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City
to Spend $75,000 on Murals, Portraits for City Hall
No-bid contract
granted to area artist Mohammed Mubarak
By
Allison Jean Eaton
Bulletin Staff Writer
COMPTON – The
city is commissioning a local artist to further spruce up City Hall
by adorning it with murals and oil portraits.
The $75,000, no-bid contract is being granted to Mohammed Mubarak of
Mubarak Art.
Unanimously approved by the Council last week, Mubarak will commission
three murals and 20 portraits.
A 30-foot-by-90-foot mural to grace the outside wall of the Council
Chambers facing Willowbrook Avenue will set the city back $30,000.
Two additional 10-foot-by-20-foot murals are $15,000 each. Finally,
each of the 20 16-inch-by-10-inch portraits is another $750.
The total price includes labor and materials, according to an April
1 staff report.
“The artwork of Mohammed Mubarak, doing business as Mubarak Art,
exemplifies the mayor and City Council’s desire to beautify the
city of Compton,” the
staff report reads.
Born and raised in Compton, Mubarak, born Anthony Quisenberry, told
The Bulletin he’s elated to be able to give back to the city
he knows and loves.
“I really want to leave my mark on the city,” he said during
a telephone interview. “I grew up in Compton. Compton is a part
of me, and I just want to give back.
“I feel fortunate and blessed to be in this position to do this
job,” Mubarak
said.
The Compton native began his painting career in 1970. Inspired by uncle
and pencil and ink portrait artist Arthur Dunlap Jr. and oil portrait
artist David Mosley, the untrained artist launched what he regards
as a formidable career.
According to his Website, www.MubarakArt.com, in early 1974 he began
studying radio at the Los Angeles School of Broadcasting and eventually
obtained an FCC license for broadcast radio.
A brief stint at KJLH doing public service announcements and commercials
led to his being commissioned as an artist by the late Redd Foxx, the
Rev. Ike and seminal musical sensation Stevie Wonder, for whom Mubarak
designed the cover for the album “Hotter Than July.”
Mubarak has also been commissioned by legendary entertainer Barry White
and talk show host Tavis Smiley.
Mayor Eric J. Perrodin said last week that he and City Clerk Alita
Godwin met with three potential artists and reviewed their work before
finally deciding on Mubarak.
“This is something I kind of took the reigns on,” Perrodin
said.
Examples of Mubarak’s work are currently hanging in the lobby
of City Hall. Oil portraits of Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez
situated near the Personnel Department were both commissioned by the
local painter.
Mubarak has also bee sought out by a number of sports figures including
boxing promoter Don King and boxers Oscar De La Hoya, Evander Holyfield,
Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
A composite sketch of the proposed mural to grace the outside wall
of the Council Chambers is currently on display in the City Hall lobby.
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