This above mural to honor Jaco, someone's actual art, was "officially" destroyed on SEPT 2nd.

On SEPT 17, during apologies for doing the ugly deed, the proposed artwork for a new mural wasn't such a hit with the City commissioners so a new graphic was to be unveiled in DEC, then postponed to JAN, and as of today won't be till FEB 17, looking forward to it.

The walls have not had any action since September 2, almost 5 months, they are stark white, it could take months before the first stroke is up. {It's all so familiarly stagnate}

An article in a community paper of tomorrow's Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel has the following 'update' available on the web:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/oakland-park/fl-cn-jaco-0131-20100128,0,3596290,full.story

Listening To: WR

New mural concept, these new designs will be presented for approval with the City of Oakland Park this coming Wednesday the 17th:

click on wall links

From responses received on FB and in email, all are disappointed with the new design:

"I am not crazy about the design at all. I thought Ciccio’s mural was great."

"I don't think it is visually interesting to have a large horizontal wall and center a vertical picture on it. Without regard to the way the finished product looked on the original version, I think the diagrams of the original were much more interesting, told a story and put Jaco in the context of his locale and peers."

"no cohesion between walls"

"The replacement is not much of a "mural" now. It all needs more color...Why so dark and drab?"

"it will read well from a distance and that's how billboards and murals are designed. the close up of jaco works but the centered figure with bass reads static it needs dynamics like the bass head stock in perspective coming at you with jaco holding, playing challenging the viewer."

"Surely better than the "whitewash" behavior that took away the colored soulfulness of the previous work ... but much too gloomy to represent Jaco's music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRwGBowq0WE"

"I agree, it needs more color and details, or should I say colorful details. He was a colorful person, dressed colorful, as was his music. What are those "swirls" around him btw?"

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Watch the perpetrators hail the first artist's design, which they later destroyed without his knowledge or approval, just because he wouldn't follow their unreasonable directions after starting this huge colorful, dimensional, story-telling mural:

The commissioners voted 3-2 to move forward with the new proposed mural.

The artist is Bill Savarese: http://muralsbybill.com/
who happens to also be a member of the organization (Main Street) that is handling the execution of the mural for the City. A conflict of interest, but par for the course.

I hope it will be completed without a hitch!

They canned the first below design, after stringing the artist Rob Robi along for 9 or more months:

http://www.robrobi.com/images/Jaco%20Mural.jpg



which was somewhat similar in concept as the first artist's, Frank Ciccio.

They chose a one-dimensional, flat, little to no color, underdeveloped design:

http://agenda.oaklandparkfl.org/publicagenda/ItemAttachments.aspx?itemid=1860&meetingid=157

Because of all the ado about the quality of the first artist's (Ciccio) work not being par to someone's expectations, a contract was breeched, an artwork destroyed, an artist degraded, then lies about their reasons presented to taxpaying residents...with no consequences other than dirty hands attached to the Main characters.

And who doesn't love Jaco's stickfigure self-portrait, it rocks!

The second artist, Rob Robi, contacted to replace Ciccio and start from scratch, then after many, many months removed from assignment, left some public comments (see below), which says it all... simply a repeat of preceding nuttiness. My sympathy to Rob Robi, and kudos for voicing his truth.

Instead, the final decision, which is "forever", was in favor of one of their own, case of conflict of interest, let alone a drab presentation of Jaco.

Rob Robi's comments left under video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFrKTq4loKQ

"I was contacted to assist on this mural in June 09 but the Artist could not agree with those who had hired him. They told me he disappeared and asked me to finish the mural. Asking me to come in for many meetings for months on end during the summer 09 and Fall and beyond , i'd made a rendering of their new desires finally when they allowed me to begin a new concept .

Mainstreet (who planned the mural and hired Ciccio) told me for 8 months that I would be painting this mural. I made several concepts based on their ideas - the final one they loved when i brought it in. I learned once again that endless talk can be a great sign of wasted time.

Mainstreet wasted lots of my time making strange promises about this Mural project. Anyway , my layout of their chosen figures can be seen on my site - link on my profile here.

In the end , i hope it comes out great.
I just wish they hadn't wasted so much of my time making endless unsolicited promises and showing no accountability for their constant neurotic blunders and yeah that includes the big B."

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I thank Oakland Park for giving us the Jaco Park, but their choice of Main Street is to their and many others' detriment.

As a graduate of Pratt Institute with a degree in Architecture and being surrounded by artistic friends, in my humble opinion, the first mural was a true artistic impression of Jaco's essence.

With all due respect to the new artist, these new design ideas are nothing more than a collage of images we have already seen for years and years. Where's the drama? Where's the perspective? Where is the artists interpretation? Anyone can take these generic Jaco photos, put them in a slide projector, project them on the blank wall and trace and paint. Then surround his image with some random pointillism. It's child's play.