In Deed

A few weeks ago, I completed a mural installation entitled In Deed on a busy corner in a newer development near downtown. I worked outdoors for about a week, prepping the wall by sanding down uneven concrete, and finally the primer before the actual local color went on. As I worked on this very public piece, I became aware of how spaces exist in relative obscurity or worse, utter neglect that turns unsightly and stands as a testament to lack of care, or too busy to dare. It dawned on me anew how we, as creatives spot these spaces, catch a vision, engage, and ultimately command them to speak as we will.

As I worked, I was showered by words of encouragement and gratitude by those passing through. Some even stopped their cars or came by to chat awhile. A photographer came and took a plethora of photos, fully immersing herself in the space. Public art is engagement on multiple levels. I often refer to it as performance art. Just past the middle portion of the project, a little elder lady came over. She lived in the new apartments across the four lane street with the manicured grass median. On her walker she arrived with words of praise and the unsurprising news that she’d been watching the entire process from her unit window. “I just sit and watch.” she said. It’s been magical, just seeing it develop and you so patiently dealing with the people who stop to talk to you.” I informed her that conversations were part of the process on a public art initiative. I really don’t mind. My curiosity had been satiated. I’d wondered if I had an audience in the plethora of windows that were stacked around my performance. I feel like a magician or a conductor on most projects like this, my brush as the baton commanding the colors in concert with the composition within the space.

When the piece was complete, I packed to leave. After taking a few photos on my phone, I did not go back down to the space but rather allowed the feedback of the public to be an extension of my eyes. I received it in retrospect as I was on to the next project, leaving this one to live and do its bidding in the space I’d commanded. My work was done. It was the work’s work to do now. I’d conceived, planned, and executed, in word by my agreement to do the project. Then I birthed it into existence by command, then commanding by work/action. In deed I had brought it to pass. Indeed, I had.