Eleven on 11 Murals Curated by Markus Muse

Eleven on 11th Murals: Marcus Muse Curates Oklahoma City Public Art Project

By Piper Prolago

Sean Vali’s Peace Peace, Miguel Palomino’s Rose, and Marcus Muse’s For Breonna are featured in the Eleven on 11th installation.

The streets of Oklahoma City are home to nationally recognized public art projects. Here, a diverse array of artists are able to express themselves and their experiences by shaping the aesthetics of the city. One of the city’s newest projects, the Eleven on 11th murals, hones in on the individuality of Oklahoma artists; these eleven panels line 11th street near N Walker Ave in Midtown Oklahoma City. A result of collaboration between Chris Fleming and developing company Midtown Renaissance, Marcus Muse, who created one panel and curated the selected murals, as well as 10 additional artists from throughout the state, the Eleven on 11th murals have become a unique opportunity for Oklahoma creators to realize their own unique visions. abstractions in Forward Refraction to Alexander Tamahn’s playful and exuberant message to “Normalize luxury for Black Women” in Redefine Luxury. Each of the murals are painted on pre-primed, sign-board-grade plywood inserted into a large, connected frame that lines the 11th street sidewalk. Brought together by Muse, each artist was given the space to cultivate their own design within their allotted panel. Muse described his process of assembling a group through the city of Oklahoma City’s Pre-Qualified Artist Pool and by reaching out to individuals he specifically wanted to work with. Seeking artists who could “display their cultural and ethnic heritage through their art,” Muse assembled a group of creators who reflected the diversity of Oklahoma City. Fleming and Sean Cobbs of Funnel Design Group. Originally conceived as Ten on 11th, the two had the idea to transform the street after redoing the sidewalk on the facing street. “You can either fix it or you can feature it,” Fleming laughed, describing that one side of the street had interesting architecture and landscape while the other, where the murals would ultimately be placed, was blank. Public art reaches out to passersby, inviting an interruption to daily life and moments of contemplation. In these moments, art can surprise you. Although funded through Midtown Renaissance, Fleming and Muse collaborated with the Oklahoma City government throughout the process of implementing these murals. Arts & Cultural Affairs Liaison Robbie Kienzle explained that a public art project like this “reflects who WE

LEFT: Joshua Jaiye Farrell’s Portal Way, Cread Bayliss’ Bombastic, and Rosetta Funches’ Stay Woke are each featured murals in the Eleven on 11th installation. RIGHT: Bryan Boone, Forward Refraction, 2020

are as a community, and what’s important to us for all to see in our individual neighborhoods and cultural districts.”

Recognizing the potential of the space to cultivate community and creativity, Fleming held on to the idea until the next year, when he reached out to Muse. Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Muse opened Museart Tattoo Co. here in 2013. Although the Eleven on 11th project was Muse’s first experience with curating, Muse has been making art for more than 30 years, including working on Royal Tones, a large mural in Culbertson East Highland. Spanning the entire face of the Jeltz Senior Housing Center building, Royal Tones is an ambitious project imagining the visage of a Black woman in blue tones, framed by a golden halo and dedicated to all the men and women who have lost their lives due to police brutality.

“Art can be such a reflection of place and time,” Fleming described. Particularly at such a charged moment in time, public art initiatives can be meaningful opportunities to proactively advocate for social justice and racial equity. This is certainly the case with Muse’s own contribution to the Eleven on 11th murals, a portrait of Breonna Taylor, who was killed in her bed by plainclothes Louisville police officers during a botched raid. Muse captures the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement in this moment, reminding viewers of its stakes.

The ability to make design and thematic choices like Muse’s was an integral part of the creation of the Eleven on 11th murals. Muse’s leadership in this project revolved around creating space for each artist to pursue their own ideas. Rather than submitting design ideas—where the applicant might shape their design to what they think the commissioner would like to see—the people involved were invited to join as holistic artists, given creative freedom as part of the team. Bryan Boone, one of the contributing muralists, explained, “Working with Marcus was great. He laid out the vision and made it clear each artist was to bring their individual vision to each panel. I could just trust in his curation and create without worrying about the whole or how my design would fit.”

