By Will Bowen

Downtown agency brings barrio artistry to the financial district

The colorful and vibrant graffiti-inspired mural art of the barrio has moved into Downtown.

A new mural, 30 feet by 105 feet, sprayed-painted by a team of four local graffiti artists has gone up as the first step in the renovation of the third floor outside Sky Terrace of the Union Bank building located at 539 B St. in the financial district of Downtown San Diego

It’s all part of the re-invention of the classic 1967 pedestal-style skyscraper, now owned by Kearny Real Estate Development Company. Kearny is spending upward of $14 million to spruce up their building and attract the new breed of business professionals — those who like their work life and their social life to go hand in hand — as tenants.

The mural, which can be partially seen from the street below, faces southward toward Horton Plaza and livens up an outside terrace that offers a superb scenic view of the surrounding buildings. In addition to the mural, the terrace will have plants, gardens, a walking trail, and other amenities that will render it a relaxing and inspiring place for business people to work, reflect and socialize.

The mural is on the adjacent outside wall of the abandoned city-owned parking garage of the World Trade Center building, which was converted to a housing area for the homeless. The artists spent nearly two weeks and $6,000 worth of materials painting from a scaffold they themselves constructed.

Called “jazz-like and organic,” the mural consists of a swirl of geometric objects, lines, and shapes painted with a wide spectrum of bright colors. There is a hint of Aztec, low-rider car grills, and the 1950s diner, plus some other recognizable features such as a human eye and two plump “boogie birds.”

The mural, entitled “Inceptions Reflection” is meant to be an object of introspection — stimulating the viewer to go inward and contemplate inner change, new beginnings, and the creative aspects of business development.

John V. Bragg, a partner at the firm that conceived the mural, is the manager of the building.

Bragg is also in charge of a 311-acre border project that aims at developing the land around a new proposed border crossing meant to speed the flow of commercial big rig truck traffic between Mexico and the U.S.

“We observed that the mural art had a very positive effect in the barrio region of the city, and we wanted to bring some of that type of art [to Downtown],” Bragg said. “It worked down there and we think it will work here.

Kearny Real Estate is pouring $15 million into their building, with improvements that include new elevator cabs that boast rich burgundy-colored wood paneling, an 11th floor conference room with work from sculptor Matt Devine, and the Sky Terrace, with the new mural as its centerpiece.

“We want to make the terrace our ‘park in the sky’ — a place where our tenants feel comfortable and inspired,” Bragg said. “We have also been working with our neighbors and the city, who have been very supportive, to help beautify and brighten up our neighborhood and give it a safe and attractive night life. The international architecture firm of Gensler has been advising us.”

When first planning the mural, Kearny sent word out to a selective group of artist and interviewed them all. They chose a team head up by Maxx Moses because they felt Moses had the background and expertise to complete such a large-scale project.

Raised in Yonkers, New York, Moses grew up doing graffiti art in the NYC  subway system. His current work is characterized by a fusion of fine art and graffiti, with the goal of “uplifting, enlivening and inspiring” his viewers.

His team of collaborators included “Werc,” a Mexican-American graffiti artist from El Paso, Texas; CHorBoogie, from Oceanside; and Isiasis Crow, also from El Paso.

Crow, whose real name is Gebron Isiasis, has been doing vandalistic graffiti art since he was a kid.

“I became involved in graffiti art because it helped me express my emotions and stay sane in the difficult world of my childhood,” Crow said.

Crow moved out to San Diego after a relationship breakup and to be close to his beloved Comic Con. He said the artists all worked together on the mural, each taking a portion they were personally responsible for, while all contributing to the mural as a whole.

“Basically, this is a work of energy and possibility,” he said. “The idea is to encourage the viewer toward introspection; to prompt him to look within and see the power within him or herself.”

Like much of Victor Ochoa’s work in Barrio Logan, the new Kearny mural is not overtly political.

“Ochoa asked me where the politics were in my art,” Crow said. “I told him that I believed that the individual has got to become or create within the change that they want to see happen out there in society. It has to happen inside you first.

“Our team works together to inspire each other and then we paint and with our painting we hope to collectively inspire the people.”

Crow thinks the new mural is a perfect fit for B Street.

“It adds a splash of color to the surrounding uniformly colored dull grey buildings,” he said. “It enlivens the neighborhood with creative potential. Just look out there — you can even see the colors of the mural reflected in the window glass of the surrounding skyscrapers!”

For further information on the Kearny Real Estate building, see fivethirtyb.com. The work of lead artist Maxx Moses can be viewed at maxxmoses.com or he reached by phone at 619-278-1735 or email at [email protected]. You can see more of Isaias Crow’s work at IsaiasCrow.com or contact him at [email protected].

—Will Bowen writes about arts and culture. You can reach him at [email protected].