Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: The Mural Project Guide and Map

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON FREE

MFA 150

2020

rob ‘problak’ gibbs rob stull madison park high school

introducing...

THE PROJECT

a little bit of history The Museum of fine arts, boston, was founded in 1870; opened its doors in Copley Square in 1876; and, thirty years later, moved to a former circus ground in the Fens, along Huntington Avenue. In the years to come, Boston came to meet the MFA, its neighborhoods and colleges, hospitals, brownstones, apartment buildings, and schools rising around it.

In 2020, the MFA’s 150th anniversary

PY H A P TH 150THDAY! BI R

year, the Museum is reimagining the future and participating with the surrounding communities by organizing an off-site, collaborative mural.

The Mural Project aims to bring people in our city—especially young people—together through art.

the mural project

pow

This Community Mural is a key project for this anniversary year. In collaboration with Boston artists and students, new art will be created outside the Museum’s walls.

Informed by a sense of collaboration and inclusion, the project highlights the role of artists who are often under recognized but have had significant influence on public art of today. young people who pass by the mural will feel the connection to art and artists and see themselves reflected in the art that beautifies their neighborhoods.

An original mural planned and executed by Rob Gibbs and students from Artists for Humanity and Madison Park High School, located in Roxbury, will emerge as a sign of the mfa’s continuing connection and relationship with the surrounding neighborhoods.

artists-in-residence Leading the way are Boston artists Rob “Problak” Gibbs and Rob Stull. As the MFA’s artists-in-residence, Rob and Rob explore shared experiences as fuel for artistic expression, digging in to the rich exchanges between the Museum and the street—as Rob Gibbs says, the “hieroglyphics of our culture.” The art, expertise, and creativity of the Black men and young people of color collaborating on the mural are a reflection of the priorities of the MFA during its 150th anniversary year. Their work and words become part of the MFA collection, and their experiences get written in the arc of art history.

1

jean-michel basquiat

rammellzee

writing the future Rob Stull created a visual response to “Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation” with a series of blackand-white tribute drawings to the artists featured in the exhibition and to his fellow “Boston writer,” Rob “Problak” Gibbs. Beyond MEASURE Productions, a Boston-based, diasporic-owned filmmaking company, created Co-Sign, a documentary video that captures Rob and Rob’s insights into creative expression in the community and the experiences of their young collaborators.

This brochure and map to the vibrant murals in our streets are Rob and Rob’s gift to you—MFA visitors from Boston and beyond. By creating paths that connect us, these artists extend the MFA’s mission to bring art and people together.

2

lady pink

futura

the power of art Guided by a deep sense of generosity and belief in the power of art, Rob and Rob see their residency as an opportunity not only to introduce the genius and influence of Basquiat and his contemporaries to new generations, but also to encourage young people to share experiences about what inspires them. Focusing on intergenerational connections and the importance of youth participation in creating hip-hop culture, Rob and Rob draw inspiration from the past and create possibilities for the future.

For our neighbors and those who visit our neighborhood, this publication maps out public art in the vicinity, offering a path to find your way from the MFA to artistic encounters beyond the Museum, and to enjoy our neighborhoods rich with artistic expression.

3

and now...

THE ARTISTS Making History while Writing the Future: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Futura, Rammellzee, Lady Pink, Lee QuiÑones, and others of their era are the catalysts. We honor their combined impact on art and global culture.

We recognize them as architects and pioneers of a movement. We thank them for their contributions to the culture, and for laying down the foundation to inspire future generations. We are Hip-Hop, its manifestations and its evolution. we are All members of the same significant and extended worldwide family. All art is relative. And all artists are storytellers with the ability to convey magic, myth, fantasy, joy and pain…all within a single image.

ROB STULL

I’m an artist, curator, teacher, and storyteller born and raised in Boston.

