FALLARTS
dreaming in color
A prolific Durham muralist depicts the experiences of our city's latino community in his art By Be n Cros bie | P hoto by J oh n M i c h a e l S i m ps on
s a kid growing up in the Mexican state of Michoacán, Cornelio Campos was, like many young children, intrigued by superheroes. He pored over comic books, but, contrary to convention, what captivated Cornelio wasn’t the heroes themselves. Rather, it was the illustrations. And his fascination with the depictions of the characters and their superpowers would eventually grow into a skill that was very real, and quite powerful in its own right. When he immigrated to the United States after graduating high school, his love of painting was one of the few things he carried with him. He originally moved to Los Angeles and relocated to North Carolina two years later. He had a cousin who lived here, and Cornelio was able to get a job working on a farm. Painting served as a coping mechanism over the course of a relentlessly arduous immigration experience that left Cornelio feeling disillusioned as the shiny Cornelio Campos sits in front of his "Wings of a Migrant Butterfly" display promises of a new and prosperous life failed to materialize. at the Durham County Main Library. “It started as a form of alleviation,” he says. “It was a very hard transition, and I think that’s what I reflect in the sociopolitical themes of my paintings.” borders, whether those barriers separate people physically, mentally Cornelio eventually realized that many of the elements in his life or metaphorically. “It’s representative of the values of the library,” says that he channeled into his artwork were common stories among archivist Lauren Menges, head of the North Carolina Collection. “We’re Hispanic immigrants. “[In] expressing myself personally, [I] didn’t always trying to highlight those underrepresented communities in know that I was narrating the story of millions of people,” he says. Durham and make sure that everyone feels welcome at the library.” Cornelio is now dedicated to telling the stories of his people through Lauren says library staff were excited and eager to display the art, and many of his public pieces can be found throughout Durham. work of such a prominent Durham artist. “He’s a very big pillar In April, the Durham County Main Library put Cornelio’s “Wings in the local art community, so to have that representation in our of a Migrant Butterfly” on display in the space that houses the North collection is important,” she says. Carolina Collection. The mural, like most of Cornelio’s work, depicts The display is the latest achievement of the Two-Way Bridges themes of immigration, highlighting the value of building bridges across community outreach project, an initiative that aims to establish a 32
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