Reaching the Melting Point

Every time I go to Mesa to work in the print studio I find something totally inspiring and/or exciting to photograph.  I generally find things in the print studio (inks, paint splotches, palettes) or on the Mesa Art Center campus (astounding contemporary architecture and desert plants). I manage to take a gazillion photos every time I go there.

Yesterday was a banner day both photographically and inspirationally speaking.  I found some Twombly-like children’s chalk drawings on a cement wall (I’ll post some images soon, I promise!) and a yarn store with an amazing button collection—but what truly made my day was a mural like none I have ever seen.

This mural in downtown Mesa is better than a lot of the ones I’ve seen in Philadelphia,  home of more murals than any other city, I think. Painted on a large stucco building and surrounded by parking lots on two sides, it can be found smack dab in the middle of the business district at 220 W. Main Street. The mural literally made me stop in my tracks—I had to pick my jaw up off the ground while I simultaneously reached for my camera.

Melting Point was painted in 2012 by R.E Wall and Margaret Dewar.  Their company is named Mural Mice which is based in Prescott, AZ.  Melting Point is trompe l’oeil at it’s finest.  The building appears to be melting, wobbling and oozing into a puddle as you look at it. The title has layers of meaning and refers not only to the way the building seems to be made of liquid goo, but also because it was painted in the hottest months of summer.

I can’t believe there hasn’t been more publicity in Phoenix about this mural. It is truly a masterpiece of mural art.  Check out the Mural Mice website which has a lot of information about the Melting Point, wide angle shots of the building and other work they have done. I am now a HUGE fan of Mural Mice.  In fact, I have a wall…

Melting Point; M.E. Wall and Margaret Dewar; 2012

Melting Point; M.E. Wall and Margaret Dewar; 2012

Melting Point; M.E. Wall and Margaret Dewar; 2012