- Title: LA pop artist Gondek paints Mexican mural of lucha libre hero
- Date: 26th May 2017
- Summary: GUADALAJARA, JALISCO, MEXICO (MAY 25, 2017) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF CALIFORNIA POP ARTIST MATT GONDEK ON CHERRY PICKER WITH STENCIL LININGS OF HIS MURAL ON WALL CLOSE-UP OF GONDEK USING BLUE SPRAY CAN GONDEK COLOURING IN MURAL FACE OF BLUE DEMON MURAL STARTING TO TAKE SHAPE GONDEK WORKING ON LOWER-HALF DETAILS OF MURAL CONTROLS ON CHERRY PICKER GONDEK BRINGING CHERRY PICKER DOWN SPRAY CANS OF DIFFERENT COLOURS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CALIFORNIA POP ARTIST, MATT GONDEK, SAYING: "The character I am doing is the Blue Demon, a very well-known luchador. The idea behind it is because he never showed his face it is kind of like an everyday anonymous hero. So, hopefully the people of Guadalajara will see this mural and just go throughout their day feeling you can be a hero too." GONDEK DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) CALIFORNIA POP ARTIST, MATT GONDEK, SAYING: "I originally was going to paint Donald Trump when I came here, for a long time we were going to do that. And I thought about it and it seems like if I were to paint Donald Trump everytime someone would walk past the mural they would think about Trump and think negatively. I thought it would be better to paint something like a hero for the city. Where instead of everyday they are reminded of this negativity, instead they are reminded of this positivity." GONDEK MANOEUVRING CHERRY PICKER TO PAINT HIS MURAL FACE OF BLUE DEMON ON MURAL GONDEK SHAKING UP SPRAY CAN SIDE VIEW OF GONDEK ON CHERRY PICKER PAINTING MURAL GENERAL VIEW OF GONDEK PAINTING MURAL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COORDINATOR OF URBAN ART COLLECTIVE IN GUADALAJARA, ESTEANIA NAJAR, SAYING: "We selected a location in the historic centre because of patrimony, because of the businesses that are here, so that people get to know more of their city, to experiment more with their space and to generate more economic sources for their business, shops, everything that this area has to offer." VARIOUS OF GONDEK COLOURING MURAL PAN OF GONDEK ON CHERRY PICKER FILLING OUT MURAL
- Embargoed: 9th June 2017 23:46
- Keywords: Mexico Guadalajara President Donald Trump hero lucha libre Matt Gondek pop artist mural
- Location: GUADALAJARA, JALISCO, MEXICO
- City: GUADALAJARA, JALISCO, MEXICO
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Art,Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Human Interest / Brights / Odd News
- Reuters ID: LVA0016IH89QB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Acclaimed California pop artist Matt Gondek was in the Mexican city of Guadalajara on Thursday (May 25) to spray paint a large mural that he hopes will inspire positive thoughts in local citizens amid the age of Trump which many in Mexico see as in negative hues.
Gondek's murals are characterised by bright colours and clean lines, harking back to his beginnings as a comic book artist. His famous pieces include skeletal takes of The Simpsons and Disney characters that have graced the walls of countries like Germany, Brazil and Sweden.
In Guadalajara, Gondek chose to do a mural of the Blue Demon, one of Mexico's most popular lucha libre characters. With his signature Blue Mask, the wrestler was one of the 'good guys' of Mexican wrestling.
Speaking to Reuters, Gondek said he hopes the large mural of Blue Demon will inspire local citizens in their day-to-day lives.
Gondek's original plan was to draw a critical take of US President Donald Trump, given the president's diatribes comparing migrants to "rapists" and "criminals" and his vows to build a border wall at Mexico's expense. But he changed his change his mind, looking to focus on an uplifting message.
Mexican urban art collective PM10 invited Gondek to Guadalajara hoping that his world-famous murals will inject a new atmosphere into the city's historic centre.
Mexico's second city of Guadalajara is no stranger to murals. Jose Clemente Orozco's iconic "Man Of Fire" is one of the city's biggest draws. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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