containR Youth Mural Project: Blog Post # 2 by Mary Annan
Having already seen the draft of Jax’s mural, many discussions and ideas are on the tip of my tongue. Being the documenter, I must be patient and maintain a pacing of documentation that is aligned with his progress. My excitement for the rest of the city to admire his work multiplies each day.
The first day meeting him, I asked him if he had done murals in the past. He told me that this was his first one. I found this surprising. His outline was clear and he was filling in the details calmly.
Photo by Mary Annan
Image Description: Taken outdoors. Jax, the mural artist, a young caucasian male is wearing a red bandana in his hair . His back faces the camera as he is spray painting the container.
I find it amazing how a visual artist that focuses on a different medium, can carry that ability into another medium, to display a message. Trying to fathom that ability, I could not stop asking the same question.
“So you did all of this without an eraser?”
“What happens when you want to redo something?”
He politely explained how there is no “magic eraser” for this project. With that being said, that does not mean that mistakes cannot be re-covered with the same shade of paint.
This goes to show the amount of time and consideration taken into account, when creating a piece accessible to Calgary’s public. His ideas changed multiple times throughout the planning stage, until he came to the conclusion that his vision that we will all be able to see in a matter of days, was the one that felt right to him.
At times, I’d see him pause to rethink his next steps. He’d pick up a new shade, test it out on the wooden test board and continue to bring the mural to life.
Photo by Mary Annan
Image Description: Taken outdoors, Jax’s hand holds the spray paint canister. He is pointing it towards a wooden board, with various tested colors. The green paint sprays out of the can.
When asking him how he felt creating a piece of artwork on a wide display in a lively neighborhood, he said:
“I’m not used to anyone seeing my art so it’s a lot of pressure, doing it on this scale.”
Out of all of his different pieces of artwork that Jax has shared with me, I find that they are all distinctive, while displaying his understanding of various artistic techniques. One of the things that I appreciate about his portraiture work, is his ability to illustrate a diverse demographic of people. This ability paired with techniques such as realism, and distorted reality, creates images that are unique and cannot be replicated.
Art by Jax Naugler
Image Description: An oil painting of a man with a mustache and headwrap, holding a cigarette in his mouth. He is dressed in all white. The background is a blend of greys.
Art by Jax Naugler
Image description: Pencil illustration of a woman. Face is distorted spirally.
Art by Jax Naugler
Image Description: Pen illustration in black and white. A portrait from the shoulder up. Surreal. The lips and left eye are framed and detached in color.
I ended my last blog asking all readers, what they do in collaboration with the environment.
Though we do not always take the time to acknowledge it, I believe it is fair to say that we all do. My one hope is that we continuously take the time to acknowledge its credit. When speaking to Jax about the environmental aspect that he is incorporating in his work, he said:
“Taking care of the environment so it can continue taking care of us all, is a very simple task that means a lot.”
I’d like to highlight his emphasis on the environment taking care of us all. With a general approach to environmentalism being prevalent during this time, it is easy for us to believe that climate change is affecting each of us equally. Unfortunately, the solution to everyone having access to a healthy and sustainable environment is not that simple. As some of us continue to view the implications of climate change exclusively through our own perspectives, many marginalized groups will continue to be excluded from the benefits of sustainability. I understand that we cannot properly accelerate causes that we do not already know. That is why I encourage everybody to accept the fact that it is virtually impossible to be cautious of everything. My hope is that people will take the time to view these issues from underprivileged perspectives. Being conscious of those perspectives is the first step.