Artist’s Journal
Morton Brown
8.9.07
As of July 24th, the Conway City Council has officially approved the mural design and plans for renovation of Simon Park. Everyone involved, from City Planning and the Public Art Committee to the Office of the Mayor, City Council and the Tree Board have truly made some thoughtful decisions and facilitated this entire process with such openness and professionalism, that it has made us all look good—and me very proud.
I will be in Conway beginning August 13th (next Monday at 7am), at which time the scaffolding will be erected at City Hall. I am fortunate to be teaching three classes at UCA this fall, in conjunction to the mural, one of which will allow students to actually participate on the mural painting itself. My students and I will begin work on the mural immediately after scaffolding installation and continue through early October.
Please come by the mural site at 1201 Oak Street, see the progress, and say howdy to the mural gang. We will be onsite (guaranteed) Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-10:30am and Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 6-9pm. I will be onsite at various other times, but I know that I and some students will be there at the above times.
During the mural painting process, I will be handing the artist journal practice over to my students. Each week during the mural painting period, one student will submit to you and to the website blog (www.uca.edu/mural) a journal and photo-documentation from his or her perspective as muralist apprentice. This should make for a very interesting analysis and documentation of the process as it unfolds.
The UCA television station, channel 6, will also be on hand (and have been present from the beginning) to document the process throughout. They are also working with me right now, in collaboration with the Conway Downtown Partnership, to place a revolving loop of video that explains the mural process thus far through images and text via a large video screen that will remain in the storefront of Ed Camp’s in downtown throughout the painting period.
Also, I am meeting with Conway Public School teachers on August 14th at the mural site, coordinated by Dr. Gayle Seymour and Dr. Deb Kuster in order to talk about how we can integrate this mural project (and potentially other types of public art) into the schools’ curriculum. I expect that many schools will either make mural site filed trips, or schedule a time that I could come talk to their classes. Either way, I am very excited about this aspect of the project as it truly extends the artwork beyond its basic goals, and connects local institutions of learning and young people—offering not only an appreciation for art, but a recollection of the City’s history and people.
Two upcoming dates for you to mark on your calendar:
August 30th, 7pm at UCA, McCastlain Hall, room 143 (lecture hall next to Baum Gallery) : Artist Lecture on the Conway Community Mural Project
And—keep the afternoon of Saturday, October 6th open as we hold our Conway Community Mural Dedication Celebration in Downtown Conway! We are planning an afternoon full of music, family activities and talks by the artist, UCA faculty and Conway city officials. Open and free to the public-come join our celebration of your new mural!
Lastly, I would like to offer a special thanks this week to our partners who have made an extra effort within the last few weeks to get this project off the ground:
Office of the Mayor: Felicia Rogers, Jamie Gates and Mayor Townsell
City Planning/Tree Board: Bryan Patrick and Wes Craiglow
Conway Downtown Partnership: Amy Reed
Conway City Council
Thanks as always.
Morton Brown
Artist in Residence
UCA
412.901.1546 cell
Bromorton@gmail.com
Morton Brown
8.9.07
As of July 24th, the Conway City Council has officially approved the mural design and plans for renovation of Simon Park. Everyone involved, from City Planning and the Public Art Committee to the Office of the Mayor, City Council and the Tree Board have truly made some thoughtful decisions and facilitated this entire process with such openness and professionalism, that it has made us all look good—and me very proud.
I will be in Conway beginning August 13th (next Monday at 7am), at which time the scaffolding will be erected at City Hall. I am fortunate to be teaching three classes at UCA this fall, in conjunction to the mural, one of which will allow students to actually participate on the mural painting itself. My students and I will begin work on the mural immediately after scaffolding installation and continue through early October.
Please come by the mural site at 1201 Oak Street, see the progress, and say howdy to the mural gang. We will be onsite (guaranteed) Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-10:30am and Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 6-9pm. I will be onsite at various other times, but I know that I and some students will be there at the above times.
During the mural painting process, I will be handing the artist journal practice over to my students. Each week during the mural painting period, one student will submit to you and to the website blog (www.uca.edu/mural) a journal and photo-documentation from his or her perspective as muralist apprentice. This should make for a very interesting analysis and documentation of the process as it unfolds.
The UCA television station, channel 6, will also be on hand (and have been present from the beginning) to document the process throughout. They are also working with me right now, in collaboration with the Conway Downtown Partnership, to place a revolving loop of video that explains the mural process thus far through images and text via a large video screen that will remain in the storefront of Ed Camp’s in downtown throughout the painting period.
Also, I am meeting with Conway Public School teachers on August 14th at the mural site, coordinated by Dr. Gayle Seymour and Dr. Deb Kuster in order to talk about how we can integrate this mural project (and potentially other types of public art) into the schools’ curriculum. I expect that many schools will either make mural site filed trips, or schedule a time that I could come talk to their classes. Either way, I am very excited about this aspect of the project as it truly extends the artwork beyond its basic goals, and connects local institutions of learning and young people—offering not only an appreciation for art, but a recollection of the City’s history and people.
Two upcoming dates for you to mark on your calendar:
August 30th, 7pm at UCA, McCastlain Hall, room 143 (lecture hall next to Baum Gallery) : Artist Lecture on the Conway Community Mural Project
And—keep the afternoon of Saturday, October 6th open as we hold our Conway Community Mural Dedication Celebration in Downtown Conway! We are planning an afternoon full of music, family activities and talks by the artist, UCA faculty and Conway city officials. Open and free to the public-come join our celebration of your new mural!
Lastly, I would like to offer a special thanks this week to our partners who have made an extra effort within the last few weeks to get this project off the ground:
Office of the Mayor: Felicia Rogers, Jamie Gates and Mayor Townsell
City Planning/Tree Board: Bryan Patrick and Wes Craiglow
Conway Downtown Partnership: Amy Reed
Conway City Council
Thanks as always.
Morton Brown
Artist in Residence
UCA
412.901.1546 cell
Bromorton@gmail.com
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