Donna Summer immortalized in giant Roxbury mural
BOSTON - Local legend Donna Summer has been immortalized in a giant mural in Nubian Square. The mammoth art piece is part of a growing push from a local initiative Black Market Nubian. The organization is already seeing tours come to the area as public art expands.
"We want to see more and more of our city's icons represented in regards to tourism," said Kai Grant, Director of Black Market Nubian. "Young girls get to see themselves represented and representation really does matter."
Highlighting Roxbury's history
Black Market Nubian is working to highlight and preserve Roxbury's history and community through these art installations. Donna Summer is actually on the side of their building on Washington Street.
"She is someone who made their dreams a reality, and for us that is such a necessity, especially right now," explains Grant. "For us she was this supernova, this beautiful iconic artist who had a voice of an angel."
The mural was created by Roxbury mural and graffiti artist Cedric "Vise1" Douglas. His mother went to school with Donna Summer.
"I don't think there would be any Beyonces, or divas like that, if it wasn't for Donna Summer," said Douglas. "She had 19 #1 hits. She had 19 hits that hit top 10!"
"The seal of approval"
Donna Summer's sister was there when the mural was unveiled. It was one of Douglas's proudest moments as an artist.
"She said, 'Yes, that's my sister! You did an amazing job!' Hearing that from her was like the seal of approval," smiled Douglas.
He used photoshop to take a picture of the wall and blend it with the image he planned to paint. It gave him an idea of how to take this small image on his phone and turn it into this massive painting. From there, he used a projector to shoot the image onto the wall.
"Then, it's a matter of looking at the images and zooming in on your phone, and really trying to capture her essence," said Douglas. "I wanted to capture her flamboyant personality, loudness and her energy."