A vigil on Wednesday for Antonio Ramos (image via Facebook)
Some deaths are painfully senseless, and that’s certainly true for that of Antonio Ramos. On Tuesday, the 27-year-old street artist was murdered while painting a mural that was meant to brighten the run-down streets of northwestern Oakland, which has one of the highest violent crime rates in the United States.
According to Bay Area News, Ramos had been working on the mural for a full week with others from the anti-violence organization Attitudinal Healing Connection (AHC), which seeks to empower local youth through the arts. Around mid-morning he began arguing with a seemingly random passerby. The man pulled out a gun and shot him, and Ramos was pronounced dead at the hospital. “All they were doing was painting, trying to beautify a neighborhood that has seen its challenges,” Oakland police Lt. Roland Holmgren told the newspaper.
Antonio Ramos (image via Facebook)
Ramos began volunteering with AHC three years ago when he saw a group from the organization painting a mural in his neighborhood and asked if he could help. “From that day on he was working on the project every day,” ACH wrote on its Facebook page. “From his work on that mural, he stayed in touch to be brought on as a paid muralist for wall #3, on West Street.”
When he died, AHC was putting up the third of six murals planned for the area along Interstate 580 as part of the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project. Designed by local middle schoolers, the mural featured a row of sunny houses that resembled the type of community they’d want to live in. Ramos had recently posted a Facebook photo of the mural, showing a detail of a woman’s outline, and wrote, “I can’t wait to see [her] get painted in.”
He never lived to see the mural finished, though Ramos’s colleagues will continue work on it Monday. “The muralists have decided that the project must continue, in the name of Antonio and the message of the Project, to offset violence and blight and empower young people and artists,” the project’s organizers wrote on Facebook. “However, they must be protected. It is unacceptable that our artists must have to watch their back and feel unsafe while they bring youth images of hope and beauty to the neighborhood.”
The Latest
MTV’s The Exhibit Is Finally Spicing Up
In the penultimate episode, the show’s editors managed to ignite the spark of mindless reality TV.
Guggenheim Museum Union Rallies at VIP Opening
The museum’s commitment to diversity in exhibitions rings hollow to workers who say they are not receiving a fair wage.
The Public Theater Explores the Hurricane Katrina Diaspora in shadow/land
Written by Erika Dickerson-Despenza and directed by Candis C. Jones, this lyrical meditation on legacy, erotic fugitivity, and self-determination is on view in NYC.
Quieter Artworks Stand Out At a New York Photo Fair
At this year’s Association of International Photography Art Dealers show, the best works offer glimpses into the personal lives of photographers and their subjects.
Special Edition: 🖌️Artists’ Signatures ✍️
In this special edition, we investigate what artists’ signatures actually mean, and the fascinating results reveal the multifaceted history of this curious phenomenon.
The Rubin Museum Presents Death Is Not the End
Tibetan Buddhist and Christian works of art made across 12 centuries explore death, the afterlife, and the desire to continue to exist. On view in NYC.
What Is a Signature in the Internet Age?
As a cryptographic unit for record-keeping, an NFT can be seen as analogous to a signature or an autograph.
The Meaning of Ancient Greek and Roman Artisan Signatures
What did a signature mean in the ancient world, and how much can we trust what they seem to tell us?
When I Am Empty Please Dispose of Me Properly
Ayanna Dozier, Ilana Harris-Babou, Meena Hasan, Lucia Hierro, Catherine Opie, Chuck Ramirez, and Pacifico Silano explore the myths of the American Dream at Brooklyn’s BRIC House.
Michelangelo’s Signature and the Myth of Genius
Michelangelo served as a stellar example for future artists who sought status and economic independence.
Uncovering the Photographer Behind Arshile Gorky’s Most Famous Painting
As we pursue photographer Hovhannes Avedaghayan a fascinating picture begins to emerge of him and the world of which he was part.
Pratt’s 2023 Fine Arts MFA Thesis Exhibition Is On View in Brooklyn
The two-part exhibition features the work of 41 graduating artists across disciplines, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, and integrated practices.
100 Years of Artist Signatures in a Detroit Club
The beams in Detroit’s Scarab Club act as a guest book of sorts, carrying a wealth of stories and history, including signatures by Diego Rivera, Marcel Duchamp, Margaret Bourke-White, Isamu Noguchi, and others.
The Myth of Agency Around Artists’ Signatures
In an art world built on shifting sands, artists’ signatures become symbols of agency for some, and relics of the past for others.