Renowned Wheat Paste Artist Makes His Debut in Tucson at BICAS and Citizens Studios

Tucson has been gifted with free public art thanks to BICAS (Bicycle Inter-Community Action and Salvage) and Jetsonorama, an artist and photographer who attaches 15 to 20 foot black and white art to outdoor structures using wheat paste and printed photographic imagery.

The black and white imagery depicting people riding bicycles can be seen at BICAS  and Citizens Studios, 44 W. 6th st.

Jetsonorama has lived on the Navajo reservation for 22 years and made his Tucson debut at the invitation of Kylie Walzak, BICAS art education and outreach coordinator. She said the completed pieces will help bring an awareness to the public about the benefits of bicycling and she added, “The art is cool and beautiful.”

Jetsonorama lives at Inscription House on the Navajo reservation and prefers his real name not be used because the work is not about the artist, rather it is meant to inspire people and put a smile on their faces, especially during these difficult economic times, he said.

His work can be seen in various locations on the Navajo reservation. The subjects include Navajo code talkers, elders, sheep and various animals, all meant to inspire and create beauty. Although he is a doctor, he finds time to do photography which is where the imagery for the art comes from.

Creating the art has given him the opportunity to give back to the community he feels indebted to for giving him “powerful” life lessons, he said.

In 1992 he took a year off and traveled for 10 months throughout Africa. One of the images on the BICAS wall is from that trip. It depicts a man riding his bike laden with straw. There is a red crown painted on his head to depict a hero status. David Aguire, manager of Citizens Studios and the BICAS warehouse said he appreciates the imagery.

“They are soulful images and have a lot of spirit,” Aguire said.

The art is indeed soulful and inspiring. On January 17 the final day of installation for the art, people stopped and commented noting the stark beauty and unique character of the art. Throughout Tucson, there is nothing to compare the art to. It is fresh and invigorating. Aguire predicted the community will enjoy the wheat pasted art because it is pictorial not abstract.

The art is created from an image, printed on large format machines, laboriously cut out then pasted accordingly. Assisting Jetsonorama with the Tucson art was Yote of Prescott and Stephanie Jackson of Flagstaff.

Yote said he and Jetsonorama had collaborated in the past and thinks Tucson has some great walls, as in walls to use for wheat pasting. Yote creates wheat paste murals using wood blocks. The process involves putting the image on a wood block then transferring it to paper or other suitable material. Yote has two pieces on the Bicas walls.