Tim Rollins + K.O.S. Amerika - For the People of Bathgate

The mural site—an exterior wall of C.E.S. 4, a school serving the Bathgate community—is located on Fulton Avenue across from the Bathgate Industrial Park. The mural measures 36’ x 55’ and consists of 28 individual gold horn images. It is highly visible and can be seen by travelers on the Cross Bronx Expressway, which is one block away at Third Avenue.

The horn images were created by the students and staff of C.E.S. 4, under the direction of Tim Rollins (b. 1955, Pittsfield, ME) and K.O.S (Kids of Survival), and are based on readings of literary classics. The goal is to relate the issues of these books to the lived experience and contemporary vision of today’s inner-city youth.

The imagery of the Bathgate mural is based on a reading of the story “The Nature Theatre of Oklahoma,” from Franz Kafka’s unfinished novel Amerika. Each horn image was created by a workshop participant and reflects their own vision and understanding of the story. These individual images were arranged into a mural composition by Rollins + K.O.S. The individual, eccentric horn images are placed together, all struggling against each other for space and equality. According to Rollins, “The mural represents not only the beauty but also the challenge of democracy.”

The following students and staff of C.E.S. 4 created the mural: Anna Boutelle, Eddie Milian, Isalene Goldman, Jose Colon, Luis Medina, Stan Kaminsky, Eliana Fernandez, Roberto Ortiz, Steven Macias, Armando Figueroa, Eddy Ramirez, Melissa Marquez, Luis Figueroa, Kareen Simmonds, Shamel Simmons, Saladin Smith, Bruce Franco, Daniel Torres, and Kenneth Washington. They were assisted by the following members of K.O.S.: Angel Abreu, Nelson Montes, Howard Britton, Pablo Ortiz, Brenda Carlo, Carlos Rivera, Richard Cruz, Annette Rosado, George Garces, and Nelson Savinon.