Behind the Art: “Mind Numbing”
At its best, public art has the power to inspire human connection, inform, and create social change. One recent GJ Creates project hits all three notes. If you haven’t visited downtown lately, make a stop to see “Mind Numbing” by Andrew Watson, located at 702 Main Street. The vibrant piece focuses on Grand Junction’s sordid past, specifically the Teller Indian School, an American Indian school founded in 1886.
When building The Shift lot in Downtown Grand Junction, GJ Creates jumped at the opportunity to design a mural walk to compliment the placemaking project.
Thanks to grants from Colorado Creative Industries and the Grand Junction Commission on Arts and Culture, GJ Creates was able to commission and install ten 8ft x 4 ft panel murals on the site, all painted by Grand Junction based artists.
Adding “Mind Numbing” to the Shift was an easy decision. The Shift is a new community gathering spot, and hosting artwork that spurs conversation helps create a more engaging and authentic destination.
These schools operated in the late 1800s and early 1900s forced acculturation of Native American children. The Teller Indian School, located at 2800 Riverside Parkway, is just a short drive from the heart of Downtown Grand Junction. Thanks to Watson’s mural, and recent discoveries across North America, the forgotten history of these schools are now being brought into the light.
Watson’s mural features two eye-catching elements. The first is a vibrant red and blue painted mural featuring the words “Mind Numbing” and nine symbols. Each symbol features an activity forced upon school children including baseball, sewing, farming, and music.
The second element is a wheatpaste of a blog post by Mesa County Libraries librarians detailing the history of the school. Visitors can walk directly up to the mural and read about the atrocities of the school, and learn more about local history.
“Mind Numbing” has special significance for Watson, a working Navajo artist who now lives in Grand Junction. Born from a caucasian mother and a Navajo father made Watson an outcast with his surrounding peers. At an early age he discovered art, skateboarding and alternative music. Growing up in Arizona also provided him with a unique landscape and culture that manifested into a visual language in his work. His work is a balancing act of Navajo icons intercrossed with contemporary pop.
Though closed in 1911, the Teller name can still be found in Grand Junction. Named after United States Senator Henry Teller of Colorado, Teller Avenue is just eight blocks from historic Main Street, and just three blocks away from Chipeta Avenue and Ouray Avenue. Both streets honor prominent Ute Indian Chief Ouray and his wife Chipeta, the tribe victimized most by the Teller Indian School.
Through Watson’s art, we are able to acknowledge and confront our past with the hopes of learning from, and never repeating it.
Picture of “Mind Numbing” on The Shift lot, located at 702 Main Street. The piece is one of 10 installed at this new placemaking project in Downtown Grand Junction.
Nyuma ya Sanaa: <unk>Mind Numbing<unk> Katika hali yake bora, sanaa ya umma ina nguvu ya kuhamasisha uhusiano wa kibinadamu, kutoa habari, na kuunda mabadiliko ya kijamii. Mradi mmoja wa hivi karibuni wa GJ Creates unafikia noti zote tatu. "Kama wewe si kutembelea downtown hivi karibuni, kufanya kuacha kuona ""Mind Numbing"" na Andrew Watson, ziko katika 702 Main Street." "Mchoro huo unaonyesha jinsi Grand Junction ilivyotumia ""Teller Indian School"" kama shule ya Wahindi wa Amerika iliyoanzishwa mwaka 1886." Wakati wa kujenga uwanja wa Shift katika Downtown Grand Junction, GJ Creates iliruka kwa fursa ya kubuni kutembea kwa ukuta ili kukamilisha mradi wa kutengeneza nafasi. Kwa msaada wa Colorado Creative Industries na Tume ya Grand Junction ya Sanaa na Utamaduni, GJ Creates iliweza kuagiza na kufunga michoro kumi ya 8ft x 4ft kwenye tovuti, yote iliyochorwa na wasanii wa Grand Junction. Kuongeza "Mind Numbing" kwa Shift ilikuwa uamuzi rahisi. The Shift ni mahali pa kukusanyika kwa jamii mpya, na kukaribisha kazi za sanaa ambazo zinachochea mazungumzo husaidia kuunda marudio ya kuvutia na halisi. Shule hizo zilianzishwa mwishoni mwa miaka ya 1800 na mwanzoni mwa miaka ya 1900, na ziliwalazimisha watoto wa Wenyeji wa Asili wa Amerika kujiunga na utamaduni. Teller Indian School, iko katika 2800 Riverside Parkway, ni tu gari fupi kutoka moyo wa Downtown Grand Junction. Shukrani kwa mchoro wa ukuta wa Watson, na uvumbuzi wa hivi karibuni kote Amerika Kaskazini, historia iliyosahaulika ya shule hizi sasa inaletwa kwenye mwanga. Mchoro wa ukuta wa Watson una mambo mawili yanayovutia. Ya kwanza ni mural yenye rangi nyekundu na bluu yenye maneno "Mind Numbing" na alama tisa. Kila ishara inaonyesha shughuli inayolazimishwa kwa watoto wa shule ikiwa ni pamoja na baseball, kushona, kilimo, na muziki. Sehemu ya pili ni mchanganyiko wa chapisho la blogi na waandishi wa maktaba ya Mesa County wakionyesha historia ya shule hiyo. Wageni wanaweza kutembea moja kwa moja hadi kwenye mchoro wa ukuta na kusoma juu ya ukatili wa shule hiyo, na kujifunza zaidi juu ya historia ya eneo hilo. "Mind Numbing" ina umuhimu maalum kwa Watson, msanii wa Navajo anayefanya kazi ambaye sasa anaishi Grand Junction. Alizaliwa na mama wa kabila la Caucasian na baba wa kabila la Navajo na hivyo akawa mtu aliyefukuzwa na wenzao. Katika umri mdogo aligundua sanaa, skateboarding na muziki mbadala. Kukua katika Arizona pia alimpa mandhari ya kipekee na utamaduni ambao ulionekana katika lugha ya kuona katika kazi yake. Kazi yake ni hatua ya kusawazisha ya Navajo icons interspersed na pop ya kisasa. Ingawa ilifungwa mnamo 1911, jina la Teller bado linaweza kupatikana katika Grand Junction. Jina lake lilitokana na Seneta wa Marekani Henry Teller wa Colorado, Teller Avenue ni vitalu nane tu kutoka Main Street ya kihistoria, na vitalu vitatu tu kutoka Chipeta Avenue na Ouray Avenue. Barabara zote mbili zinamheshimu Mkuu mashuhuri wa Wahindi wa Ute Ouray na mke wake Chipeta, kabila lililoharibiwa zaidi na Shule ya Wahindi ya Teller. Kupitia sanaa ya Watson, tunaweza kutambua na kukabiliana na zamani zetu kwa matumaini ya kujifunza kutoka, na kamwe kurudia. Picha ya <unk>Mind Numbing<unk> kwenye uwanja wa The Shift, ulioko 702 Main Street. Picha hii ni moja ya 10 zilizowekwa katika mradi huu mpya wa kujenga mahali katika Downtown Grand Junction.