Michigan's largest graffiti mural to grace exterior wall of Russell Industrial Center

Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Midwest's largest art mecca, the Russell Industrial Complex, will now be sporting the state's largest spray paint mural. Artist Kobie Solomon is hard at work painting the 8750 square-foot piece, which he conceptually describes as a "Chimera composed of elements of each of the four major sports teams, aspects of Detroit industry and at least some graphic representation of the majority of the creative activities going on at the Russell on a daily basis among the artists there. His mane is made out of brushes, pencils, files, x-acto knives, chisels, pens...the whole shebang. His tail ends with a glass blowers' torch."

Eric Novack of the Russell Industrial says the mural will act as "a big welcome sign to Detroit." He also points out that the Russell Industrial Center's somewhat unlikely fate as an auto parts manufacturing facility retooled into a creative arts incubator makes it the perfect home for a Chimera, the meaning of which is "impossible dream" or "foolish fantasy."

Solomon kicked off the commissioned work at the People's Art Festival and expects it to take two months to complete. The artist is currently working to open a tattoo parlor in River Rouge.

Sources: Kobie Solomon and Eric Novack, Russell Industrial Center
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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