CCB MEDIA PHOTO
A piece of street art by Kate DeCiccio at the park next to Barnstable Town Hall in Hyannis.
HYANNIS – If you walk around downtown Hyannis you might notice some street art that hadn’t been there before this week.
Street artist Kate DeCiccio, 35, of Washington D.C., has been working as the artist-in-residence at the Guyer Barn on South Street.
DeCiccio, who spent time on the Cape growing up, began working at the Barn on June 14 and will continue through June 29.
Some of her work can be seen at the corner of South Street and Pearl Street on utility poles and curbing along with a completely stenciled and painted bench at the park next to Town Hall.
“To be able to be here in a concentrated way for two weeks is really special because I really get to embed myself in this place that’s familiar but allows me to really dig in and collect local narratives,” she said.
The Boylston native spent summers on the Cape from about first grade through high school at a family home in Barnstable Village and then began summering in Wellfleet.
DeCiccio said it is a great feeling to have her artwork in an area that is so special to her.
“It’s really fun because I’m really aware of how many people will see it,” she said. “But also I’m familiar with the culture of the people who are here and that there are certain expectations about what you are going to see and how it’s going to look.”
She thinks street art can have an influence on people that usually would not seek it out.
“It’s really fun to have the opportunity to put art in places where people aren’t expecting it,” she said. “And then invite people to engage with art in a different way.”
DeCiccio began a mural project on Thursday that will be portraits of four local residents and will be hung on the sheds on the stage at Aselton Park.
“They’ll serve as the backdrop to all the happenings on the stage this summer,” she said.
DeCiccio described her portrait process.
“I take portraits of the people in photograph and then change those portraits into a high contrast black and white graphic and then I project that graphic,” she said. “Then I make a series of stencils that I paint on top of one another to create the dimension of the forms of the person, along with all kinds of decorative stuff around them.”
She said in the end they look like “contemporary urban icons.”
The first portrait she was working on was of Sarah Swain from the band Sarah Swain & the Oh Boys.
Deciccio said she had not decided on the other three subjects and was still taking nominees from local residents.
“I’m really in the process of collecting names and every day I’m having conversations with people about people who are really interesting locals and embody the spirit of the Cape as we appreciate it,” she said. “I want it to be sort of a flexible process and I don’t want to commit to four people right at the beginning but rather let the process unfold.”
DeCiccio has a dedication to painting people with an attention to how they see themselves and their place in the world.
She teaches art in Washington D.C. and will be hosting a workshop on June 27 and 28 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Guyer Barn. The cost of the workshop is $100 and it is limited to 12 people.
Anyone who would like to send a name of a possible portrait subject can contact Kate at [email protected].
Street Art Taking Shape in Hyannis
