CROWN CITY RISING MURAL- Designs and Painted by Nico Cathcart

Based on the concept of “Crown City Rising”, this mural depicts a woman with flowing hair reaching forward. Her hair in the wind is a metaphor for the rolling hills, mountains, and rivers of the Cortland County area. She is wearing a dragon earring with a red ruby, which is a nod to the Cortland Red Dragons. . Over her head a crown, symbolizing the crown city, floats. He direction is looking forward and the action created by the hair propels the viewers eyes forward through the piece. The figure's identity is unknown, and she exists more as a metaphor for the passage of time, and for looking forward.

The setting shows the passage of time between summer and fall, with a cluster of sunset roses (roses are the state flower of New York) on the left, and autumn leaves on the right.. The seasonal shift is also reflected in the foliage in the mountains, just turning from the green of summer into the rich colors of fall. On the right side, you can also see an ear of corn, a nod to the agricultural history of the area.

The figure reaches for the bluebird, the state bird of NY, , which is flying upwards and forwards. Between her hand and the bird, an aerial image of Cortland is shown, implying that the city is also moving forwards and upwards. .

The image is framed with rondels in each corner, which echo the unique architecture of Main Street, and are replicas of the actual rondels found on the taller part of the connected Corland savings building. The rondel centers are filled with a Brockway truck on the left, a nod to the industrial history of the city. On the right, an image of Ronnie James Dio’s fender guitar, wrapped in a bar of sheet music highlights the rich musical history of the main street area, while giving a subtle nob to one of Cortland's famous sons..

Symbols

Rondels- Main Streets Architecture

Brockway Track- Industrial past (and the Brockway truck show!)

Roses- New York States Flower

Crown- Crown City

Dragon Earring- SUNY Cortland

Blue bird- State Bird of NY

Guitar- Music history of Main Street, Guitar is Ronnie James Dio's, which he designed with Fender.

Corn- Agricultural heritage of Cortland

Fall Leaves- Famous fall foliage

Mountains of Central NY

View of Mainstreet

Passage of time from Summer to Fall- Prime time for outdoors

Uplifting motion- The revitalization of Cortland

Artworks in Cortland