Shepard Fairey’s towering mural rises in Costa Mesa
Mayor Katrina Foley seemed awestruck as she looked up at a mural being painted in Costa Mesa.
“I’m just overwhelmed,” she said Thursday. “I really am.”
Designed by street artist Shepard Fairey — best known for his Obey art campaign and clothing line, and for designing the Obama “Hope” poster — the Baker Street mural is a towering work.
Roughly 136 feet wide and 55 feet tall, it’s an eye-popping canvas of vibrant red, yellow, blue and black visible to drivers on the nearby 55 Freeway.
“It was an incredible opportunity to have something so visual,” Fairey said Thursday. “What I hope is people who enjoy it consider how art enriches the community and then, maybe, they support more projects like this.”
Massive in size, the mural is painstakingly detailed. Symbols such as a dove and an angel holding a lotus flower are painted along with depictions of surf and skate culture.
The word “Welcome” hovers above a woman with a flower in her hair, and “Independence” is etched above a stand of palm trees.
In designing the mural, Fairey took care to craft something that would catch the eye of drivers zooming by but not be overly complex, he said.
“I have a sense of what’s going to work from a distance,” he said. “I feel like there’s plenty of detail to enjoy, but it’s not so fussy, not so busy.”
The privately funded mural is part of Baker Block — an apartment complex development at the intersection of Baker and Pullman streets.
Fairey started work on the mural Monday and said his goal is to wrap it up this week.
“Art in public space is exciting because it keeps people from having to go to a gallery or a museum,” he said. “Maybe it reels some people into being excited about art and into art, which is great.”
Foley was able to persuade Fairey to make one notable addition to his work: Costa Mesa’s official motto, “City of the Arts,” is emblazoned near the top.
“We’re trying, everywhere we can, to really showcase the arts,” Foley said.
Money writes for Times Community News
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