{"id":526643,"date":"2026-06-30T23:23:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T23:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/526643\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T23:23:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T23:23:18","slug":"photos-new-eureka-theater-mural-showcases-student-spray-paint-artists-lost-coast-outpost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/526643\/","title":{"rendered":"(PHOTOS) New Eureka Theater Mural Showcases Student Spray Paint Artists | Lost Coast Outpost"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

One of many student spray paint murals the Eureka Theater has hosted over the years. This one is from June 2024.| Photo: Ananda Oliveri.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve driven past the Eureka Theater in recent years, you\u2019ve probably noticed the ever-changing art on its southern wall, along that little alley next to the Morris Graves Museum. Over the years, the wall has served as a blank canvas for aspiring spray paint artists, showcasing kaleidoscopic shapes, fruits, cartoon characters and various renderings of \u201cI like Eureka.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the wall underwent yet another transformation, with the debut of \u201cModerne Art,\u201d a permanent mural that puts student art on center stage.<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

A picture of \u201cModerne Art\u201d before the spray painting students got to it. | Photo: Ananda Oliveri.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mural, created by local spray paint artist and teacher Ananda Oliveri and his daughter, Zaila Rook Barba-Oliveri, depicts a theater stage framed by red velvet curtains and metallic, rail-like motifs inspired by the Eureka Theater\u2019s Streamline Moderne<\/a> architecture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe folks from the Eureka Theater thought I was the obvious choice to do the mural, because they didn\u2019t want to take the wall away from the spray painting class I teach,\u201d Oliveri told the Outpost in a recent interview. \u201cSo, with that in mind, the design was made to accommodate the class and frame their final projects as a presentation piece with the theater curtains \u2026 and the design above the mural was inspired by the theater itself. \u2026 The tile work at the front of the theater is referenced in the piece as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the main features of Streamline Moderne architecture, a late phase of Art Deco design that emerged in the 1930s, is the gently curved aluminum and stainless steel accents and railings. These elements can be found throughout the Eureka Theater.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoincidentally, a lot of my recent art has incorporated that three-line motif, so it was like this real kind of synthesis of things,\u201d Oliveri said, referring to the murals he\u2019s done with Faux Real Design Group<\/a>, a partnership with his cousin Dana Owens. \u201cI wanted to create this faux three-dimensional anamorphic design that stands out when seen from its proper angle.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mural project, a partnership between the Eureka Theater and the Humboldt Arts Council, was funded through a grant from the Eureka Cultural Arts District<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

The best spot to view \u201cModerne Art\u201d is from this spot on the sidewalk, almost directly in front of the Morris Graves Museum of Art. | Photo: Isabella Vanderheiden<\/p>\n

After nearly two decades of making aerosol art and hosting exhibitions through the Accident Gallery in Eureka with his former partner, Phyllis Barba, Oliveri began teaching spray painting at the local juvenile detention center through the Ink People Center for the Arts\u2019 Jump StArts <\/a>program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no real teaching experience prior to that, and I said yes because it sounded like a great subversive way to bring spray paint art to a disenfranchised population; the irony still makes me giggle,\u201d he said. \u201cThat parlayed into also teaching at the community schools, including McKinleyville, Arcata, Eureka and Fortuna. \u2026 I started working at the Morris Graves Museum about five years ago \u2026 and I figured I\u2019ve got nothing to do in the summer with school being out, so I started doing classes here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oliveri now teaches three two-week spray painting sessions each summer. Most of his students have zero experience with spray paint, and the first couple classes largely focus on how to hold the paint can properly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m working with straight novices,\u201d Oliveri laughed. \u201cSome of them are already into drawing or painting, but even still, spray paint is kind of removed from a lot of traditional material. I tell them that I\u2019m not teaching them how to spray paint, I\u2019m teaching them how to think about spray painting. It is a challenging medium, especially in those first few days. \u2026 It\u2019s just a matter of teaching them to look out for things that they wouldn\u2019t normally be aware of until they do it for a long time, so it\u2019s like I regard myself as a shortcut to that thought process.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Top: Oliveri works on block lettering with three students during a lesson last week. Bottom: A little spray paint how to. | Photos: Isabella Vanderheiden<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Oliveri teaches adults as well, but said teaching teenagers is more fun because \u201cthey\u2019re not predisposed to how things should be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a little bit more freedom there,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd it helps keep me young, I think, because we talk about music and what\u2019s happening in the world right now, and I get an idea of their level of anxiety about the universe. \u2026 I don\u2019t really come at it as either a teacher or a parent, I\u2019m just, hopefully, a cool dude to talk to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked how he feels about his work being referred to as \u201cgraffiti,\u201d Oliveri said he shies away from using the term because of its negative connotation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat being said, graffiti as we know it started in the late \u201860s or early \u201870s, and it\u2019s ubiquitous in so many areas of our lives right now that we don\u2019t even realize it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou see it in commercials, in fashion, in movies, in music \u2014 it\u2019s everywhere. The stigma, to some extent, I think, has been taken care of, but I do think presenting the work as legitimate, as just not a criminal pursuit, is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

As our interview wrapped up, three students arrived for their spray painting session, and Oliveri asked them to pick a color to start the day\u2019s lesson, which focused on building out block lettering.<\/p>\n

Oliveri will teach two more sessions this summer, one from July 13-24 and another from August 3-14. More information can be found in the flyer below.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of many student spray paint murals the Eureka Theater has hosted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526644,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-526643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}