Joe Pagac
New, colorful and ever-changing murals gracing the walls of downtown’s Rialto Theatre and the Grant Road location of Bookmans Entertainment Exchange tickled Tucson commuters and pedestrians as they made their way about town this summer.
The talent behind those murals is Joe Pagac (rhymes with magic), and the content of Pagac’s murals promoted bands scheduled to perform on the Rialto’s venerable stage. Pagac often drew a crowd by creating the oversized pieces live, and it became a sport of sorts for art lovers to spot each new mural as soon as it was completed.
That clever and entertaining series of paintings has been discontinued, however, due to the filing of a formal complaint. It seems Pagac’s mural heralding a Rialto appearance by Neko Case indie rock vehicle The New Pornographers drew the ire of a single offended individual, resulting in the Rialto and Bookmans being cited for violating the city’s sign code.
Rialto's General Manager/Entertainment Buyer Curtis McCrary says that the sign code had for nine months not been a bone of contention, but “when you have nincompoops out there who get up in arms at the mere mention of the word ‘pornographers,’ it’s not surprising that there’s a disappointing reaction from official quarters.”
Muralist Pagac calls the “highly visible” Rialto Theatre facade “one of the best walls in town.” While he understands the reason for the sign code law that shut him down, he says the brouhaha was “totally ridiculous in my opinion. (But) the city is willing to work with us.”
“Joe’s great,” McCrary says. “We haven’t given up by any means.”
Efforts to obtain a variance are ongoing and, if viable, Pagac would like to do murals at the Rialto again. He even has dreams of a mural that evolves on a daily basis. If hoops can be jumped through and funding obtained, the Rialto and Bookmans walls may again be splashed with Pagac’s paint.
In light of the controversy bringing the concert murals to a screeching halt, though, Pagac has taken this month to “focus on opening a gallery on Fourth Avenue.” Art Terrain Gallery’s grand opening at 519 N. 4th Ave. on Oct 2 will feature works by photographer Omer Kreso, spray paint portrait artist Rock Martinez, bartender/printmaker Donovan White and canvases by Pagac himself, who is stoked to “try something completely new.”
“The Rialto murals opened so many doors for me,” Pagac says, listing a string of ideas he has for the Art Terrain space and collaborations that “came about in a roundabout way through the Rialto paintings.”
Plans include throwing open the doors for face painting during Day of the Dead festivities and/or a Christmastime photo booth project; Pagac’s goal is for the gallery to be constantly “changing, new and interesting for people.” Already, as many as fifty people a day peek in Art Terrain to see what’s coming.
“We can really do whatever we want with it,” Pagac says happily.
Quality concerts, of course, continue at the historic Rialto Theatre, murals or no murals. Some of this month’s touring acts are Spoon Oct 4, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Oct 7 and Of Montreal Oct 31. See RialtoTheatre.com for a full calendar of amazing music.
Peruse JoePagac.com for previews of Joe Pagac’s artwork in advance of Art Terrain Gallery’s opening.
TucsonKent
