By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Connecticut graffiti artist Ryan Christenson, known as ARCY, travels eight months of the year creating public art. Through many partnerships and private donors, the Barton Arts Movement organization brought ARCY to Great Bend to spray paint a large mural on the east wall of the building at the Forest and Williams intersection.
ARCY arrived to town last week and spends an average
of 12 hours on the mural each day.
"The great thing about working with different communities is that they all have a different story," said ARCY. "It's great for me because if I'm not familiar, that's research for me. There has been people around here that have been coming to share their stories as well."
ARCY started experimenting with spray paint as a medium for artwork in his
teenager days and has seen his name gain popularity over the years working with
“Main Street” and rural communities.
ARCY was asked to transform the downtown building wall into a piece that
represents the region’s history. The mural is a tribute to the men and women
who served at Great Bend’s airfield during World War II.
"I loved the nostalgic factor that this image was on the original poster that was done in the 1940s," said ARCY. "I was able to merge it with my style and give it a more contemporary look."
The Disney Fine Artist, creating officially licensed artwork on classic Disney
films and characters, says he loves working in smaller communities such as
Great Bend. ARCY stated there has been so much gratitude and appreciation from the
Great Bend community.
Making roughly 30 stops across the country per year to work, ARCY started
painting “hidden” Mickey Mouse heads into his work as a way to stay in contact with
his two children back home. He would send pictures of his work back home for
his children to locate the Mickey Mouse logo. The discrete Mickey Mouse head is
incorporated into the B-29 mural in Great Bend as well.
The Barton Arts Movement (BAM) was created to display and inspire more public
art throughout Barton County.
Listen below to the interview with ARCY and Eagle Radio's Cole Reif.
For more information on the Great Bend mural, read the previous story through the link below.