The Builders

A FOR ALLENTOWN

Artist: Jennifer Ryan

Medium: Aluminum, ink, anti-graffiti coating

Location: Allen Street and Delaware Street

While there are renegade sculptors in cities around the world, most public sculpture is commissioned. That was the case with Jennifer Ryan’s whimsical A, which greets all who visit Allentown. The work is a product of Ryan’s “obsession” with lines. Though the A was given an anti-graffiti coating, Ryan says she wouldn’t mind seeing it tagged.

As you may have noticed, most all of the “outlaw” artists whose work we’ve admired so far have all had one thing in common—they’re men. While there are famous women street artists, such as Swoon (aka: Caledonia Curry), choosing the city streets as your canvas is not without its peril. Women street artists are uncommon for the same reasons you seldom come across a female taxi driver. It can be dangerous work for women.