The brightly colored paint on the University Drive bridge over the railroad tracks, just east of Old West Point Road, has been there for a week and is already the talk of the town, even at Tuesday’s board of aldermen meeting.
Mayor Lynn Spruill and a few of the aldermen have received calls from constituents wondering where the art project came from, so Spruill said at the meeting that it’s one of several murals the Starkville Area Arts Council has painted throughout the city over the past few years. The board approved a program in 2017 for SAAC to approve design proposals and work on the murals, such as the one on Lampkin Street near First United Methodist Church.
Bob Brzuszek, a landscape architecture professor at Mississippi State University, and two assistant artists, Anstacia Doughty and Joseph MacGown, painted the bridge.
SAAC executive director John Bateman told The Dispatch that trying to get public involvement in such projects is a challenge.
“Even when stuff gets announced early, no one talks about it, and then as soon as paint goes up, suddenly there’s all this interest,” Bateman said. “I think a lot of it’s just because it’s new.”
Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver said he would have preferred the bridge be painted maroon and white for Mississippi State University, rather than the “shocking” teal and purple, and he asked Spruill how the design was selected. She said SAAC is “the arbiter and clearinghouse” for the design.
“If we were to wait for the entire community to weigh in and vote on what goes on a mural, I don’t believe you would ever get anywhere with it,” Spruill said.
SAAC is responsible for maintaining the murals, including repainting if necessary, Spruill said in response to a question from Ward 3 Alderman David Little.
Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker said he fully supports such projects, especially since they can be covered and redone if the artists so choose.
“I think there’s a place in the community for (murals), like Main Street and University Drive, and I think that shows as much of a town and gown relationship as you could hope,” Walker said.
Walker and Ward 5 Alderman Hamp Beatty agreed that art is subjective and the city should be open to a variety of art forms.
“One of the things we invite is expression, non-vulgar expression of art, and the bridge is one of these things,” Beatty said. “We’re becoming a more comprehensive college town, and we’re starting to see things like this artwork that’s non-traditional for Starkville and the Deep South, but that’s a good thing.
“I like it,” he continued. “It’s different. It makes this bland concrete bridge look better.”
Another recent effort to beautify the city is Lights on Lafayette: 900 LED lights strung in September above the street at the block of Lafayette Street between Main and Lampkin streets, in an effort to create a space for outdoor events and enhance foot traffic in the area.
The project is a collaboration among the city, which provided in-kind services to erect the lights, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership and its affiliates, Mississippi State’s Carl Small Town Center and local businesses.
Spruill said some of the lights need to be reinstalled after bad weather caused some electrical issues, but it should be done soon.
In other business, the board agreed to meet in a special-call work session at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 27 to hopefully come to a consensus on what kind of project to request the state Legislature fund during its next session.
The aldermen and State Rep. Rob Roberson (R-Starkville) discussed a variety of potential requests at Friday’s work session, including road and drainage projects, relocating a fire station or the county jail, and building a new library or a parking garage.
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.