‘I Want To Thank You’ by Stephen Powers (2019)
Since fall of 2019, the south side of HRPK’s Pier 40 has held a message of gratitude – a mural by the artist Stephen Powers that reads “I WANT TO THANK YOU.” This artwork has spoken to New Yorkers throughout the challenges of the past years – and the story behind the artwork only enhances its resonance.
Powers’s mural was part of a global campaign featuring some of the world’s most talented street artists to engage people and encourage country leaders from around the world to replenish the Global Fund.
Hudson River Park has been honored to host a mural by Stephen Powers, an internationally recognized contemporary artist, Fulbright scholar and local resident. Powers drew inspiration from local history and artists, as reflected in his artist statement:
“I WANT TO THANK YOU is a song by Alicia Meyers. I paint it in the spirit of a DJ playing the song, as double dedication to the Paradise Garage and artist David Wojnarowicz. Paradise Garage was once a members-only dance club near Pier 40, that played the ideal music through the ideal sound system under the ideal conditions to foster the best nightlife community in New York’s storied history. Even today, 30 years after the closing of the Paradise Garage, the songs that made up the playlist of the Paradise Garage are touchstones that remind us in the present day what we can achieve together, even if it’s just to have fun. Especially if it’s just to have fun.
David Wojnarowicz was an artist and activist who died from AIDS at the awful age of 36. He worked with a group of artists to make art on the then abandoned Pier 34, working without permission or commission to create art without compromise. The project was titled “Seeing Possible Everywhere” and that serves as an inspiration and challenge to the present and future generations that create in his wake. I work the terrain as David did, dreaming into action the dreams that keep me up at night.”
In our opinion, this is what good art should be, or at least, what it can achieve. And we need much more of this!