Nanibah Chacon of Albuquerque paints a mural commissioned by the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts at its annex on Pacheco Street in 2021. The mural depicts two Indigenous women holding baskets from the Coe collection.
Nanibah Chacon of Albuquerque paints a mural commissioned by the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts at its annex on Pacheco Street in 2021. The mural depicts two Indigenous women holding baskets from the Coe collection.
·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe is celebrated for its rich artwork and culture. In fact, according to Forbes, ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe is the third largest art market after San Francisco and New York. It’s no surprise there are heaps of galleries throughout ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe and major museums such as the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum downtown, which features the soft, playful colors of New Mexico-based painter O’Keeffe.
Indeed, our city treasures artwork on practically every corner, but we should look more closely at the art that isn’t necessarily behind a glass pane: public art, from large murals and statues that are present across the city, to the graffiti residing beneath bridges throughout town. Not only does public art belong to all of us and add hints of color to the bland desert landscape, but it also can light a smile on our faces.
·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe is home to many public artworks that aren’t just murals. For instance, the lighthearted Rock Paper Scissors sculpture by local sculptor Kevin Box near the intersection of Camino Carlos Rey and Rodeo Road contributes playfulness to nearby Martin Luther King Jr. park and reignites memories of a childhood game. It sits in front of a mural that reads “BEE KIND. PLANT 4 POLLINATORS!â€
This mural is rich in colors and features several cute illustrations of bees while also spreading a message of respecting others and encouraging our community to plant for the bees.
Parks are not the only places in town that reap the benefits of public art, including fostering a sense of community, increasing tourism and creating space where people feel represented. Generally, the downtown Plaza and the Railyard Arts District host many artworks that provide beauty.
One place that stands out in the Railyard area is the building that used to host Warehouse 21. I was one of the many ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe kids who spent time at Warehouse 21 before it left the location, and I’ve grown to appreciate the vibrant public art the outside walls display.
If you’re unfamiliar with this building, it is located on Paseo de Peralta near Cordova Road, next to the Railyard. The building’s exterior is splattered with several colorful designs. It’s completely free to appreciate, and several local artists have been commissioned to paint on it such as Sebastian Velasquez, a New Mexican artist who couples his expression of social issues and emotion, contributing a communal identity to ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe.
Though the focus of this piece is on public outdoor art, not far from the Warehouse 21 building is SITE ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe, a free contemporary art museum. The museum is currently exhibiting talented artists such as Arturo Herrera, a Berlin-based visual artist who creates exceptional mixed-media work.
All in all, this substantial art scene attracts tourists to our small city, providing economic benefits as a whole.
Public art can also include graffiti and vandalism. The damage from vandalism can be particularly harmful to small businesses. My family owns a small restaurant in town, and the glass of the front window is carved in with graffiti from an unknown perpetrator. This harms our business and could steer away customers.
With that said, there are many places around town where public art thrives. For instance, the Genoveva Chavez Skate Park, where there is a dedicated space for murals. This is an innocuous setting that provides a public space for art expression on something larger than the canvas.
Public art not only enriches the landscape of our town but it encourages creativity and spreads messages.
With ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe being rich in art and culture, we should appreciate the several public pieces around the city such as the murals that lie on the walls by the railway.
In addition, one thing we can do with public art and not in a museum is touch the canvas. Being able to feel the wall and admire the marks the artist left behind creates a deeper connection with the art. Public art makes the colorless desert pop a little more.
Hanbi Park is a rising senior at ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe High School. Contact him at hanbipark2006@gmail.com.
The ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe New Mexican observes its 175th anniversary with a series highlighting some of the major stories and figures that have appeared in the paper's pages through its history. The collection also includes archival photo galleries.
