As one who believes in public art and have written frequently about it, I decided to yield to Mark's periodic encouragement to consider it. It's a 17 foot wide by 13 foot high space. What would you paint if this was your project?
I conceived a concept and presented the idea. With a few modifications it was a go and we proceeded.
The concept for the mural was Inspiration. I reached out to an informal group of local artists and pitched my idea, and an invitation to participate. I wrote:
My idea for this mural would be to have a dozen 18’x 18” panels distributed to artists who would paint something in keeping with the theme to be detailed below. This is an exterior wall. The panels will be screwed to the large wall as shown below.
THEME: INSPIRATION FROM THE ARMORY AND ITS SURROUNDINGS
In other words, you may create something based on one of the multitude of performers and celebrities who been guests of the Armory from Harry Truman to Johnny Cash, Will Rogers to Bob Hope. OR you may get the inspiration for your painting from the beautiful lake, the Rose Garden, Leif Erickson Park or whatever moves you.
My original ideas evolved for the central portion. And during the winter it will evolve some more, I suspect. At first, I envisioned a ten foot portrait of Dylan, who found early inspiration from seeing Buddy Holly here a few days before his untimely death. This evolved to a smaller Dylan portrait in the lower right and a man holding a torch in the center, which then evolved to placing Robert Johnson, the blues guitarist, singer/songwriter who proved so influential in the Deep South, a recognized master of the Delta Blues style that influenced so many of the musicians that rocked the world in the 60s. You can read more about Robert Johnson and his influence here.
Bob Dylan's album Highway 61 Revisited is a tribute to the famed Blues Highway, which runs up the center of the country from there to here, to the front door of the Historic Duluth Armory.
Sing Your Song is the title of a 2011 documentary about Harry Belafonte which many of us saw at the DuSu Films Festival a number of years ago. Belafonte was more than an entertainer. He was also a Civil Rights activist. His connection to the mural is this. When Bob Dylan left Minnesota for the Big City, he was famously brought into the Columbia family of recording artists by John Hammond, who signed many other famous artists including Billy Holiday. (Some called Dylan "Hammond's Folly" when his first album seemed not to find an audience.) Belafonte was recording his album The Midnight Special and Dylan was hired to play harmonica on the title track, one of Dylan's first "official" recordings in New York.
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CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
Sue Rauschenfes, Linda Glisson, Edna Stromquist, Molly Overden, Christie Eliason, Virginia Alexander, Kris Nelson, Margie Helstrom, Rosemarie Guttormsson, Lulu and Tubbs. And myself.
Related Links
A Visit to the Buddy Holly Crash Site
The Role Played by the Armory During the Spanish Flu
Highway 61 Revisited was the title for John Bushey's Dylan-themed radio show that ran for more than 26 years on KUMD. Miriam Hanson is the current host of this valuable program.
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