I’ve worked professionally for 30 years in the comic book, advertising, and graphic design industries, including work for Marvel and DC Comics. As a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at tufts, I’m honored to be an artist-in-residence at the MFA and to participate in the “Writing the Future” exhibition, an honor I share with fellow Boston-based artist, educator, and muralist Rob “Problak” Gibbs. We are the Hip-Hop generation, celebrating the contributions to our culture by the legendary artists represented, and adding our creative voice to the mix. In doing so, we become recognized and acknowledged as contributors to not only Hip-Hop culture, but global pop culture as well.

blue nefertiti by rob stull

4

Growing up during the golden age of hip-hop, I spent a lot of time venturing between the Lenox Street apartments and the Orchard Park projects of Roxbury.

I came across graffiti, which was often labeled as “vandalism.” To me, it was clear that graffiti was an art form, one that had the power to convey culture, history, and knowledge.

It became my mission to transform the streets of Boston with graffiti art—an art form that is

ROB “PROBLAK” GIBBS

frequently criminalized, undervalued, and maligned in mainstream culture.

In 1991, I founded the arts nonprofit Artists for Humanity (AFH) with six other urban teenagers. I’ve served as the Paint Studio Director for the past 29 years and I’ve had the honor of mentoring AFH youth as they set out as early career artists.

I’ve conducted youth workshops at Boston Public Schools, The Boston Foundation, and Youth Build, and have been a guest lecturer at Northeastern University.

My work as a solo artist has been featured in exhibitions like “The All City Evolution” at Boston’s Fourth Wall Gallery; “The Sharpie Show” and a solo exhibition at Crewest Gallery in Los Angeles; and a commission with Carnival Cruise Lines. My Breathe Life murals have been featured in the Boston Art Review, NBC, WBUR, The Boston Globe, Bay State Banner and Boston magazine.

I hope to continue to challenge and transform cultural norms and dialogue. I hope to continue to be a storyteller, documenting the lives of Boston’s communities of color.

Most of all, I hope to continue to find new ways to innovate my craft and to mentor others in the art form that changed my life.

breathe life 1 by rob “problak” gibbs 5

facing the wall...

THE MURAL

Breathe Life Muralist Rob Gibbs, part of Boston’s street art scene for more than 20 years, creates art as Problak. The Breathe Life series, featuring a young brother and sister, has personal resonance for Gibbs. 2017’s Breathe Life 1, a boy breathing into a fantasy landscape, is in Dorchester’s Grove Hall neighborhood, where Problak’s artistic journey began in middle school. The second in the series, 2019’s Breathe Life 3, is in Lower Roxbury, where Gibbs grew up, and shows the same boy and his sister bursting from the side of a building, signing the ASL for “breathe life.” And Breathe Life 2, the 2020 project with the MFA, is at Madison Park High School, which Gibbs attended in the ’90s.

Breathe Life 2 features the sister. its imagery is rooted in Gibbs’s artistic philosophy and work with youth. At Artists for Humanity, which Gibbs co-founded, he serves as a sounding board and counselor to young artists, “to get them in right head space where they need to be to create.”

6

Breathe Life 2 centers on the girl blowing bubbles around the books, ideas, art, and knowledge emanating from her backpack, as she too is enveloped by a giant bubble. It’s based on Gibbs’s positive advice to youth. He tells them, “Imagine, if you keep developing who you are, and understanding your emotional content, that it starts to form this bubble around you.” Surrounding a young person, the bubble encloses yet is transparent; it is strong but can be popped. “That was my message to young people: understand your emotional content and the time it’s going to take for you to develop it. Just like the time it would take to blow and finesse a bubble.”

Youth worked with Gibbs on this project at its earliest stage developing their understanding of artistic process.

He introduced them to the thought, looking, and research that goes into designing a work of art, as well as the practical and technical challenges of creating depth, energy, and meaning on the walls of a building. Together, they have brought to life an artwork, literally as inspiration: breathing life, strength, and joy.

Detail of preliminary drawing for Breathe Life 2 mural by Rob “Problak” Gibbs.

Color rendering by Billy “Biz20” Nunez.

7

the adventure begins...

