There is a new addition to Cooper-Young’s street art scene. University of Memphis professor of art and first-year art coordinator Cedar Lorca Nordbye has taken the street-facing side of a vacant building on Central Avenue and let his creative juices flow.
The end result: a massive mural.
Nordbye’s mural contains traces of Middle Eastern imagery from Arabesque design motifs to Islamic mosques and dwellings. Also, scattered throughout the painting are images of cinder blocks and other images that resemble 2x4s.
Connecting all of this may seem a bit abstract at first glance. He says that much of the imagery in the mural was a result of his acting before understanding in order to “discover things and act in a poetic manner.” Nevertheless, his vision behind the mural ties it all together.
Nordbye’s purpose for this mural is his response to the way Americans view culture in other countries. Nordbye says, “what I’m really interested in is how we, as Americans, sort of project our fantasy of what other people are like.” The artist mentioned misleading images of the Middle East from those of Disney’s Aladdin to video games that are set in Iraq.
He felt the need to address those images and how they have molded Americans’ views of the Middle East. He included imagery that would be identified as Middle Eastern in order to prove his point.
“The Middle East as it really is, is nothing like that painting,” the artist explained, “but most people’s impression of the Middle East is sort of shaped by that fantasy.”
Nordbye’s choice of painting a mural instead of creating a painting on a smaller scale was in an effort to do two things:
reclaim the neighborhood and make a statement.
The Cooper-Young area is known for being a treasure trove of visual art. With numerous murals and art galleries in the neighborhood, Nordbye’s addition seems to be right at home. He had noticed, however, that consumerism is slowly taking over public space.
“There are billboards all over and signs for McDonalds-all these things are in our public space and I think that sort of dehumanizes our space, and art is very humanizing,” Nordbye says, “so by putting art in public spaces it can kind of be an antidote or counteract some of that dehumanizing that commercial [ads] do.”
Nordbye also appreciates the “larger-than-life” and “dramatic” aspect of a mural in getting his point across to spectators. He says, “you know, there’s the aspect of that with the mural that I have to be honest about like I…I like showmanship, I like standing up on a soapbox and shouting out.” With his expansive artwork adorning the abandoned building’s spacious wall, Nordbye does just that.
The mural is an indirect part of the 3rd Annual Winter Invitational, an art show taking place next door at Gallery Fifty Six. More of Nordbye’s work is featured in the exhibit. Along with a few other works from other artists, his piece entitled “Trying Too Hard” is one of the first works in the show that viewers are able to see.
Rollin Kocsis, the owner of the gallery was very accepting of Nordbye’s idea to paint the mural next door. “I thought it would be fun and interesting and something different we had never done before,” says Kocsis.
Nordbye’s mural will only be up for a limited time due to upcoming construction for the newest location of Casablanca Restaurant.
To get a glimpse at more murals in Memphis, check out Mural Memphis: Touring Memphis Murals
Also, see what Jeff Heubner, "a Chicago-based art writer and journalist" has to say about Memphis Murals in his article, The Memphis Mural Movement: Toward an Early History
The end result: a massive mural.
Nordbye’s mural contains traces of Middle Eastern imagery from Arabesque design motifs to Islamic mosques and dwellings. Also, scattered throughout the painting are images of cinder blocks and other images that resemble 2x4s.
Connecting all of this may seem a bit abstract at first glance. He says that much of the imagery in the mural was a result of his acting before understanding in order to “discover things and act in a poetic manner.” Nevertheless, his vision behind the mural ties it all together.
Nordbye’s purpose for this mural is his response to the way Americans view culture in other countries. Nordbye says, “what I’m really interested in is how we, as Americans, sort of project our fantasy of what other people are like.” The artist mentioned misleading images of the Middle East from those of Disney’s Aladdin to video games that are set in Iraq.
He felt the need to address those images and how they have molded Americans’ views of the Middle East. He included imagery that would be identified as Middle Eastern in order to prove his point.
“The Middle East as it really is, is nothing like that painting,” the artist explained, “but most people’s impression of the Middle East is sort of shaped by that fantasy.”
Nordbye’s choice of painting a mural instead of creating a painting on a smaller scale was in an effort to do two things:
reclaim the neighborhood and make a statement.
The Cooper-Young area is known for being a treasure trove of visual art. With numerous murals and art galleries in the neighborhood, Nordbye’s addition seems to be right at home. He had noticed, however, that consumerism is slowly taking over public space.
“There are billboards all over and signs for McDonalds-all these things are in our public space and I think that sort of dehumanizes our space, and art is very humanizing,” Nordbye says, “so by putting art in public spaces it can kind of be an antidote or counteract some of that dehumanizing that commercial [ads] do.”
Nordbye also appreciates the “larger-than-life” and “dramatic” aspect of a mural in getting his point across to spectators. He says, “you know, there’s the aspect of that with the mural that I have to be honest about like I…I like showmanship, I like standing up on a soapbox and shouting out.” With his expansive artwork adorning the abandoned building’s spacious wall, Nordbye does just that.
The mural is an indirect part of the 3rd Annual Winter Invitational, an art show taking place next door at Gallery Fifty Six. More of Nordbye’s work is featured in the exhibit. Along with a few other works from other artists, his piece entitled “Trying Too Hard” is one of the first works in the show that viewers are able to see.
Rollin Kocsis, the owner of the gallery was very accepting of Nordbye’s idea to paint the mural next door. “I thought it would be fun and interesting and something different we had never done before,” says Kocsis.
Nordbye’s mural will only be up for a limited time due to upcoming construction for the newest location of Casablanca Restaurant.
To get a glimpse at more murals in Memphis, check out Mural Memphis: Touring Memphis Murals
Also, see what Jeff Heubner, "a Chicago-based art writer and journalist" has to say about Memphis Murals in his article, The Memphis Mural Movement: Toward an Early History