El Moises is our Chicano Picasso of the 21st century, and he is also known as the voice of the contemporary Hispanic Art Movement. Moises is no stranger to portrait paintings, as he has painted many others not limited toSteve Jobs, Zapata, Cantinflas and Lynda Carter. You can see his painting techniques in his murals, too, placed in surrounding businesses bought by business owners who have an appreciation for culture and fine art. With each passing day we are seeing Moises become more recognized for his hard work and the passionate precision he can invoke onto blank pieces of canvas. He is recognized by thousands upon thousands, and I watch his fan base increase with a deep appreciation for his art. We are already witnessing Moises' crossover regarding his paintings and murals in much the same way we witnessed Selena's music go from Spanish to English.
There is a reward for any knowledge leading to graffiti vandals who destroyed a Chicano Fine Art Mural by El Moises in a downtown Phoenix school for small children. Contemporary Fine Artist El Moises is offering a signed print of one of his pieces that will lead to the discovery of the graffiti vandals in a down town school.
We have someone who has offered to donate supplies and labor that will resurface the front side of the Montessori School which is valued at around $9,000.00. Resurfacing will allow us to put a graffiti-proof protective coating, however, we are short on approximately $10,000.00 in order for Moises to paint over the resurfaced school. If you would like to make a financial contribution to help us replace Chicano priceless art, please contact Moises directly at: (505) 919-9256.
Here are the details:
DOWNTOWN SCHOOL ATTACKED BY VANDALS
By Viva Samuel Ramirez
Maria Reed Montessori School has served the downtown area since 1971. It was the first school of its kind when it was established, and it is often characterized as one of downtowns ‘best kept secrets’. It is family owned and operated and widely known as the most cost effective private Montessori environment in town. During this past school year, the children, the staff and the parents of this very small Montessori Community began to raise funds, saving little by little with the mission of decorating their building with a custom mural. Over the past several months, the group has made incremental steps toward making their mural dream a reality. But their hearts were broken when they arrived one morning to see that their school building had been defaced. The beautiful mural on the front of the building was ruined and painted over with vulgar and hateful words which continued to the side of the building where it was intended as the site of the future mural project.
The schools Director and local Montessorian Viva Samuel Ramirez enlisted the help of his childhood consort and internationaly renowned Chicano Artist El Moises (shown here) and they have outlined a collaborative project which will have profound meaning for both of the downtown Phoenix natives.
El Moises has been an integral part of the artistic rejuvenation of Phoenix over the past several years. His uniquely stylized urban-graphic Xicano at pieces hang in galleries and businesses all over the valley and his mural works can be admired throughout the Phoenix landscape. El Moises describes his art as a ‘celebration of the experience of Arizona’ , a characteristic which is undeniable as one beholds the meticulously detailed landscapes often featured in his art. You will find signature characteristics unique to the Arizona experience thoughtfully placed within the layers of his work-- a nopal cactus, a huitzil (hummingbird), a majestic Saguaro, a cuetzpalin (lizard), and even the rolling technicolor monsoon reflecting the desert sunset.
This artist’s love for his home is demonstrated not only in his art, but in his presence in the community as well. El Moises is known for taking his art to the streets--well , BACK to the streets (as the streets is where he developed his personal style as a child). The artist explains that part of his passion comes from his enthusiasm for sharing the creative process. Moises can regularly be seen out in his community conducting workshops with young aspiring artists or giving live-interactive demonstrations at schools, parks, or almost anywhere he is working. It is in this way that he works to infuse the world he lives in with color, and a love for creativity and expression.
Moises was invited by his long time friend Viva Samuel Ramirez, an educator and proud Chicano native of Phoenix, to design a mural project for the beautification of the building which is home to the descendant of the first Montessori school project in Arizona. Together they envisioned a grand mural which would encompass the passions they both share for the community, culture, education and creativity.
As a part of a day of art and learning with Maria Reed Montessori School where the mural idea was introduced to the children, El Moises conducted a live paint demonstration where he freehanded a beautiful image on the front of the building facing 1st street foreshadowing the brilliant work that was in store for the rest of the building. This image ( even before it was finished) attracted a the eye of a an author who used it in a cookbook featuring southwestern foods and recipies for Nopales!
(Above: Photo of mural on Reed Montessori School used in a cook book that was later damaged by vandals.)
One morning the MRMS staff arrived to find that the school had been horribly vandalized. The mural on the outside of the building was ruined with vulgar and hateful messages sprayed across the surface. Of course, no one cold imagine any reason such a horrible act would be perpetrated on a children’s school in an area known for its love of art and community.
“In the heart of the downtown Roosevelt Row, where art is celebrated and seemingly all are working towards reviving the spirit of community, it is unfathomable how something like this could happen to a place where children come to learn. Defiling a children’s house, and in such a vulgar way, is a truly despicable act. While it was immensely disappointing, we are determined to see the case through to the end so that the criminal vandal(s) are held accountable for their insult to the children of this community and we ask all who have a love for children, for education, and all who believe in the power that art has to build communities to to join us in keeping vigil on our streets and our neighbors so that hateful elements, crime and vandals will never again infect our newly revived community. In the meantime we would like to thank our friend El Moises for providing his own artwork as a reward for information that will help us find the vandal(s) and we will move on and work to repair the damage done to the artwork that we are so proud of.” says Viva Samuel Ramirez , Co-Director of Maria Reed Montessori School.
Vandalizing a school is considered a felony crime in Phoenix, and it has been reported to the authorities as such. As of now, the investigation is ongoing. Members of the community and surrounding neighbors of the school are sickened that a children’s school was victimized and all are determined to be more vigilant and help with the ongoing investigation in any way the can. If you have any information about this crime, you may call (602)252.1953. You may learn more about one of downtowns best kept secrets at www.reedmontessori.com or on the Face book at Maria Reed Montessori.
Please donate to replace mural work by Fine Chicano Artist El Moises after vandals sprayed graffiti over the beautification of a downtown Phoenix, Arizona, school. These kids and their parents have been conducting fundraisers in an effort to beautify their school.
