Historic Longshoremen Mural Finds New Home in Brooklyn

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/06/07/historic-longshoremen-mural-finds-new-home-in-brooklyn/

by Mike Hall, Jun 7, 2008

A historic part of the labor movement and the Brooklyn waterfront has found new life.



“The Working Brooklyn Waterfront,” an eight-panel mural, was commissioned in 1963 by Longshoremen (ILA) Local 1814 for the union’s Brooklyn Medical Center. But the center was closed several years ago and is set for demolition later this year.


Last month, the mural was moved and reinstalled at the new Brooklyn Passenger Ship Terminal, Red Hook Pier 12.


The late labor artist Bernard Seaman used hundreds of pieces of acrylic to capture life on the docks in the early1960s. It was a time before the use of container ships, and cargo was moved from the holds to the docks through the labor of the longshoremen who handled every piece. The mural’s design and texture convey a sense of movement as workers lower cargo-laden nets and sacks to the dock, with the Brooklyn Bridge and Statue of Liberty in the background.


Relocating the 24-foot by 9-foot, multi-paneled piece was a delicate job. Local 1814 members and art installation experts carefully took down and crated each fragile panel for the move. Meanwhile, members of Local 1814’s Crane and Maintenance Department built new custom frames for each piece.


Says Local 1814 President Louis Pernice:

It’s wonderful that this important and valuable piece of our ILA history will be preserved and seen by countless travelers as they make their way through the passenger terminal. I’m grateful our current and future ILA membership will come to work and see a mural that was enjoyed by our members from more than 40 years ago.

Seaman, who died in 1989 at age 85, was a well-known labor artist. Along with creating artwork for ILA union halls in Baltimore, New Orleans and other major port cities, he was the editorial cartoonist for the AFL-CIO News for many years. He also served as the art director for the International Garment Workers’ Union (now UNITE HERE), the Seafarers International Union (SIU) and the International Union of Electricians (now IUE-CWA).


The obituary of Seaman in The New York Times notes he also contributed to many other publications, including PM, New York Times and the Nation. His cartoons were widely reprinted, both in the United States and Europe, and he was the recipient of many awards, among them the Newspaper Guild’s Page One Award in 1952.