Century Walk mural taking shape at Naperville Art League
Naperville's latest Century Walk piece couldn't be more about art if it tried.
Work already has begun on the large mural depicting famous artists on the wall of the Naperville Art League. It's the 34th piece of outdoor public art to be created as part of the long-running Century Walk program.
"What would be ... a better fit between the art league that promotes artists' work and our organization that does public art," Century Walk President Brand Bobosky said. "It's a natural (fit)."
The Naperville Art League, 508 N. Center St., is a nonprofit organization that hosts art exhibits to showcase local talent and offers classes for both children and adults.
Art league leaders contacted Bobosky more than a year ago about the possibility of being part of Century Walk, a program that began more than 10 years ago.
Debbie Venezia, art league executive director, said the group has been operating out of the current building since the mid-1970s. But since it's in a residential area and looks like a home itself, many people don't know it's there.
"We're not doing out job making ourselves visible and we were hoping this would raise visibility," she said.
It's working already.
The sight of a 67-foot wide, 12-foot tall mural being painted on the wall has attracted attention from neighbors, passers-by and commuters heading to the nearby Metra station.
A committee selected the design concept by Debbie's brother, Mike Venezia of Glen Ellyn, as its pick for the mural. Mike has written and illustrated a series of children's books called "Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists" and used a similar concept for the mural.
The piece will show slightly more than 30 famous artists creating some of their well-known works. The artists are cartoon characters while the artwork is realistic.
Debbie called the piece, "whimsical," "fun" and "colorful."
Mike said he chose a variety of artists and artistic periods and styles for the mural. Local talents such as Dick Locher, longtime artist of the Dick Tracy comics, also are depicted as well as artists whose work can be viewed at the Art Institute of Chicago.
"I think people who come to look at it even if they're not interested in art history per se can get a real kick out of the glories and the beauty of art and all these types of artists and might get people interested in wanting to see the real thing," Mike Venezia said.
The Venezias and Bobosky all hope the piece will be used as a learning tool that teachers can bring their classes to see and study.
There will be a brochure for visitors wanting to know more about each artist.
While Mike Venezia designed the mural, Naperville artist Marianne Lisson Kuhn has been spending her summer doing the actual painting. To stay as true as possible to Mike's design, she projected an enlarged version of the drawings onto the wall of the building and traced them before starting to paint.
She began work in June, though rainy weather has proved challenging to her schedule.
Done or not, the mural will be dedicated in a ceremony Aug. 25. The time has yet to be determined.
The total project cost - including supplies, artists and some landscape improvements - comes to $35,000. Century Walk projects are funded through Special Events and Cultural Amenities grants from the city.
"One of the great things about Century Walk," Bobosky said, "is that when people go and make the walk or go to see a particular item, they get exposed to things maybe they didn't know existed and this would be a perfect case. ... Now forevermore people will know about the art league."