January 15, 2008: Zagar Mosaics Self
Worried friends and relatives of Isaiah Zagar reported yesterday that the renowned mosaic artist had covered his own body with cement and assorted bits of glass, pottery, and other debris. "I came into the workshop yesterday morning, and there was this man-shaped piece in the corner," said Maureen McKenzie, 34, an assistant to the 67-year-old artist. "I just thought Isaiah had covered a mannequin or something–but then it turned and said, 'Oh, hello, Maureen; would you mind putting that bottle cap over my eye?' It was so disturbing."
 Zagar, who has covered much of South Philadelphia with his colorful mosaics, said that the decision to apply the technique to himself was a natural one. "The mosaics are my life; my sustenance," he said from his sprawling Magic Gardens installation on the 1000 block of South Street. "This helps me get closer to them in a very real way." His wife, Julia, was more reserved. "I think that Isaiah's art is one of the very best things about Philadelphia," she said, kissing a fragment of mirror on her husband's cheek. "But, all the same, I wish he had told me he was going to do this."
Zagar added that the broken shards of mugs, saucers, and wine bottles would not slow him down. "I'm working on three mosaics at the moment, and there are two more in the planning stage. I am a little stiff," he admitted, "but that's not enough to stop me." However, Brett Coblentz, 28, a fellow muralist, said that "He must weigh 250 pounds now–I just don't see how he'll be able to move around with all that material stuck to him. I really think this might've been one mosaic too many." |
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| FORWARD TO A FRIEND |
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