THE MAP

1 David Ortiz Drive 120 Ipswich Street 20 Jersey Street 90 Traveler Street 40 Bradford Street

murals around the museum

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

neighborhood highlights

450 Huntington Avenue There are hundreds of public murals all over Boston.

This is a hand-picked list of street art within walking distance of the MFA. Use your phone’s GPS apps to get walking directions to these murals.

46 Leon Street and 69 Leon Street

808 Tremont Street

110 Forsyth Street Columbus Parking Garage 150 Forsyth Street Rotary

24 Smith Street 675 Parker Street

Madison Park High School

739 Parker Street

2387 Washington Street 103 Terrace Street

From left to right, top to bottom: 120 Ipswich St. 24 Smith St.

(by Caleb Neelon and Sneha Shrestha, 2018)

148 Minden Street

134 Day St. 150 Forsyth St. Rotary (Joy, 2019)

134 Day Street

362 Centre Street 340 Centre Street

10 Perkins Street

808 Tremont St.

Fenway

Jamaica Plain

1 David Ortiz Drive (Back of Sal’s Pizza facing the Turnpike) Fenway Nocturne (2019) by Percy Fortini-Wright

10 Perkins St. Taino Indians (1984) by Rafael Rivera Garcia. Restored 2003 by the Mayor’s Mural Crew, City of Boston—Heidi Schork

20 Jersey St. at Arthur’s Way Rally against Cancer (2019) by Gary Chen, Rob Gibbs (Problak), Soems

134 Day St. Day of Serenity (2017) by Rob Gibbs (Problak), Victor Quiñonez (Marka27), David Sepulveda (Don Rimx)

120 Ipswich St. Art of the Fenway (2016) by Boston Arts Academy students, Barrington S. Edwards (Studio Vexer), Francis Leandre (Tchug)

Mission Hill/Roxbury 103 Terrace St., formerly Mississippi’s Restaurant Mississippi’s of Roxbury (1998) by Victor Quiñonez (Marka27).

Artist was inspired by the MFA’s At the Café La Mie (about 1891)

by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. Jazz Legends (2003) by the African American Latino Alliance, Thomas Burns (Kwest), Clark, Gala Graffix Crew, Rob Gibbs (Problak), Rich Gomez (DEME5), KEM5, Victor Quiñonez (Marka27), Prisco, Rath, Wys, Zone 739 Parker St. at Dell Ave., Figueroa’s Market (Felix’s) Calling Home (2007) by Dance. Untitled (1990s) by Hops, Francis Leandre (Tchug), Relm, Teaze 2387 Washington St. at Malcolm X Blvd.

Faces of Dudley, old and new (1995) by the Mayor’s Mural Crew, City of Boston; Mike Womble. Restored 2015 by Gregg Bernstein, Bounce Tatts, Cedric Douglas (VISE1), Barrington S. Edwards (Studio Vexer), Rob Gibbs (Problak), Rich Gomez (DEME5), Mike and Elaine Womble 675 Parker St., Fuentes Market Esperanza (2004) by Gregg Bernstein; Mayor’s Mural Crew, City of Boston 24 Smith St., Maurice J. Tobin School Various murals by Brian Denahy (2019); Lena McCarthy (2018); Caleb Neelon, Risky WCA (2011); Caleb Neelon, Sneha Shrestha (2018); Caleb Neelon, Katie Yamasaki (2014); Caleb Neelon, Victor Quiñonez (Marka27) (2015); Victor Quiñonez (Marka27), and David Sepulveda (Don Rimx) (year unknown)

362 Centre St. at Forbes St. Vasallo’s (2008) by Billy Nunez (Biz20), Victor Quiñonez (Marka27) 340 Centre Street, Pimentel Market Pimentel Market (before 2007) by Rich Gomez (DEME5) 148 Minden Street, Hennigan Elementary School Floor Lords Courageous (2010) by Beyond, Deemize, Ges, Rob Gibbs (Problak), KEM5, Syte, Totem

