More Mural Magic-Part 3

tanjabrittonwriter 38 Comments

I dedicate an occasional post to murals I have encountered during my forays in Colorado. Each is introduced by the featured photo above, which depicts a mural from a local coffee shop in Manitou Springs directly west of Colorado Springs. It offers an interpretation of the Colorado State flag, shown here:

The two horizontal blue bars represent Colorado’s blue sky, the white bar its many snowcapped mountains. The red “C” stands for our state’s ruddy soil, and the central golden globe for our many days of sunshine, averaging more than 300/year.

I was astounded when I realized that the first Mural Magic was published on 02/20/2019, More Mural Magic-Part 1 on 04/24/2019, and More Mural Magic-Part 2 on 07/08/2020, nearly three years ago. I will make up for lost time with several posts celebrating some of the murals I have encountered in the interim.

In today’s post, I am showing paintings depicting people’s faces. Most of them were created for the Art on the Streets program, which was started in 1998 by the Downtown Partnership to enliven and beautify downtown Colorado Springs and which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2023. It started out solely with sculptures but happily also began to include murals more recently. Every year, a jury selects submissions from dozens of applicants—this year, 12 were chosen from among 70. Each selected artist receives a $2,000 stipend to create their art, which will be on display for one year, when it becomes available for sale. Buyers who purchase the piece can either move it to another location or leave it in situ, to become part of the permanent outdoor art collection.

Without further ado, here are some of the faces who have touched and spoken to me.

Take Back the Power by Gregg Deal, 2020, which was featured in a previous post about Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women

Lupita by Elizabeth Selby, 2020

Become Home by Zane Prater, 2020, privately commissioned by Kinship Landing, a new Colorado Springs hotel

Jade by Juls Mendoza, 2022

Garden Spirits by Rosario Weston, 2023

I Choose Art by Juls Mendoza, 2023

38 thoughts on “More Mural Magic-Part 3”

  1. Might your three-year gap have had anything to do with the pandemic (even if your post before today’s was half-way into the first year of the pandemic)? Or was it perhaps a case of “that’s just how things go,” where there is no discernible reason for the delay?

    The first part of the rule that applied to sculpture—”Buyers who purchase the piece can either move it to another location or leave it in situ, to become part of the permanent outdoor art collection”—doesn’t easily extend to murals.

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    • That’s a good question, Steve, but I don’t think the long pause in posting about mural was related to the pandemic, as I took plenty of photos while it was ongoing. We never had a shut-down here, so photography of public art was actually easier, with fewer people out and about. So I would have to say that I just kept thinking about mural posts, but I didn’t try to create a few until only recently.

      It’s true that murals aren’t easily moved, but if I’m not mistaken, some are created on a surface similar to a canvas that can be attached to a wall, removed, and applied to another, though I’m not sure if that’s true for any of the murals I included here. So, fortunately for the public, if a mural gets purchased, it usually stays in place for everybody to enjoy.

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  3. I, too, was wondering how “Buyers who purchase the piece can either move it to another location or leave it in situ, to become part of the permanent outdoor art collection” could extend to murals. It probably doesn’t. Anyway, what beautiful murals! I think Lupita is my favorite. Also, enjoyed reading about flag and why certain colors and shapes were chosen.

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    • That’s a good observation, Laurie, and I think in general that’s true. As I told Steve, if I’m not mistaken, some murals are created on a surface similar to a canvas that can be attached to a wall, removed, and applied to another, though I’m not sure if that’s true for any of the murals I included here.
      I also love Lupita’s face. It’s serenity personified.

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  4. These are wonderful; I particularly like Garden Spirits, but each one is powerful in its own way. The story of Colorado’s flag is also fascinating: in my innocence I’d assumed it was simply decorative, and never imagined it might have a deeper meaning. I now know better!

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    • I’m so grateful for the city for having decided to include murals in their art program. I think they are my favorite artistic medium. I also find Garden Spirits very cheering, was happy to discover it not long ago.
      Knowing about the symbolism in Colorado’s state flag, makes it more attractive to me, and I think the topmost mural does a wonderful job reflecting those symbols.

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    • Thank you, Neil. Garden Spirits has a special charm, doesn’t it? I only discovered it a month ago but I plan to visit it again soon. It’s nice to stroll through downtown and revisit favorite murals or sculptures.

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    • As someone who can only draw stick figures, I admire painters and muralists greatly. It takes so much to create a work of art on such a scale.
      And I love learning about the symbolism behind so many flags, Colorado’s among them.

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  12. Wow, Tanja, each one of those is incredible! I remember being very touched by Take Back the Power when you originally posted it, and it still gives me chills. I think Lupita is my favorite this time around. I Choose Art also intrigued me, as I could see the details of the building it was on. What an interesting collision of color/style!

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    • Dankeschön, lieber Ernst. Manche Wandbilder sind mit der hiesigen Geschichte verbunden, aber bei weitem nicht alle. Manchmal stellen sie einfach Personen oder Szenen dar, die den Künstlern gefallen haben, und ab und zu machen sie eine erste politische Aussage, wie das Gemälde der jungen einheimischen Frau. Es ist eine gute Mischung, wie ich finde.

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  15. Somehow I missed noticing the mural that serves to interpret your state flag; I suppose I was too interested in the information about the flag itself. In any event, I really like that one: as much as any of the others. They all have features that appeal, but I think “Garden Spirits” might be my favorite of the portraits.

    I remember seeing an episode of NCIS years ago where the crime demanding a solution involved someone stealing a mural like this by literally cutting it out of the wall it was painted on. I certainly hope none of these suffer damage of any sort, let alone theft!

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    • I love that topmost mural that reflects all the components of the Colorado flag, Linda. I think the muralist did a fabulous job with it–as did all the other muralists.

      I’m aware of a few instances of vandalism on existing murals, mainly in the form of graffiti, but don’t think anybody has stolen one. Like you, I hope it won’t come to that.

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