With A Little Help From My Friends was originally painted in 1996 by Dr. Bob Hieronimus and with the help of artists Katie Butler, Lyle Kissack, and Gerald Ross. The mural showcases portraits of icons known for their humanitarianism, creativity, and talent including Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Bob Marley, Harriet Tubman, and Bob Dylan, among others. The entire mural was completed in only 17 days and was awarded “Best Mural” by local Baltimore television station WMAR-TV. The dedication ceremony for the mural was attended by several heroes and dignitaries including Rachel Carson’s grandson, China democracy advocate Liu Gang, and Hall of Famer Leon Day’s widow, Geraldine. The mural was also visited several times by Ziggy and Stephen Marley, sons of Bob Marley, in 1996 and 1997.
Restoration and Media Coverage
In 2008, Baltimore, MD was one of four cities chosen to participate in the Home and Garden Television Network’s (HGTV) “Save the World, Start at Home” initiative. This initiative would include the restoration of several projects around the city with the help of talent and crew from HGTV, volunteers, and support from companies such as Rebuilding Together, National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Natural Resources Defense Council. With an invitation from Baltimore Green Construction and Rebuilding Together Baltimore, Dr. Hieronimus and his crew of artists and assistants began to restore the original 1996 mural.
The sponsoring organizations were also funding renovations on the Mediation Center building including energy efficient doors, windows, and a green roof. This posed a challenge for the mural restoration crew as well as the parts of the mural that were too damaged to simply paint over, requiring the bricks to be demolished and re-cemented. Out of the 17 days of the process, it rained 11. The crew remained steadfast though and completed the restored piece in May of 2008.
See With A Little Help From Our Friends Today!
To seeWith A Little Help From Our Friends in person, visit the Baltimore Community Mediation Center at 3333 Greenmount Ave.
Planning day: The 2008 restoration crew sits down to plan the progress of the mural.
Bob explaining the messages of the mural to the HGTV crew.
Artist Suzzi Skripkina works on the bald eagle.
Artist Kevin Flanagan paints the smiles on the embracing children at the bottom of the mural.
Ziggy Marley stands beneath the image of his father while visiting the mural in 2008.
As in all of Bob Hieronimus’s murals and art cars, the assisting artists are listed to further emphasize the importance of accomplishing great things together.
In the most recent restoration of the mural, Kasey Jones touches up the Waverly market towards the bottom of the mural.
The 2023 restoration crew: Justin Williams, Catherine Mapp, and Kasey Jones.
St. Paul St. Park is home to the We the People mural by Dr. Bob Hieronimus. It is a redesign of his Bicentennial mural originally commissioned by the City of Baltimore and painted in 1974. The overall theme of this mural is “One People, One Planet”. The piece uses aspects of the divine feminine present in United States symbolism, plus Hieronimus’s trademark references to extraterrestrial life, astrology, and even the Yellow Submarine. The core message of the mural derives from Hieronimus’s doctoral research on indigenous influences on the structure of the United States government. Central to this message is Hieronimus’s certainty [LINK: One People One Planet] that the nation must tap into its female power and learn to lead with compassion instead of domination – a message frequently appearing in his artwork and the thesis of his 2016 book The Secret Life of Lady Liberty.
Origins of We the People
The original Bicentennial mural was one of ten contest winners for Baltimore’s Bicentennial Art Program in 1974. Bicentennial remained a landmark in St. Paul Street Park for nearly 40 years until 2013 when Hieronimus was asked to come out of mural retirement to help preserve his work.
The preservation process was made possible through funding from Zohara Meyerhoff Hieronimus, initiative from neighbors in the community, and support from Jubilee Baltimore, Midtown Development, and Guppy Management’s Alan and Mike Shecter.
To complete the task, Hieroinmus recruited a crew of dedicated art students and professionals from UMBC, MICA, and Johns Hopkins University and was able to both restore the original work, plus update and expand it to double the size of the original. The result is the fully refurbished, redesigned, and renamed We the People mural. Its vibrant color palette is hard to miss as residents and visitors alike pass the St. Paul and Lafayette intersection in Baltimore.
In the summer of 2014, the Charles North Community Association and Jubilee Baltimore organized a celebration for the recent changes to the park, recognizing the volunteers and funders, and honoring the artists with live music, and refreshments. Both Bob and Zoh Hieronimus delivered [LINK] moving speeches to commemorate the reopening of the mural.
Bob Hieronimus in 1974 in front of the original, much smaller, Bicentennial.
See We the People Today!
To seeWe the People in person, visit St Paul Street Park at 111 E. Lafayette Street at St. Paul Street. To read more details about the symbolism used and the artists that helped to restore the mural, read We the People A Mural is Reborn, Enlarged, and Renamed. [LINK]
Gallery
July 9th painting crew: Director of Artistic Operations Justin Williams, Billy Mitchell, Annie Rochelle, Ashley Pratt, Dr. Bob, Lauren DeMarsh, Jimin Choe, and Valerie Chavez.
Megan Jang paints the bundle of arrows, symbolizing the strength in unity in many indigenous cultures.
The figure of Aquarius emerges in the mural. The water bearer symbolizes diversity and analysis, and synthesis as opposed to selfishness.
Lady Freedom is the central goddess in this mural, representing the mural’s core message of waking up to the divine feminine powers within us all.
