Muralist across the Philadelphia area go unrecognized for their workday in and day out. Society tends to overlook the meanings behind the murals they pass each day. Joseph Dougherty, a Dougherty Electric electrician has another talent that is now being uncovered.
At the age of 23, Dougherty has filled the buildings of Dougherty Electric with murals of all shapes and forms. By quietly transforming the walls of his family’s business from Looney Tunes to Bryce Harper, these hidden murals represent our city. Joey’s initial drive for encouragement stemmed from his father, the owner of Dougherty Electric, Gus Dougherty. Gus allowed his son to make use of the blank walls at the warehouse, by allowing Joey to let his creative freedom run wild.
Ever since Dougherty was young, he has always possessed a deep love for art. Throughout school, Dougherty would find himself doodling or working on tiny projects that helped him establish a sense of belonging to the skill. Beginning in his parent’s garage, Dougherty now creates 40-foot murals across South Philly with just some spray paint and his imagination.
Recognized as “mural capital of the world” averaging 4,300 murals across the city, Philadelphia is the heart of some beautiful works of art. Murals Art Philadelphia, an organization that Dougherty had worked alongside, focuses on repurposing public spaces and creating an area for positive community behavior and ultimately hoping to establish a sense of belonging for those muralists who lack proper appreciation for their dedication.
Dougherty not only makes his mark on the city with each painting, but he also continues a creative and innovative tradition. His goal is to develop as an artist and take his art outside of South Philadelphia and into other communities. He does this in the hopes of inspiring other young artists who might be looking for a way to express themselves creatively.
What was your initial inspiration for creating murals?
It started with Philadelphia sports to be honest. I don’t even know what year that was, 2018 19, and just it might have been even later than that. It’s probably 2020 and we just got this warehouse. We owned this company for over 15 years. Bought this one in 2020 and my dad wanted me to paint the walls because it was all beat up.
So, we put a bunch of time and effort into cleaning both properties up inside and out. And he thought that it’d be cool to do a Philly sports theme and encourage my art. Philly’s, you know, my dad’s a big sports fan. I’m a sports fan, not as big as my dad and brother, but the two are both big Philly sports guys. I am too obviously, but I couldn’t tell you every stat, every player on a roster, like my brother could or my dad. So, my dad got me into it.
How did you know you had this talent?
Yeah, I’ve always been into art. I always get different stuff, like just drawing and painting in art places since I was like four years old, to schools that offer a bunch of different art programs. So, I took as much art as I could, just because I enjoyed it.
I always liked it, and I didn’t get into spray painting until I was 16 years old. The garage in my family’s house was old, and my dad wanted to renovate it, so he told me to paint the walls of a bunch of different stuff, which was my real first time with a spray can.
The first one I did was Looney Tunes characters different characters and cartoons, and then I sort of worked my way out here and focused on sports: on a bigger scale.
How do you complete these murals?
Do an outline first and then go over it. I spend more time on my iPad mocking everything off, prepping for it then carrying it over to the walls. It’s not too much thought into it, but the prep and the iPad saved all my time. It’s a lot harder when you’re 30 feet up on a scissor lift and you can’t get everything in a cowling proportion.
Have you gotten recognition from other artists or the media for your work?
Sports Illustrated contacted me once and had Jalen Hurts come do a photo shoot in front of his mural. They wanted him to come here and have this be one of the locations for the shoot. They used a bunch of different photos for him, and he even stayed and played basketball with my brother. I guess they found me on my Instagram when my friends would repost my work and stuff.
Do you hope to continue doing this and make a bigger name for yourself?
I have done a few things throughout the city. It’s fun, but obviously, like I said how many people can have all this real estate and a crazy sick father, which lets them paint anything they want? So right now, my focus is to really finish the spaces within the warehouse and maybe continue you if it becomes more recognized.
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