The famous faces of Lady Gaga, Prince, Mac Miller and David Bowie grace a new mural behind the El Rey Theater on Seventh Street. The project was the result of a collaborative effort by 44 local artists to honor famous musicians both past and present.
Nazario Sandoval, the artist coordinator for the new public artwork, said he initially planned for 10 artists to create the mural but the painting process turned into a community-building event, full of local artists and music lovers.
The budget for the project was originally $1,000 but quickly tripled as the community of artists working on it increased. Sandoval funded the entire project himself.
Local artist Itzel Meléndez painted Mac Miller’s portion of the wall.
“He’s been there as a guide to help me through the highs and lows of my life,” Meléndez said of Miller. “Since I was 15, he’s been one of my favorite artists.”
Sandoval said that the people who contributed to painting the wall were “such an eclectic, diverse array of artists.”
The differing ages of the artists resulted in a diversity of local legends, such as Al Hurricane, who died in 2017, and rapper Wake Self, who died in 2019 following a car crash, to be featured on the wall.
Meléndez said a lot of people from younger generations were happy to see Miller painted on the wall.
Sandoval said he helped create a community of up-and-coming New Mexican artists, whom he called “the most talented people in the state.” The painting session, which he referred to as a “paint jam” was COVID-safe as well, with everyone at the event wearing masks and socially distanced.
Sandoval gave each of the artists creative freedom in deciding who and how they wanted to paint.
“You’ll always get an artist’s best work if you let them do what they want to do,” Sandoval said.
Meléndez said it’s rare for commissioned artists to have any creative freedom and was grateful that Sandoval allowed the artists to “take the ropes” on the project.
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“I didn’t really know there were all these artists in the community,” Meléndez said, speaking about how the pandemic has isolated many artists. “I feel like we’re all so spread apart, but with these projects, it just brings us all together.”
Sarah Bodkin is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @sarahbodkin4
