A professional photographer named Bruce happened by the other day while I was painting. Turns out that murals are a passion of his. He loves to travel, and dreams of publishing a book one day that would be a collection of his favorite murals that he has photographed. He asked for a bit of Dream Big's back story, and we exchanged business cards. After contemplating the wall, he said, "It's like Andy Wahol meets Sisyphus."
I had to think about that a bit. A little rusty on my Greek mythology, I made a mental note to review the story when I got home. According to the legend, Sisyphus was an ancient king, who was punished by the gods for being a jerk. His sentence was to repeatedly roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down when he got to the top. He was supposed to keep this up for eternity. Thus, when faced with a job that feels pointless and wearisome, one might be tempted to exclaim, "This is SO Sisyphean!" Photographer Bruce quietly repeated, "Yep; Sisyphus", said his goodbyes, and journeyed on.
My task is not Sisyphean, thank goodness, but I am eager to be done and move on to other artistic endeavors. The end is in sight. I am excited.
Tomorrow night, a crowd will gather, thanks to the return of Duluth's popular Food Truck Friday, and the Art Walk event, sponsored by the Duluth Fine Arts League. Artists will be set up in Parson's alley from 6-8pm, displaying and demonstrating that thing they do, and there will be a live auction. Come and bid on a framed print of my Duluth City Hall drawing! Proceeds will support scholarships and arts programs for local youth. https://www.facebook.com/events/423540578072721/
John Oates wrote a song about Sisyphus (though he may not know it). Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9SWDTGlmks