If you’ve noticed the grain elevator mural on the north side of Wichita, you’re already familiar with the work of Armando Minjarez and GLeo. The two are working on another mural that will be the backdrop for the Duerksen Fine Arts Amphitheater on Wichita State’s campus. For this month’s "ArtWorks," Torin Andersen talked with the artists as they worked on a beautiful spring day in Kansas.
Artist Armando Minjarez says that the May 3 deadline for the unveiling of the new WSU Mural may not be quite the final product.
"How many days? We're on week three of production," Minjarez says. "But we're not going to be finished by the third. So it'll be at a place where it'll look like it's kind of finished."
Minjarez says he and his fellow muralist and grain elevator collaborator, GLeo, are working to complete the mural.
"So over there painting is GLeo, Colombian artist that is known to Wichita. This is her fourth time in town. The very first time she came to paint the grain elevator mural over on the north side of town," he says. "The following week she'll come back and add more highlights and details and those kinds of things."
The two worked on the Beachner grain elevator on 21st Street, one of 19 murals painted in 2018 as a part of the Horizontes Project. However, the boom lift for use on the WSU mural only needs to go about 25 feet high as opposed to the 100-foot grain elevator.
"The scale difference? Oh, wow, I mean, this mural is about the size of one of the silos. And there are 17 silos," Minjarez says.
There is some added time for this project too.
"The grain elevator was done in 11 weeks. This one we've given ourselves about, you know, five weeks to get it done. So half the time, for 1/17 of the size of the other one."
The added time will afford the artists something closer to a 9-5 work schedule with hopefully weekends off, good meals and the flexibility to account for weather interference.
"The weather is just unique here," Minjarez says. "You know, right now it's springtime, we could have a tornado, we could have hail, wind, rain, and beautiful sunny days like today."
GLeo says she appreciates the nice weather.
"Good, sunny day. It's a good day," GLeo says.
Before she lifts herself back up to the wall she relays what her current brush strokes are creating.
"Yeah. I am working on a face. Right?" GLeo asks. "I represent the students, the Latino American students for the university."
GLeo’s reference photo came from the university archives.
"[University president] Dr. [Rick] Muma, was really thinking about how to use art to increase not just visibility, but engagement with a student population," Minjarez says. "It's all connected to the university's efforts to become an HSI — Hispanic serving institution."
Minjarez worked closely with student groups to develop this work. That’s a regular part of his artistic pursuit.
"Personally, you know, most of my work is connected to community engagement, it's really important to me that the meaning of the work extends beyond just me that the community that live with the artwork every day, have a meaningful connection to it," Minjarez says.
