When local artist Ryan Tova Katz’s husband told her to quit her three jobs and donate a large-scale mural to a local building, she called the idea “insane.” Today, she remembers it as the project that catapulted her mural career.
“My husband came home one day and he was like, ‘I had an epiphany,’” she said. “He was like, ‘You’re going to be this amazing artist, and I think you should quit all your jobs and just donate a large-scale mural, and then everyone will be able to see what you can do.’”
Now, Katz’s “Purple Hearts Mural” sits just across from Foster Station and greets more than 90,000 people a year as they stroll on and off the Purple Line.
Through a contact with Kiser Group, a local real estate firm, Katz began talks with a building owner in Evanston willing to provide the canvas for her venture.
Katz recalled the “isolating” time when her piece gained life.
“It was during COVID, so all of our kids were locked inside, and we were feeling that solitude,” she said.
As the mural was conceived and executed at the height of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, Katz had the desire to express the intense feelings she felt during that time.
Katz said the girl in the mural, who pours hearts from her window, is modeled after her best friend’s daughter and symbolizes the love Katz and so many others wished they could more properly express in those times.
The building’s owner was passionate about accommodating Katz’s vision but asked that the mural connect to his strong link with Northwestern. She changed the initial design of red hearts into purple and added the signature NU “N” to round out the art’s devotion to the University.
“I’ve gotten so many messages over the years from people,” Katz said. “Someone had sent that image to their long-distance girlfriend and proposed through it.”
Weinberg junior Nolan Hey, a lifelong Chicago resident, said he shares a similar deep connection and love for the art in and around Evanston.
“Sometimes I take it for granted,” Hey said. “But when it’s cold in the winter, and getting off at Foster, heading back to my dorm, it’s nice to see a little bit of life.”
Other notable murals across the city include “Time to Breathe” by artist Max Sansing next to Davis Station — through a partnership with Downtown Evanston — and a POSE installation next to Noyes Station.
(Kyle Wynn/The Daily Northwestern)
As Evanston continues to blossom with new artwork, with murals decorating nearly all the Purple Line stations, Chicago’s train service is shifting its focus to areas in need of artistic expression through independent artists and programs like the Evanston Mural Arts Program and the CTA Art Program.
South of Evanston, the CTA Art Program is beginning its artistically-minded renovation of the 43rd and Austin Green Line stations, according to CTA Media Representative Charles Plouffe.
Plouffe said the CTA’s art program will hopefully “enhance” riders’ travel experience.
In August, Mayor Brandon Johnson and the CTA announced new artist-designed train wraps for CTA Blue, Green and Orange Lines.
The “Purple Hearts Mural” catapulted Katz’s career, turning her passion into her life’s work. Traveling all over the city and the world, with work represented in nine countries, Katz has seen a transformation in how the world sees her art.
However, her goal for her art remains the same.
“It’s just kind of spreading joy and love and making people smile for a second when they walk by a building,” Katz said.
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