Local Artist Brings New Life To Montauk’s Green

The front lawn of the Montauk Chamber of Commerce has a new look, thanks to a local artist and a fresh initiative.

With a little paint and a lot of talent, Kylie Ogburn recently transformed the MTK letters on the Montauk Village Green into a coastal wonder, representing the best the hamlet has to offer. Since the six-foot 3D sculptural letters were installed in early 2021, they have been a haven for locals and tourists to pose and share selfies online, marking their time in the village.

But they have also been entirely white. Now, this freshly painted set of letters have a bit more to say about the region and they showcase Ogburn’s take on Montauk, paying homage to the area’s fishing industry and surfing culture.

Ogburn’s design features elements referencing both sand and sea, including a surfer on the waves, the fish below and a bright blue sky above.

“It was that idea of everything is kind of tied to the ocean and how Montauk is super close to the water,” Ogburn explained in a recent interview about the project, noting she wanted to include all components of the sea in the design.

“People come here from all over the world to go surfing, and then you have the fishing industry,” she said. ”You have a school of fish swimming underneath and then the Shadmoor Cliffs, capturing the natural beauty of Montauk.”

Ogburn currently works at the Bird on the Roof Cafe in Montauk, attached to the Daunt’s Albatross Motel, which was recently renovated. As part of the renovation, Ogburn, who earned a degree in business and design from North Carolina State University in 2019, offered to stencil and paint some leaves on the walls of the restaurant.

“We had two weeks to get it from what it was, which was basically like a storage room, to a restaurant,” she said.

The Montauk Chamber of Commerce board members, one of whom is the owner of the restaurant, were impressed by Ogburn’s design talents and decided to have her paint a scene on the MTK letters, a project they have been wanting to initiate for some time. The thinking was that a colorful design would attract more visitors to the chamber’s headquarters than the simply all-white letters, explained Jennifer Fowkes, the organization’s executive director.

“We’re often the first stop for people looking for information about Montauk, where to stay, where to eat what to do, and so this just highlights the welcoming nature of the visitor center,” Fowkes said. “If we can draw people into the visitor center and help them experience our wonderful village, anything we can do to make that happen is great, and it highlights a community that gets forgotten sometimes out in Montauk. We have a great artists community out here.”

In preparation for painting the letters, Ogburn submitted four different designs in a PowerPoint presentation to the board, who then voted on the design they preferred.

“This particular design spoke to our board because there’s nothing controversial about it,” Fowkes said. “People come out to Montauk. They love to use the ocean, whether it's for surfing or fishing. It’s kind of the universal appeal of Montauk.”

Other design ideas included painting nautical flags on the letters, making each letter a different local fish, or showcasing the foam on top of the ocean. Once the final design was selected, the process took hours of brainstorming and a week of execution for Ogburn to complete. The new sign was unveiled on July 29.

The transformation marks a new annual artist-in-residence program the chamber will launch for the letters going forward. Each year, a different artist will be chosen to paint his or her own vision onto the letters through an application process.

The chamber will put out a call on social media for artist applications next March, and board members will vote on which design they prefer in April. The current design will remain on the letters until next Memorial Day to kick off the summer season when the new design will be unveiled. The subsequent design will remain on view until the following year. Because the present proposal was only developed in June, Ogburn’s design will be on view a few months shy of a year.

Fowkes noted that while the preference is for a local artist to take on the MTK project, the process is open to international applications as well.

“Kylie’s local, and she’s not local,” Fowkes said. “She’s been living and working here, but she’s not from here, so Montauk means summer to her and so it was a fun perspective.”

Fowkes added that, like Ogburn’s inaugural vision for the sign, going forward, the new design should be something that reflects Montauk’s many different facets.

“There are so many amazing artists out there that might have different ideas,” she said. “It might not just be a painting next year, maybe it’ll be mixed media — whatever an artist can come up with that our board feels really represents Montauk.

“Kylie did such a phenomenal job and it’s just so beautiful.”

Ogburn said driving past the sign now and knowing her work is on public display feels surreal.

“It’s funky to see people taking pictures with it and walking past it and making comments and stuff, so that’s cool,” she said.

Ogburn, who grew up in North Carolina and is visiting Montauk for the summer, said artistry is in her blood.

“I grew up always being super interested in art and enjoying getting art,” she said. “My mom was super creative and did a bunch of DIY and art projects all the time and would have us help her with them. So we were always super involved with our hands.”

For her design studies degree at North Carolina State University, Ogburn focused on different fields of design, and also took a lot of design history and art classes, she said. After graduating, she worked in communications for two years in an office job in North Carolina. But she realized it wasn’t for her, and quit to move to St. Croix to work in the hotel industry. A few months later, she went to Puerto Rico to spend the winter and while there, Ogburn met a group of girls who convinced her to come to Montauk for the summer.

As for her future plans, Ogburn plans to enroll in the Pratt Institute of Design in Brooklyn in fall 2023 to pursue her master’s degree in interior design. She plans to work in her field of interest as much as she can until then, and is currently putting together proposals for murals, merchandising and design work.

“My great aunt was an interior decorator and her main style was crossings — like French and Victorian and Oriental styles — and kind of like marrying them together,” Ogburn said. “And since I was little, I’ve loved that kind of crossover.”

And come next summer? You can expect to see Ogburn back out in Montauk for yet another season.