Editor:
I dont often write to this paper although I am a semi-local with 30-odd years in this often surprising settlement. But someone must deliver a note of praise and confidence to whomever is behind the proliferation of murals on the walls of commercial buildings in Cortez.
Face it: Architecturally, there is not a lot to be proud of in the city of Cortez. It ranks slightly below Farmington in terms of downtown aesthetic appeal. But somehow we have stumbled into a noteworthy niche as the mural capital of Southwest Colorado. Hoorah!
The whirling cowboy beside Mr. Happys new location, the bizarre garden/aquarium scene alongside Slavens Hardware, the bikers dreamscape at Blondies Bar and Grill, the glorification of agriculture attached to the Rent-to-Own, and the multicultural history lesson facing the Farmers Market venue (sadly defaced but repaired), make me prouder than ever to live in Cortez, known to the cognoscenti as the best-kept-secret in the Southwest. Sunset Magazine, kindly turn your avaricious gaze toward Telluride or some other parody of real life.
We dont need to admire every mural artists creation to support the trend. One of the murals mentioned here is actually awful, in my opinion, but it still contributes to our unique collection of community-accessible art.
Public murals, unlike public sculpture, are relatively both inexpensive and ephemeral. If enough citizens object, a mural is easily and inexpensively disposed of and replaced. Murals embellish spaces that are otherwise eyesores (typically cinderblock walls), and they displace neither vegetation nor parking space.
Pluralism is the American Way, and that face of the future. I am tickled pink (also brown, puce, and purple) about that.
Michael Williams
Cortez
Via CortezJournal.com