos taken at the “selfie wall” to Instagram and other social media sites.
“People are very distracted by technology these days, and if I can slow them down for a moment to appreciate and internalize their own feelings, if only for a moment, I can hopefully connect them back to that childlike feeling of awe and wonderment,” Corbitt said.
Work in progress
Corbitt was recruited to paint the mural by Brooke Agnini, an associate of property owner Gregory Fancelli.
“I wanted to bring people to see all the new, fun, exciting things in Dixieland and thought what better way than a selfie wall; everyone loves art and selfies,” Agnini said.
Corbitt, a 32-year-old artist and musician who was born in Merritt Island, was recommended by Lakeland artist David Collins to beautify a wall in an alley just west of Florida Avenue between Park Street and Belmar Street.
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Scroll down to check a photo gallery: People of the Angel #selfiewall.[/box]
Corbitt’s passion for arts started at a young age and he has been drawing and painting as well as playing music since he was a teenager. (He’s the drummer for Weather for Strangers.) “I appreciate any project that helps unite a community, especially when it involves the arts,” Corbitt said.
While the angel wings concept was Agnini’s idea, Corbitt had creative freedom on the final design, which took only a few days to complete.
“I love getting Facebook messages and texts weekly from friends and random people looking for the location of the wall,” Agnini said. “It makes me super excited to see art being appreciated.”
Agnini said that the wall has done exactly what she wanted it to do: Bring more people into Dixieland.
One of those is Holly Roman, a Florida Southern College student who visited the wall recently. “It was really cool up close because there was a ton of detail that you don’t really see in pictures. It was super fun and it’s really easy to get to once you find it.”
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Where is it exactly on Google maps?
Here’s a link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1UWHm6x__47SCJPv_IAgfHBAb3nw&usp=sharing
I’ll add a map to the article.