In the future, the team might bring in new artists with the hopes of creating a dynamic and ever-changing institution on 11th street. Fleming hopes to create a self-sustaining and continuous project by selling the current panels to fund the next round of artists. Through the innovation of individuals like Muse and Fleming, Oklahoma City has become one of the best cities in the country for public art, recognized in USA Today as the #1 City for Street Art in 2021. With increasing recognition of the power of street art to enliven urban spaces, cities might look to the Eleven on 11th murals as a model to ensure that pubic art also meets its potential to express the diversity of the city and elevate talented community members. n

Piper Prolago is an undergraduate senior from Wichita, Kansas studying art history and anthropology at the University of Tulsa.

The Eleven on 11th installation features work by Bryan Boone, Paul Bagley, Dawn Jaiye, Sean Vali, Alexander Tamahn, Marcus Muse, Holey Kids, Brian Landreth, Rosetta Funchess, Miguel Palomino, and Steven Cread Bayliss.

CREATE, COLLABORATE, COMMISERATE

Two Art Galleries | Gift Shop | Photography Studio 10 Artists’ Studios | Art Workshops 3024 Paseo, Oklahoma City, OK 73103

Tues-Fri 11am-5pm Sat Noon-5pm thepaseo.org/PACC 405.525.2688 “One of my main priorities is to continue to strengthen our existing relationships with our community partners and to build new ones.”

The Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tulsa is pleased to announce that Michelle Martin, Professor of Art, has assumed the position of Director of the School of Art, Design and Art History. An active artist working in all print media and drawing, Professor Martin’s work has been shown in over 225 national and international exhibitions since 1995, including venues in Australia, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Venezuela, Iceland, Italy, Turkey, Canada, and England. She has won numerous awards, including an Oklahoma Artist of Excellence Award in 2003, the OVAC Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowship in 2008, and several exhibition and purchase awards. Her work can also be found in over 40 museum and university collections.

Since her arrival at The University of Tulsa in 1997, Professor Martin has been an active member of the department; in addition to her active research and service profiles, she also teaches classes in printmaking, drawing, and beginning digital media. She brings a wealth of administrative experience to her new role; prior to serving as Director, she has held numerous other positions, including Director of Arts Management, Freshman Advisor, Graduate Advisor for the MFA program, Director of the Alexandre Hogue Gallery, and Director of the Sherman Smith Family Gallery at the Henry Zarrow Center for Art and Education.

The School of Art, Design and Art History has a long history of building relationships within the local and regional community. Whether through hosting the Kravis Summer Arts Camp (in partnership with Tulsa Public Schools), giving workshops or demonstrations at local schools and museums, hosting exhibits for local schools and nonprofits, or providing pro-bono design services to local nonprofits (Third Floor Design), the School considers community service to be a vital part of its mission. Professor Martin agrees, stating “The community outreach component of our program is extremely important – for both the community and our students’ professional and personal education. One of my main priorities is to continue to strengthen our existing relationships with our community partners and to build new ones.”

Over her long career at TU, Professor Martin has seen many changes, but she is looking forward to the future, and sees the School poised to make significant contributions to the university’s new strategic plan, especially in the areas of career readiness and graphic design and digital media. “Our department prepares our students with a solid foundation for success after graduation: we provide a program that finds a balance between the study of fine art and specialized training in how those skills can be applied in various industries. Our students in all programs (studio art, design, art history, and arts, culture, and entertainment management) are equipped to compete successfully in the professional arena prior to graduation through obtaining competitive internships, presenting at professional conferences and exhibiting in juried exhibitions. Due to these efforts, we have a nearly 100% rate for employment and graduate school placement for our students, and our alumni have found careers in design, software/app development, animation, education, marketing and law (yes, really!).”

Check out our most recent activities at @utulsaart and utulsa.edu/art.