Art

Deadly Intersection

The artwork I chose is from my neighborhood, it's a mural of a 13 year old boy Issac Martinez who tragically lost his life last year on June 28th due to a hit and run while he was riding his bike. Issac didn't live to far from where he was hit, he was on his way to his cousin's house. Sadly Issac never made it to his cousin’s house. Besides the mural behind the restaurant, the area where Issac Martinez was hit lays a small vigil as a memorial for Isaac Martinez. It is of a small house with Issac's picture, crosses, flowers, teddy bears and an angel. Next to the house is a bike painted in all white which symbolizes the bike that Issac was riding before he was struck. Itzel Dirzo who is Isaac's mother broke down in tears on the news, videos and pictures that surfaced social media pleading "I want justice for my son!" The videos of Itzel is so heartbreaking it literally brought me to tears listening to the mother crying in pain for her child, you can hear the hurt and sadness in her voice when she tries to speak. The loss of a child is unbearable, I as a mother can't even imagine the agony she is going through along with the other family members. The driver of the vehicle that hit Issac Martinez was eventually found due to people identifying the vehicle that struck Isaac then about 2-3 days later and was charged with DUI amongst several other changes.

The artwork is located on 83rd and Lawndale which is 4 blocks from me, I see this mural every day and it still breaks my heart till this day. The death of Issac caused allot of protesting in my community raising awareness of the chaotic 6 way intersection which causes accidents all the time. My brother was actually in an accident like 4 years ago on the same intersection because cars don't stop, their always speeding and people get confused on the lanes. The Alderman Derrick Curtis claims that where Issac was riding his bike is a route but there were no bike lanes or markings to show drivers. Alderman Curtis has been talking with Chicago Department of Transportation about the 6 way intersection for a while and nothing has been done, the residents in my community have been complaining and protesting for safer bike lanes, video cameras and more stop signs at the intersection. A group of bicyclist actually came to protest with the family and residents last year in hopes of making our community safer. The bicyclist formed a human bike lane in his honor during the vigil for Issac Martinez. I'm sure my area is not the only area in Chicago where bicyclist have gotten severely hurt and or passed away because the city fails to enable noticeable bike lanes for drivers.

The artist behind the beautiful artwork is none other than Milton Coronado a famously known Chicago Mural Graffiti artist. He is famous for several of pieces such as Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, a young 19 year old pregnant woman seeking baby clothes through a Facebook group. A family reached out to her with items that she can have and was asked to pick up the items at their residence located on the South Side of Chicago. The family strangled Marlen to death and cut the baby out of her body. The family and police didn't know where or what happened till they logged on her page, the eventually found Marlen. The baby was actually taken to the hospital by the family that did the heinous crime and pretended her daughter gave birth at home, the baby eventually died weeks later. The suspects were taken to jail and are still serving time and that Facebook group has been taken down since then. Another mural was Vanessa Guillen, a young 20 year old female soldier serving in Fort Hood Texas who was brutally murdered by another male soldier. The disappearance of Vanessa went worldwide thanks to her family voicing their concern and the people all over the world making noise whether it was on the news, social media, hashtags, pictures, video's etc... Milton Coronado's murals are not always of someone tragically passing away, he has done murals of our very own Chicago Rapper Chance, Canelo Alvarez the amazing Mexican professional boxer, the beautiful talented painter Frida Kahlo, among others.

Milton Coronado lost his mom a very young age, his dad eventually remarried. Growing up Milton says the way of coping with everything was drawing, he mentioned that his drawings were not always legal. His dad ended up passing away from a gun cause by a family member. The loss of both parents had him in a deep depression; his friends helped him gain his life back. Milton went on to get Bachelor's Degree from the American Academy of Arts, his unique styles with watercolors, acrylic in airbrush, the use of spray paint, oils amongst others. He eventually started to experience with graffiti in Street Art Ministry, which a program that helps the youth and empower them through art. Milton built professional relationships with our Chicago May office, Special Events, McDonalds amongst others. Milton Coronado says "I believe we were all called for a special purpose in my life. My calling is to be an artist and speaker began with my recognition of such balanced beauty in an artist’s perfect work of art—the six days of creation. For me, art and service begin there, and I choose to manifest it in the urban culture. That’s where I have been called to be a beacon of influence." Milton has had several publications of his artwork and he continues to do so through his social media platforms. I love the caption he has for his Instagram "I am a story teller called to inspire & point others towards HOPE." Every picture we have taken,

we are in, and we have seen all tell a story, it may be the story behind the picture but a person's imagination is worth a thousand words. Milton stated he had his personal connection to the mural of Isaac Martinez due to his father passing away and wanted to contribute something to the mourning family.

The mural of Issac Martinez is the same picture of him inside the small house where he was struck and killed. On the mural Milton gave young Issac some angel wings and a halo while posing on clouds. On the clouds it says " John 3:16" which is a scripture from the bible and it reads "For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. ... For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." You can see the detail Milton uses on Issac's facial features and his hands; you can also see the details on the feather wings that are on Issac. The colors used for the mural are blue which represents the sky to me, the use of white is for the wings and clouds, the black for the shirt and the child's hair, the yellow goldish for the halo and red for the blood that was shed. The left side of the mural has Isaac's date of birth and the date he passed away, the right side of the mural has his name Issac, the bottom left corner says "Your family loves you always" and the bottom right corner has the artist name Milton Coronado. The artwork means to me a child loss so young, the small house vigil and bike symbolize you can lose your life while doing something as simple as riding a bike. People pass by every day and see the artwork; the city has yet to do anything about it. Does the Department of Transportation need another bike victim young or elder to pass away before we get cameras or more stop signs, does the Department of Transportation need more car accidents at this intersection, do stories need to go viral before something gets done. My community will continue to protest for every accident that occurs at this intersection till something gets done.

Vanessa Robles

♥♥♥ Rest in Peace to the individuals I mentioned in my Art Project ♥♥♥

Issac Martinez 3/3/2007 - 6/28/2021

Marlen Ochoa-Lopez 11/16/1999 - 4/23/2019

Vanessa Guillen 9/30/1999 - 4/22/2020

https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/06/30/driver-charged-in-southwest-side-hit- and-run-that-killed-13-year-old-boy-on-bike-as-family- mourns/#:~:text=I%20want%20justice%20for%20him,in%20a%20Ford%20work% 20van.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2020/7/1/21310254/man-50k-bail-deadly- hit-run-13-year-old-bicycle

https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/07/01/13-year-old-bicyclist-killed-by-hit-and- run-driver-had-just-gotten-his-first-bike/