The Bright Walls Mural Festival’s “Finale” is officially in the books, with foot traffic estimated in the tens of thousands. The festival’s fifth year marked the events final hurrah, although it had only intended on a three-year stint prior to COVID changing the original plans in 2020 and 2021.
This year however, the streets were flooded with locals and “out-of-towners”, all of whom were taking in the vibrant sights, sounds and smells the Bright Walls Committee and volunteers provided. World renown artists were flown in from Brazil, France, Greece and states from around the US. Local artists were given spaces to create, and a community was given a chance to appreciate different styles of art and forms of expression.
One mural was the topic of discussion throughout the event. The piece is located on the back side of the Chase Sports Bar on Michigan Avenue and was created by Greensboro North Carolina resident Jeks One. One is a highly sought after monochromatic artist known for his intricate detail and has painted hundreds of murals throughout the US, Canada and Columbia.
One’s hyper-realistic mural of Detroit, Michigan’s own Alice Cooper seemed to generate the most buzz. Situated near one of the music stages for the event, crowds will regularly gather to soak in realism, often commenting how Alice Coopers “third eye” follows you wherever you go. As you entered the gate on Mechanic and Michigan Avenue you could hear newcomers to the festival ask, “where’s the Alice Cooper mural?”, or “don’t miss Cooper”! The buzz on site was immensely positive.
Enter social media. Some commenters on the Jackson’s Hit Music K105.3 Facebook page, in a post that featured several pictures of murals either completed or in process, found the Alice Cooper mural to be unsettling. Comments included:
“no, not this! Is it a painting on the wall, or is it temporary? Either way, down it should come!”
And….
“I love Alice Cooper…just not sure if it beautifies Jackson!! Lol!”
Or…..
“I wouldn’t want to look at that, every time I go downtown….
“That is just wrong.”
Finally
“Sooo glad we didn’t move to Jackson!”
The vast majority of the comments where overwhelming positive, including:
“The man is a legend! Enjoy his music he is a Michigander is a genius in music history and enjoys golf. Great person!”
And…
“Great!!! Love ALL THE DIFFERENT ARTISTS and their work.”
Or….
“Can we just stop and appreciate the detail in this?? Idc to hear about “this is why I didn’t move to Jackson” we don’t care. Either enjoy it or move on.”
Regardless of how you perceive the Alice Cooper mural, the giant crow, the chrome dog or the egg hanging on a clothesline, the art is now a permanent fixture in the Jackson Community. The event, as intended, has and will continue to bring tourism and revenue from places around the world that are as varied as the artist who imagined them and shared their vision with the masses.
A link to the original post can be found below with the bulk of the comments being made under the Alice Cooper mural picture.