The mural that was painted several summers ago on the back of the West Market Street Blockbuster building, depicting Morgan Csejtey's Keep Akron Beautiful slogan "Akron is your canvas, paint it with trees," is fast becoming a memory. Steve Csejtey, Firestone High School art teacher and Miller South parent, the Shaughnessy family and Mrs. Yingling were instrumental in making the mural idea come to fruition. Students created tree designs and along with their teachers, friends and parents, spent multiple weekends climbing on scaffolding to paint the wall. The Shaughnessy's secured the gallons and gallons of paint, tons of brushes, scaffolding and were the driving force to see this mural come to life. Now the building has a new occupant and the old mural is becoming a memory. To quote Mr. Csejtey, the students are learning the hard lesson of how art sometimes has "a life, and in turn a lifespan." Students are realizing how important the role of patron is and how "a piece of art, particularly a collaborative piece, no longer is in control of the person(s) who made it."
Mrs. Altwies intervened this week on behalf of the school, but the decision was made by those directly involved that the mural could not be redone as it was. Driving by the other night, I stopped and took this photo of the half painted wall.
We learned a lot in the process and I still smile as I drive past. I would laugh at the three birds painted into the upper right hand corner that appeared to sit on a telephone wire hanging in front of the wall, and how they continued to sit there long after the wire was removed. Thanks, Steve, for putting them there!
Enjoy your memories and continue to smile each time you pass the back of that building remembering what a collaboration can accomplish.
Here's a link to the original West Side Leader story: http://www.akron.com/20070809/wsl55.asp