Northeastern University Campus 110 Forsyth St., Latinx Student Cultural Center Latinx Student Cultural Center (2016) by Susan Cervantes 150 Forsyth St. Rotary, Ruggles Station 999 Cranes (2018) and Joy (2019) by Silvia López Chavez Columbus Parking Garage Pedestrian Overpass One Hundred Years of Solitude (2014) by Daniel Anguilu 46 Leon St., Meserve Hall and Centennial Commons Ars et Scientia (2015) by Miles MacGregor (El Mac) 69 Leon St., Behrakis Health Sciences Center A World of Innocent Wounder (2016) by Cedric Douglas (VISE1) 450 Huntington Avenue at Parker St. Transmission (2015) by Todd Glazer. Untitled (2018) by Astro Graff.

Artist was inspired by Egyptian hieroglyphs at the MFA. Untitled (2018) by Daniel Anguilu

Lower Roxbury/South End Madison Park High School Campus 75 Malcolm X Blvd. (Tremont-facing building on north side of campus) Breathe Life 2 (2020) by Artists for Humanity, Rob Gibbs (Problak), students from Madison Park 55–75 Malcolm X Blvd.

The Lab—Murals (year unknown) by Amore, Auks, Aware, Bowz, Brandalizm, Kenji Chai, Barrington S. Edwards (Studio Vexer), Fuck with Love, Rob Gibbs (Problak), Imagine, Jam, Jimboe, KEM5, Francis Leandre (Tchug), NE2, Genaro Ortega (GoFive), Quiz, RasTerms, Sense, Skept, Sobek, Soems, Swabs, Take, Tense, Times, Wake, Zen. Mel King (2019) by Genaro Ortega (GoFive)

808 Tremont St. Breathe Life 3 (2019) by Rob Gibbs (Problak) 40 Bradford St., Peters Park Reflect the Times (2017) by Lee Beard, Bowz, Genaro Ortega (GoFive), Take1 with help from Devon Lewis-Thompson, Genaro Ortega III, Reina Quinonez, Namie Talbot-Gomez 90 Traveler St., Underground Ink Various murals by Cey Adams, Thy Doan, Rob Gibbs (Problak), Hoxxoh, Greg Lamarche, Silvia López Chavez, Soraya Marquez, Iker Muro, Victor Quiñonez (Marka27), Vyal Reyes, Sneha Shrestha, David Sepulveda (Don Rimx), Underground Ink Block, Upendo, Dana Woulfe, Matthew Zaremba

THANKS TO THE ARTISTS AND BOSTON MURALS (2017) BY CHRISTINE AND ADRIEN VERRET FOR INFORMATION AND INSPIRATION.

8

sponsored by

Additional support from the Darwin Cordoba Fund, the Museum Council Artist in Residency Fund, the Museum Council Community Mural Fund, and Robert and Pamela Adams.

This program is supported in part by the Transformative Public Art grant from the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.

tha nk you !

Cover and page 7 (detail): Rob Gibbs (Problak), preliminary drawing for Breathe Life 2 mural, 2020. Color rendering by Billy Nunez (Biz20). Inside front cover: Rob Stull, MFA Boston, 2020. Ink on paper. Pages 2–3: Rob Stull, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Rammellzee, Lady Pink, and Futura, 2020. Ink on paper; photograph/giclee reproductions on canvas. Page 4, top: Rob Stull, Self-Portrait, 2020. Ink on paper.

Page 4, bottom: Rob Stull, Blue Nefertiti, 2014. Mixed media. Page 5, top: Rob Stull, Rob “Problak” Gibbs, 2020. Ink on paper. Page 5, bottom: Rob Gibbs (Problak), Breathe Life 1, 2017. Gabriel Ortiz for G. Ortiz Photography (gortizphotography.com).

Page 6: Rob Stull, Rob “Problak” Gibbs with students, 2020. Ink on paper. Page 8, left to right, top to bottom: First three, photos by Annie Short; photo by Dominic Chavez; Gabriel Ortiz for G. Ortiz Photography (gortizphotography.com). Back cover: Gabriel Ortiz for G. Ortiz Photography (gortizphotography.com).