“No
tengo miedo del mañana, porque he visto el ayer y amo el hoy.”
This
Spanish translation of a quote by Emporia hero William Allen White became the
guiding inspiration for a small mural project I led with Emporia State and
local high school students earlier in April.
In
English it reads, “I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I
love today.” With a natural inclination to remembering the future, I was captivated
by the time bending nature of this vision. White was also the writer I quoted as
the preface to a talk I gave at the University last year - “If our colleges and
universities do not breed men (and women) who riot, who rebel, who attack life
with all the youthful vim and vigor, then there is something wrong with our
colleges. The more riots that come on college campuses, the better world for
tomorrow.” Encouraging the student body to riot (creatively) via the words of
the town’s undisputed hero. Yes.
The
mural project was coordinated by Assistant Professor of Ceramics, Stephanie Lanter, who along with our design team explored lesser known aspects of the
community that is best known these days for the Dirty Kanza bike race, the
Flint Hills and the Glass Blown Open disc golf championship. We researched the
origin of one of Emporia’s most beloved parks, named Peter Pan in memory of William Allen White’s daughter Mary, and Maud Wagner, the first widely acknowledged
female tattoo artist in the U.S. We also talked a lot about downtown’s efforts
at revitalization, and a perceived division (marked by the railroad tracks)
between Emporia’s white and Hispanic communities.
 |
| Maud Wagner |
The
wall was situated, conveniently, in the Mulready’s Pub beer garden. Proprietor
Rick Becker, a generous supporter of the arts, was also one of our most committed
painters.
This
project has already helped spur two new mural projects in Emporia that will
take place this summer, one with Painting Professor Derek Wilkinson’s class at
the local police station and another led by our mural apprentice Itzel Lopez for
the Emporia State Library.
Thanks
to everyone at Emporia State, Mulready’s and the community of Emporia for
supporting the project and helping create the mural. And a special debt of
gratitude goes out to mural apprentice Itzel Lopez and assistant Nicholas Ward.
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| Itzel, Rick, Stephanie, Dave and Nicholas |
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