Mural inspired by 'When Claude Got Shot' documentary illustrates peace, community for North Avenue neighborhood
Loretta Young watched with curiosity at the mural taking shape across the street from her North Avenue home.
The words that float above images of buildings, trees, butterflies and a barely visible outline of Hoan Bridge seemed to catch her eye.
Peace. Love. Community.
“This is one of the communities that need it over here. That’s a good message to start with,” said Young as she stood on her porch, watching a small group of artists slowly bring the mural to life.
The words and imagery forming the mural on a commercial building owned by Hayat Pharmacy, 1003 W. North Ave., were inspired by the Emmy-nominated documentary “When Claude Got Shot.” The film tells the story of how gun violence upended the lives of three Milwaukee residents, including the title character Claude Motley.
A community unveiling of the mural is set for Sept. 13.
The words are a nod to hip-hop roots, which embody peace, love and unity, said Shalina Ali, of True Skool, a youth creative arts organization that uses hip-hop culture to foster entrepreneurship and cultural awareness.
“We decided to do a play on that with peace, love and community,” she said. “We want people to look at that mural and interpret it for themselves. We think that between the positive imagery and the powerful words it is going to be whatever the person needs.”
More: TRUE Skool after school program uses hip-hop to help youth discover their creative side
True Skool partnered with We are the League, a social impact collective, 371 Productions, which produced the documentary, and the North Avenue Marketplace BID 32 to create the mural. The BID wanted to add murals to beautify the area as part of its redevelopment efforts. We are the League and 371 Productions reached out to True Skool to host a screening and discussion around gun violence.
As a creative arts organization, Ali wanted something tangible to come out of the discussion. The idea of the mural came up “as a way to process what was witnessed in the film,” she said. The mural, she added, should lead to healing and communication, while also providing an inspiration to uplift the community.
Its imagery and themes came from a discussion students in the True Skool afterschool program had with Motley, the documentary’s producers and other community stakeholders. Motley saw his legal career ambitions shattered in 2014 when he was shot during an attempted carjacking while visiting Milwaukee for his high school reunion. A few days later, the teen who shot Motley was shot and partially paralyzed by a woman he tried to rob.
Ali described the conversations as intense, layered and deep. That allowed the students, some of whom have been affected by gun violence or caught up in the legal system, to get things off their chest, she said.
Students were encouraged to write, draw or sketch their reactions and feelings about the film, which Ali hoped was cathartic for those involved.
“The whole point of that was to land on solutions. What could inspire a different experience for Milwaukee and how can we translate that through this public mural,” Ali said.
Work on the mural began two weeks ago by True Skool alumni, called mural apprentices. They took those sketches and ideas and translated them into the imagery for the mural. This method allowed everyone to have a part in the mural’s creation, Ali said.
“Everybody's sketches totally looked different,” she said. “We had actually seen a trend of butterflies from many people’s sketches. That’s how the butterflies ended up onto the wall.”
The challenge for lead muralist Fred Kaems was transferring the thoughts and ideas onto a 60-by-18-foot wall. The mural initially didn’t include Motley’s portrait, but Kaems said it gave the piece a stronger message.
The mural illustrates the transformation of a community from abandoned buildings and lifeless trees to a lush green landscape, where Motley's portrait is haloed by a bright yellow sun.
“We are not ignoring some of the other stuff, but we are trying to focus on the light and positivity that is already there,” said Kaems, a mural artist since 2015. He has worked on the welcome to Merrill Park neighborhood mural and the Dream Library mural on 57th and Vliet streets.
Motley’s story is an example of forgiveness for Tyrone Randle.
Randle, 29, was working on Motley’s portrait for the mural. Randle was moved by Motley’s effort to connect to the young man who shot him and possibly be a father figure for someone who didn’t have one.
“That’s another piece of the story – being the village that raises each other, that loves, cherishes and forgives,” he said. “This is the kind of conversation that can come out of this.”
Ernesto Gomez, 23, of Racine, wanted to be involved with the mural project after seeing the documentary. While scaling the mural for a building was challenging, Gomez hopes passersby get the message it is trying to convey.
“Art is something that when people see, it registers in the subconscious mind that gives a message most people don’t hear in words," he said. "But when they see it in art from, it gives a different message, a different feeling.”
La Risa Lynch is a community affairs reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Email her at llynch@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'When Claude Got Shot' documentary inspired North Avenue mural
