After two years, the “Sound of Flight” mural on the east side of the Orpheum Theater in downtown Flagstaff is complete.
Sky Black and Mural Mice artists R.E. Wall and Margaret Dewar began the painting effort for the “Sound of Flight” mural in 2014, and believe the 4,500-square-foot mural to be the largest in the state. Shortly after Black conceived the idea for the mural in 2013, he asked the Mural Mice, a veteran team with murals throughout Arizona, to join the effort. Together, the artists united with the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project to raise funds.
The “Sound of Flight” mural was created with community support from 90 local business sponsors and more than 500 individual donations. The project was also made possible through grants from the BBB tax, awarded by the Flagstaff Arts Council and the Beautification and Public Art Commission.
“It’s a symphony of color,” said local artist Shonto Begay, who has been a friend and supporter of the project. The mural is influenced by classical art with Sky Black’s characteristic surrealist tendency. The striking image of a hundred birds flying out of an ornately decorated grand piano depicts the climax of a song. The birds make their way across the wall past the 25-foot figures of Michelangelo’s “David” and a woman in red. They then migrate over the head of a howling wolf and Rodin’s statue, the “Thinker,” and into the sun as it sets on the Grand Canyon.
“The project could not have been possible without the generosity of the Flagstaff community,” said Black. The artists invite one and all to this free and final Dedication Celebration for the “Sound of Flight” mural. FBN
For more information, go to www.soundofflight.net or contact the project directors at muralswork@gmail.com.
