James Howard Mural on Clark County Museum
Artist: Riley Gregor
Location: 725 Michigan Ave., Jeffersonville, Indiana
“The Story Behind the Mural” is an ongoing series that provides a behind-the-scenes dive into some of SoIN’s well known (and lesser known) public art pieces.
Through numerous pieces of public art, Southern Indiana has established a rich cultural theme of blending powerful historical imagery with explosive creativity.
And one of Jeffersonville’s newest murals adds to that tradition.
Located on the side of the Clark County Museum, StraightEdge Creative’s latest mural features the likeness of James Howard, an early settler of Jeffersonville who, at 19 years old, founded a thriving shipyard.
Riley Gregor, owner of StraightEdge Creative, said that the location of the mural in the NoCo Arts & Cultural District — an art haven that also features Maker13 and NoCo Arts Center (The NAC) — was the perfect place to mesh the city’s past and future.
“With it being on the museum, we definitely wanted it to highlight some of the history behind Jeff, but it’s also in a very specific and strategized location,” Gregor said. “They are redoing and paving the backside of that building, so it’s a much more walkable area, and so foot traffic can then flow right into the NoCo Arts And Cultural District. And the museum is kind of the start.”
His initial goal was to create the “biggest mural in Jeff,” but a series of conversations and planning sessions with city officials led Gregor to the Clark County Museum. While it might not be as big as he originally envisioned, it’s also not small. The mural is about 100 feet long and 20 feet high, taking Gregor nine days to complete. Gregor said that he wanted to keep the details minimal but recognizable while telling a story. By mixing vintage stylings with modern techniques, he added a lot of texture and depth to the piece.
“I’m very into collage and color, so I knew that’s how it started, but then I’m also paying homage to the history — you think of black and white photos, and grayscale and monochromatic,” Gregor said. “So, I played around with that a bit, but, really, what I pride myself in, in my work and what my team does, is really being colorful and vibrant and creating a lot of energy. So that’s how the mural ended up.”
The backside of the building is also set to be painted and will incorporate Black history, the Big Four Bridge and more.
Gregor is proud of the amount of public art that is popping up in the area, and said that it’s inspiring how quickly progress was made in creating a cohesive scene.
“It’s really cool how public art can not be there one day and the next it’s up and there for the public to see,” Gregor said.
“Jeff has been doing a wonderful job at keeping things cohesive but also really getting involved with a bunch of different artists, which is really cool to see.”
See more of StraightEdge Creative’s work at str8edgecreative.com.
Discover the James Howard Mural and more of SoIN’s public art scene when you sign up for Inspired SoIN, a free digital passport introducing you to art pieces located throughout Clark and Floyd counties in Southern Indiana. Visit our passports page to sign up today!
Check out more SoIN murals and the story behind them:
