Local artist Fran Giordano, who imbues history and research into much of her work, designed a mural to honor the author and illustrator, who grew up in Schenectady. It will span the wall of the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation at 143 State St., across from Frog Alley Brewing Co.
The mural depicts Frog and Toad in a series of vignettes inspired by Lobel’s illustrations with Giordano’s love of “psychedelic, punch-you-in-the face color” replacing his earthy palette. On the left, the two ride a tandem bicycle, which Giordano included because it is Frog and Toad’s most recognizable image. On the right, the pair will laze in a tree reading. And in the center, the friends gaze into a mirror, a heart clutched behind Toad’s back in a poignant remix of another of Lobel’s original drawings.
“His daughter has said that Frog and Toad were Arnold Lobel’s two sides of his personality, and looking in the mirror, he was reflecting on himself,” Giordano said. “When I saw that image, I was like, ‘Oh, that poor guy. What he went through, it’s so rough.’ That’s why I put the heart there, too, instead (of the book) because you gotta love yourself, and you got to just accept who you are and be who you are.”
The same-sex amphibious duo had a loving friendship that many have speculated mirrored Lobel’s own sexuality, though Lobel never explicitly confirmed the connection. The author came out as gay in 1974, four years after “Frog and Toad Are Friends,” the first book in the series, debuted. He died 13 years later at age 54 from complications due to AIDS.
“I think ‘Frog and Toad’ really was the beginning of him coming out,” said Adrianne Lobel, the author’s daughter, in an interview with The New Yorker in 2016.
Celebrating Lobel’s legacy in Schenectady’s public art scene has been a goal for Betsy Sandberg, chair of the Kids Art Festival and board member of…
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