Page 21 - the NOISE April 2015

CAN YOU HEAR IT?
THE SOUND OF FLIGHT READIES FOR TAKE OFF
ABOVE, artists Margaret Dewar, Sky Black, & R.E. Wall grace the fire escape of the newly refurbished Orpheum Theater in downtown Flagstaff.
PHOTO & STORY BY SARAH GIANELLI
If you live in Flagstaff and haven’t seen or at least heard “We had to paint at night because of the summer heat the many memorable moments that occurred during phase
about the ambitious mural taking shape on the east wall of The Orpheum, well, it’s time to get out more, or start reading your committed local monthly, which has been covering the progress of The Sound of Flight mural project since Sky Black and Mural Mice R.E. Wall & Margaret Dewar first laid licks of paint last August.
Having completed half of the mural — 130 birds exploding in symphonic chaos from the golden depths of the grandest of pianos — the dedicated trio took a much deserved break in November when daylight hours diminished and tempera- tures plummeted making it impossible to live on “the wall” like they had all summer.
With the onset of spring, the team is gearing up for phase two, beginning with a crowdfunding campaign that launches this month on SoundofFlight.net to finance the completion of the project. If they meet their goal of $15,000 (hoping to garner $5,000 or more from private investors who in turn will have their names engraved on the dedication plaque), the plan is to be back on the wall by July 1, and have the 150 foot long by 30 foot tall mural (a total of 4500 square feet) finished in time for a Halloween celebration.
Mr. Black, Mr. Wall & Ms. Dewar can’t stress enough their gratitude for the support they have received from the com- munity, both financial as well as for the many individuals and businesses who donated equipment, fetched supplies and brought them food (and beers) on a regular basis. Finally, Mr. Black is indebted to Orpheum owner Chris Scully, who has been behind the project since Mr. Black had the idea for the mural over three years ago.
“I think the awareness of public art and the amount of peo- ple who helped out and were supportive of this, in a collec- tive sense, was one of the biggest attributes and most invalu- able aspects of the project,” says Mr. Black. “It was really my first experience on a project this large in scale and with such a tremendous outpouring of community involvement.”
Mr. Black couldn’t have done it without bringing onboard The Mural Mice, whose years of experience creating large scale public art was an invaluable asset when it came to fund- raising, budgeting, and the nitty-gritty of rendering a compo- sition blown up 2,000 times the size of the original. Artistic and personal partners, Ms. Dewar & Mr. Wall, recognizable by the fuzzy mouse ears often tucked into their hats, are respon- sible for epic (and occasionally controversial) murals such as Flagstaff’s Route 66 on the side of Lumberyard Brewing and Greek Islands on the nearby restaurant; and a particularly trip- py, drippy piece in downtown Mesa called Melting Pot. The funky duo got their name while working on their first Prescott mural in 2006.
and folks would tell us that we looked like mice scampering around on the scaffold,” explains Mr. Wall. “Then we wanted to paint at the Tsunami on the Square festival and they said we couldn’t unless we were a performance act. So I said,‘what are we supposed to do, jump up on giant cheese wedges and dance around like mice?’ Well, that’s exactly what we did, ex- cept with giant paintbrushes.”
Mr. Wall and Ms. Dewar remain fervently passionate about the value of public art. Ms. Dewar finds public art projects to be an incredibly positive and potentially healing experience for everyone involved. “When entire communities take part in something that is for everyone, it provides a sense of pur- pose,” she says. “There is not typically a lot of money in pub- lic art, but I consider myself paid in more appreciation than I know what to do with.”
“When you involve a lot of people, there is a white glow of pride that seems to permeate the process,” adds Mr. Wall. “Especially when it reflects the common core values of a com- munity. The more people involved, the more life and creativ-
ity is breathed into the story you are creating. Cultural and generational gaps are closed. People get empowered by the act of creation and that, in turn, empowers others. Art is like a battery. The artist(s) charges the battery and the public with- draws the power from it.”
The collaborators faced many challenges last year — work- ing in the hot sun, getting drenched by the monsoons, inevi- table artistic differences, physically demanding 14 hour days, and architectural incongruities that called upon the “perspec- tive genius” of Mr. Wall. Each of the artists recognizes the strengths the others bring to the table. Mr. Black is adept at analyzing the composition as a whole; shapes, colors, theme, spacing, and how it all comes together. He’s also a notori- ously quick painter, and has a 23 year old’s stamina working in his favor. Both men are awed by Ms. Dewar’s artistic flair, especially when it came to her exquisitely executed birds.
The struggles, or “learning opportunities” as Mr. Black pre- fers to call them, were just that — opportunities for growth. All three allude to differences in vision and style that sparked occasional conflict, but ultimately, the respect and friendship that has taken root between them far surpasses any issues that arose, and unanimously they conclude that resolution hinges on communication.
“Maggie and I have been painting together forever,” says Mr. Wall. “Being a couple, we balance each other out and work as if we were one person. Sky has become the third part of an unbreakable triad. Together, we can do anything. We just have to keep our egos at home.”
Having had a few months to recoup, mostly the three art- ists reflect on the relative ease of the project and laugh about
one. Mr. Black and Mr. Wall had an ongoing competition to see who could get to the wall first; a hot pursuit ensued after a young street kid stole their tip jar; Mr. Black had a close en- counter with lightning; and one morning, undoubtedly rac- ing to get to the mural first, Mr. Wall crashed his bike, split open his head and was rushed to the emergency room. Two hours and six stitches later, Mr. off the Wall was back on it.
As with all of his paintings, Mr. Black encourages viewers to come with up their own meaning of what they see, but when pressed to offer his intention for the concept, he says, “My goal was to create almost an overwhelming, uplifting feeling with this piece. Being on the Orpheum, I was compelled to incorporate a musical theme into the design. That being said, one way people might interpret Sound of Flight would be in a way that it represents a climactic moment of a song.”
Currently the dense dispersion of birds — a highly detailed spectrum of color, size and species — are precariously close to soaring off into a void that, contingent upon another suc- cessful fundraising campaign, will be transformed into a Grand Canyon-scape more typical of Mr. Black’s surrealist style. The birds will continue their migration across the wall, passing a depiction of Michelangelo’s statue David (more chastely rendered) next to a woman in red, symbolizing the archetypal hero and the muse. Rodin’s The Thinker will teeter on the edge of the canyon in the company of a lone wolf, with the possibility of hot air balloons drifting into sunset.
“The whole piece is classically influenced,” says Mr. Black. “By incorporating the ancient styles and periods of art into my paintings it brings up questions of whether I’m worthy or not. It’s my way of attempting to prove myself to these great masters. When I designed the concept, I wasn’t thinking of
creating something that objectively described Flagstaff at all. It really has nothing to do with Flagstaff besides the fact that artists in Flagstaff like to create fine art, and that’s what this project is, large scale fine art. It’s not a commission. It comes from a deeper passion — that we live in Flagstaff and want to give back to the community because we share a symbiotic relationship. It’s for the people, by the people of this town.”
A Phase Two kickoff event at The Orpheum is slated for June that will feature a silent auction, raffle, live music, food and drink. Visit SoundofFlight.net to make your donation today and learn about tiered donor rewards, and to keep cur- rent on project updates and events. Visit MuralMice.com to see more of the couple’s collaborations; and Mr. Black’s work at SkyBlackArt.com.
| Sarah Gianelli gets her kicks on Route 66 too!
sarahgianelli@thenoise.us
thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • APRIL 2015 • 21