Lauren DeMarsh working on the Haudenosaunee Tree of Peace. It is a white pine tree with its roots representing the law of peace stretching to all corners of the earth. The branches symbolize shelter and security.
Lauren DeMarsh works on the Statue of Liberty figure. A detailed analysis of the symbolic importance of Lady Liberty can be found in the 2016 book The Secret Life of Lady Liberty.
Valerie Chavez working on the rainbows which stand for the uplifting energies pouring from Aquarius. Rainbows also symbolize the bridge of heaven. They are caused by the reflection of the Sun (the Self) in the water-drops (Truth) pouring forth from the cloud (buddhi) to the Earth (physical nature).
Annie Rochelle working on rainbows. A rainbow is created when white light passes through a prism and produces seven colors, a visual connection to E Pluribus Unum: “from one come many.”
Jimin Choe paints the ears of maize, featured on the lower part of the mural and is another homage to indigenous wisdom. Sustainable environmental practices of many indigenous nations honored the needs of 7 generations ahead, maintaining commerce without despoiling the land.
Zoe Daniel painting the George Washington Belt which was presented by George Washington to the Haudenosaunee to ratify an agreement of peace between the Haudenosaunee nation and the newly formed 13 colonies. Click here to read more about this historic treaty.
Mai Huong Huynh-Teage paints the Battle Monument. This monument is a democratic monument to all who died in the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812 regardless of rank. It is also likely the first Egyptian-inspired architecture in Baltimore with a base modeled on an Egyptian cenotaph, and the four corners decorated with griffins.
Dr. Bob Hieronimus paints symbols of unity in the Haudenosaunee flag, featured on the wampum belt.
Jubilee Baltimore’s Linda Harrington organized the party.
Dr. Bob Hieronimus with We the People posters and t-shirts, also available in the Store.
The re-opening party for St. Paul Street Park was attended by local politicians (Jack Young, Stokes, Vicki Almond among them) and many community members, artists from all the murals, a band, and pizza donated by former Baltimore staple Joe Squared.
The second floor of Johns Hopkins Levering Hall is home to the art installation known as Apocalypse, one of the largest and most influential murals painted by Dr. Bob Hieronimus. The mural showcases a vast array of symbology and iconography not depicting the end of the world, as some might assume from the title, but the cyclical nature of all of history.
Origins of the Apocalypse
Commissioned in 1968 by Johns Hopkins Chaplain, Chester “Chet” Wickwire, the massive art piece took a total of six months for Hieronimus to complete. The finished 2,700 square-foot piece debuted in February of 1969, covering the entire hall and stairwell. It showcases rich esoteric symbology meaning including Egyptian hieroglyphics, Hebrew, Sanskrit, zodiac signs, flags, hearts, flowers, serpents, horses, and stars.
Dr. Wickwire was an early champion of Hieronimus’s iconoclastic artwork and requested that the mural live directly outside his office in Levering Hall. Students affectionately named the space “Chester’s Place” and often used it as a meeting ground. Dr. Wickwire was known for encouraging students to engage in consciousness-raising and activities like political protest, wanting students to focus their attention and energy on creating a better society. The mural served as a point of curiosity, conversation, and inspiration for those students, staff, and visitors hoping to make a positive change in the world.
Dr. Chester “Chet” Wickwire
Dr. Bob Hieronimus explains the symbology of some of the most significant panels of the mural
Historian Dr. Bill Leslie connects activism at Hopkins to the creation of Apocalypse
Apocalypse Restored
In the summer of 2015 the mural was completely restored to its original condition thanks to funding provided by Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Zohara Hieronimus and the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds, and a team of artists handpicked by Dr. Bob. Johns Hopkins University enthusiastically embraced Hieronimus’s historic piece of artwork, installing new museum-style furniture, new lighting fixtures, and new protection measures to preserve the work in the future.
Current students continue to use Levering Hall as a popular meeting spot, and Apocalypse continues to spark inspiration and discussion. Ella Rogers-Fett, a Krieger School alumni and history major visited the mural for the first time in 2015. She says many of her classmates were inspired upon learning about the mural’s relationship to a history of student activism at Hopkins. That inspiration resulted in a petition to her fellow students that encouraged Hopkins to divest itself from carbon-related stocks to reduce its environmental impact.
“I like the idea that student activists of today are meeting there to advance important issues,” says Rogers-Fett, a former student who served as co-director of the student-run Sexual Assault Resource Unit. “We’re continuing the spirit of Apocalypse.”
Dr. Stuart “Bill” Leslie, historian for Johns Hopkins University, mentions the mural fondly, saying “The Apocalypse mural is a good reminder for the current crop of students that their predecessors were out there in the front lines for civil rights.”
See Apocalypse Today!
The most complete interpretation of the Apocalypse mural is found in the 72-page bound and glossy guidebook published in 2016 in full color, complete with foldout panoramas and reproductions of the sketches and notes from the original Hieronimus journals from 1968-69, and can be purchased in the H&Co shop.
To seeApocalypse in person, visit Levering Hall at Johns Hopkins University on weekdays from 11 am-4 pm.
Gallery
Our Team: Justin Williams, Ph.D., foreman; Ashley Pratt, BFA; Julie Ann Horton, M.F.A.; Kristie Winther, BFA; Ashley Stafford; Andreina Mijares Cisneros, Senior, Studio Art Major, Notre Dame of MD University, 2016.
