Pearls Before Swine
Curtis Goldstein and Matt Lynch
Photography on cut adhesive vinyl

Pearls Before Swine blends high-resolution and drone photography with familiar point-of-purchase advertising and display technologies to create abstract visual stories about places it inhabits. Installed in this unique transitory public space, it welcomes travelers to our city through a striking and immersive visual experience. Drawing inspiration from the silhouettes of prominent local figures, the work fragments imagery to create a dynamic interplay of positive and negative space. At first glance, passersby encounter its bold scale and vibrant composition; upon closer inspection, subtle patterns, contrasts, and embedded elements emerge, inviting deeper engagement over time.

Pearls Before Swine intentionally disrupts the conventions of commercial advertising, reimagining the use of large-scale printed imagery that saturates our daily environments. By leveraging the inherent flatness of vinyl, precision-cut forms, and varying surface sheens, the design produces surprising visual overlaps and juxtapositions. Photographic elements, rendered in vivid chromatic inks, further disrupt expectations and transform the space into a vibrant reflection of community, identity, and place.

Pearls Before Swine was made possible through the assistance of Ethan Fessler, University of Cincinnati Rapid Prototyping Center, Jenny Ustick, Desi Distel, Steve Plattner, Grant Smith, and the CVG Sign Shop.

Learn more about this installation here.

The Players - featured silhouettes of prominent characters

1. Vera-Ellen, actress, dancer (White Christmas)
2. Ezzard Charles, boxer, “Cincinnati Cobra”, world heavyweight champion 1949-1951
3. Cincinnatus, Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic
4. W. H. Taft, 27th president of the U.S.
5. Pinocchio sculpture by Jim Dine, at CAM entrance
6. Isley brother O’Kelly, of popular vocal trio
7. Isley Brother Rudolph, of popular vocal trio
8. Isley Brother Ronald, of popular vocal trio

9. Bootsy Collins, bass guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, played with James Brown & Parliament-Funkadelic
10. Jim Tarbell, ‘Mr. Cincinnati”, politician of the Charter Party
11. Naked Cowboy, street performer (busker), singer, songwriter, and occasional actor
12. IShowSpeed (Darren Jason Watkins Jr.), internet personality and online streamer
13. Doris Day, actress and singer
14. Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger, “King of the Cowboys”, singer, actor, television host, rodeo performer
15. Pauline Hall, stage actress and singer from 1875-1919
16. Tyler Davidson fountain, Temperance fountain downtown dedicated in 1871
17. Hal Le Roy, tap dancer, actor, singer

18. Tyrone Power, actor “The Mark of Zorro (1940)”
19. Cristine Ao, figure skater
20. Theda Bara, silent film and stage actress
21. Pete Rose, MLB player from1963-86
22. Amanda Borden, Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast
23. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, abolitionist

24. Sudan Archives (Brittney Denise Parks) violinist, singer, and songwriter
25. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial who’s renowned director, Steven Spielberg, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio
26. Rajiv Satyal, comedian, host, speaker