Art for the Oapturi ng theOnnaha Olaracter of a Oity:ages. I ne

Mural Frclzfz^'f tn r\\,/ttuL t- un-

nontnr-iF-/\_./\, L\r\-,i

tc last 30

The Omaha Mural Project

by Heather Akerberg lphofos by minorwhitestudios.com

hat do you get when a center for the arts, a philanthropic organization, and

a world-renowned artist come together on a project? The result is a piece

of public art that is both enormous in its physical size - measuring 22,000

square feet - as well as its historical significance. Upon completion, the mural at 13tt 'and

Webster streets wil l be rank among the largest in the country, and is expected to last up to

30 years. lt also has already been selected for a best practices study, and other artistic acco-

lades are looming.

The Peter Kiewit Foundation init iated the collaborative project in 2006, wanting to further

enrich the North Downtown area by gift ing a large public mural to the City of Omaha. After

years.

the encounter I november/december 2008 I f5 I

'As I went through the photo-graphs, I pulled ones that stoodout-there was something aes-thetical ly pleasing about them."

- Meg Sal igman

conducting a search to find the best artists in the field, the Foun-

dation and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts narrowed it

down to approximately six qualif ied artists, then evaluated their

styles at length. Known for her thoughtful and vibrant murals, as

well as her advanced techniques, Meg Saligman, a Philadelphia-

based mural artist, proved

an easy choice.

"They realized, hands

down, that they re-

ally loved Meg's work and

were impressed by her

level of excitement about

the project," said Holly

McAdams, Community

Arts Program Manger for

the Bemis Center.

Saligman conducted

extensive research to learn

about Omaha's history and

development. The mural,

t it led "Ferti le Ground," wil l

be a depiction of the city's story: Who we are as a community,

how the city developed, and our future potential. In addition to

featuring some historical images and iconic architectural ele-

ments, the mural wil lfeature the l ikeness of nearly 50 real-l i fe

Omahans. The models were chosen from hundreds of photo-

graphs that were taken during five different photo shoots.

'As I went through the photographs, I pulled ones that stood

out-there was something aesthetically pleasing about them,"

said Sal igman.

Unl ike other paint ings

that express a historical

t imel ine in a l inear fashion,

"Ferti le Ground" expresses

time through depth - the

older images in the back-

ground and present day

Omaha in the foreground.

This positions the viewer

as the future. Regardless

ofwhen one stands be-

fore the mural, be it next

month or in 20 years, the

viewer wil l always have the

sense ofbeing part of the

community's continuum. Vertically, the composition spans fromthe roots beneath the plains to the open sky above.

"Meg was struck when she read that prairie grasses have roots

H,keg#N2340 Paul Street

(NE Corner of 24th & Hamilton)

402.344.447 twww. b st reetcol I i s i o n.co m

:

Cubby's OldMarket Grocery601 S. 13th St.

w november/december 2008 | the encounter

departmenlq

"For people with no artis-tic experience, it's just funfor them to have paint intheir hands."

- Meg Sal igman

deeper than the grass is tall-again she felt this was an expression of

the area's depth of character and community roots," said McAdams.

Saligman has called upon the community to assist in the

creation of this 7O-foot tall, 328-foot long painting, which has

already-taken more than 600 gallonsof paint. Several Omahans have al-ready pitched in, including studentsfrom a Bellevue mural class andother random, inspired citizens.

"For people with no artistic expe-rience, it's just fun for them to havepaint in their hands," said Meg.

The process Saligman uses is simi-lar to a paint-by-numbers, whichallows for less-skilled artists to helpwith the early stages. While the ma-jority of the work is done directly onthe wall, there are portions that arepainted in the studio using a non-woven acrylic material similar to adryer sheet. Sections of the mural

attached to the wall using acrylic gel and then blended into the

surrounding image."Trying to clarify detail for that scale [is difficult]. The real trick,

as far as detail goes, is more suggesting what's there rather than

trying to paint it," said James Shus-

ter, a painter on the project.

The images in the mural are pho-

to-realistic but painterly. When look-

ing at the mural, it 's hard to believe

such rich colors and intricate details

are created on a cement wall. The

viewer is struck by the quality of the

work, l ike any masterpiece on can-

vas that hangs in Joslyn Museum.

"We want it to look like a paint-

ing, not a bil lboard. lt 's a balance,"

said Saligman. "lf you're a painter,

we want you to be able to enjoy the

paint. lf you're a historian, we want

you to enjoy the hidden references.

There are different things for differ-

are "posterized" and projected onto these large sheets. The pos- ent people."

terizing separates the image into sections of individual colors, For more information on The Omaha Mural Project and the prog-

which are numbered. Once the colors are painted in, the sheet is ress of "Fertile Ground," visit www.omahamuralproject.org. III

Make sure yourwindows areas well-dressedas you...

o

CLI CE

\

J

ln the Old Market402.342.227 61206 Howard StreetOmaha, N E 681C2

the encounter I november/december zooa N