The lower Mayer Campus Center patio wall recently received a face lift as artists created the third installment of a mural by street artist Shepard Fairey.
The mural, a collage of several prints with an anti-war theme, is one part of a larger exhibition organized through The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA) that displays the artist's work throughout Boston.
Fairey gained widespread public recognition and fame for "Hope," his 2008 portrait of Barack Obama, and the "Obey Giant" campaign.
Fairey erected the original mural on campus in January 2009, coinciding with the Institute for Global Leadership's (IGL) 2009 Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) International Symposium on Global Cities.
The mural, a series of paper prints bonded to the wall by wheat paste glue, is not meant to be permanent, according to Pedro Alonzo, co-curator of Fairey's ICA exhibition.
"They are temporary, and that is his intention," Alonzo said. "They last as long as the weather allows. In the harsh climate of Boston, they have a hard time staying up."
Snow melted on top of the wall soon after the mural's first installation, stripping off the adhesive, Alonzo said. Six months later, Fairey returned to restore the wall.
Over the past year and a half, the weather eroded the images once again, necessitating the mural's restoration, according to IGL Director Sherman Teichman.
Fairey himself did not participate in the installation, instead sending several of his installation artists, according to Alonzo.
"Shep tries to be part of the installation of as many of the murals as possible," Alonzo said. "But this time, he couldn't come, and since what we did was actually just restore the mural, I oversaw it."
Alonzo said Fairey and his team have not made an effort to perfectly replicate the mural each time but rather have used whatever images are available at the time of installation.
"There is no sense in [Fairey] repeating himself," Alonzo said. "All that matters is that the combination of the designs looks good, but there is no one specific combo for the mural to be effective."
The mural is "a culmination" of Fairey's works, Alonzo explained.
"The building blocks are the individual pieces he designs that are normally displayed," he said. "He uses a tiling effect to create a multiplicity of images."
Fairey originally chose the location by the Jumbo Express convenience store due to its high visibility, according to Alonzo.
"The wall has great public visibility," he said. "There is a lot of student traffic coming through that area."
Teichman, through a personal friendship with ICA Director Jill Medvedow, was originally responsible for bringing the mural to campus.
"The EPIIC special events committee wanted to and did think about the whole question of public space and public art and questions of graffiti and [the] interface of politics, society and art," Teichman said. "The Shepard Fairey mural was a great way to spark a dialogue on campus."
Fairey selected over 15 other outdoor sites across the city to display his work that January, including the Tufts Medical Center, according to Alonzo.
"The exhibit wouldn't work if everything was inside the museum. His work is about taking it to the people and taking it outside," Alonzo said. "It is very important that there be many works outside."
Teichman said that the mural had the added effect of improving the appearance of one of the less aesthetically pleasing spots on campus.
"It's a wall that covers up a garbage area," Teichman said. "He wanted to make an impact on a less attractive space, and I think that he is successfully doing that."
The university maintains a strong relationship with Fairey, according to Teichman.
"This is one physical manifestation of an evolving relationship," Teichman said. "I am as pleased by the ongoing relationship as I am with the physical art space."
