By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROSCOE — The 12th and final mural of this summer’s CRE8IV: transformational Art initiative is unlike the rest: It’s decidedly not flashy.
The sharp lines and vibrant colors associated with many of the large-scale works of public art were exchanged for more muted, natural tones in Thomas Agran’s piece at 10536 Main St. in downtown Roscoe. The Iowa City artist used soft brushstrokes that convey a sense of movement and atmosphere in an aerial view of the Rock River over northern Winnebago County.
“A lot of murals that I do are crisper or a little more commercial, but this one to me feels like a standout amongst others that I’ve done,” Agran said Thursday at a pop-up event celebrating the new mural. “It isn’t a mural designed to be an Instagram opportunity for selfies, and it’s not designed to promote some specific thing having to do with a business or whatever. It really is, I hope, just a piece of public art in the community.”
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Agran’s mural shows the twisting and winding Rock River moving through natural and agricultural land until it meets the more developed landscapes of Roscoe and Rockton. It’s the first CRE8IV mural painted in Roscoe and the 36th in Rockford, Loves Park, Roscoe, Rockton and Pecatonica over three years of the initiative led by the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“It says something in a community when the artwork that goes up obviously speaks to place, but it’s art for art’s sake, to use that trite phrase,” Agran said.
Village officials decided to work with Agran after seeing his previous murals, including the mural he made last year of five draft horses on the side of Magpie at 126 N. Madison St. in downtown Rockford. The Kentucky native, who grew up in Cincinnati, has worked on roughly 30 murals over the course of his career.
“To see a project come to Roscoe, let alone a piece like this, I think helps spark that sense of community,” said Nicole Blough, a Roscoe native who is the destination development events manager of the visitors bureau. “It’s unlike any other project that we’ve had. This is more natural and toned down.”
Don’t confuse that description for meaning the mural isn’t a beautiful backdrop for photos, she said.
“You can take your picture against this, too, even though it doesn’t have neon green and hot pink in it,” she said. “This is just as much Instagrammable as all the other ones are.”
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Agran said this mural felt much like the type of image he would create on canvas for a gallery show, and he hopes people will let their eyes linger on the mural much like one would at a gallery.
“That’s one of the best things about public art: There’s no literal price to admission or psychological price to admission or cultural cost,” he said. “So hopefully that really increases accessibility to art, ultimately.”
Agran, whose white T-shirt and black shorts were splattered with drops of paint as he met with visitors Thursday, is still putting the finishing touches on the mural. The last steps include a layer of varnish that protects the paint and enriches the colors.
Blough said the response to the mural by Agran and others has been tremendous, providing momentum for the public art initiative to continue again next year.
“My phone rings all the time at work, saying, ‘Hey I’ve got a building can we paint it,'” she said. “It’s really exciting to see so many people invested and interested in our program.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.