PEORIA, Ill. – The mural of Abraham Lincoln on the back of the Peoria County Courthouse got a once-over – and it’s not necessarily one anyone thought was needed at first.
“Abraham Blue” now hangs where the previous mural stood. It was re-dedicated during a ceremony Monday at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.
The re-do of the mural was one that State Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth thought was necessary, even if no one else realized it at the time.
(Ken Zurski/1470 & 100.3 WMBD)
“[Big Picture Peoria] was surprised to get the call about the money, because they did not ask for it,” said Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria). “But, I believe with the right collaboration in our community, and with the right resources, we can do – and deserve to have – amazing things in this community. And this is yet another example.”
In addition to the importance of art in the community, there’s also what some consider to be the more important message: getting help for mental health issues – the same ones that historians believe Lincoln had, and are represented by the “blue” in the mural.
“The reason he survived melancholia, and suicidal ideation, was because he had people around him who cared for him, and he was open about his sadness,” said Doug Leunig, founder, Big Picture Peoria. Leunig himself says he suffered from mental health problems decades ago, while working for Caterpillar as an award-winning photographer.
As for Leunig’s assessment of Lincoln, Carle Health Trillium Place president Mary Sparks Thompson agrees.
“In his times of deep struggle, Lincoln recognized the importance of connectedness with others to help, when the symptoms of sorrow and anxiety appear,” said Thompson. ” The sense of being cared for…is critically needed when suffering from depression.”
In addition to the artwork being a mural, an app was devised to tell more of Lincoln’s mental health and other struggles, through the use of augmented reality. You can go to your smartphone’s app store to find “Abraham Blue,” then use it to scan the mural and learn more. There is a demonstration of how the app works in the last several minutes of the Facebook Live video below.
