{"id":2077,"date":"2019-11-21T14:30:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T14:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/?p=2077"},"modified":"2020-09-10T22:12:48","modified_gmt":"2020-09-10T22:12:48","slug":"hunter-student-showcases-her-skill-at-atlantic-terminal-mural","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/2019\/11\/hunter-student-showcases-her-skill-at-atlantic-terminal-mural\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunter Student Showcases Her Skill at Atlantic Terminal Mural"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Women
Macy Rajacich painting her mural “Take it Easy” at Atlantic Terminal.<\/figcaption> Photo by Macy Rajacich<\/span><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can\u2019t paint and I can\u2019t get my hands on a paintbrush, I am getting my hands on a pen or a napkin or whatever I can find–even dirt on the ground,\u201d said 20-year-old Macy Rajacich a junior majoring in fine arts at Hunter College. Her recent mural \u201cTake It Easy\u201d at Atlantic Terminal is part of The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan<\/span> Arts series of 20 works it commissioned to <\/span>honor it\u2019s 20 year anniversary. This opportunity puts her in the ranks of other artists, including Wangechi Mutu and Jamal Shabazz who were given a platform by MoCADA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The mural, created by three MoCADA employees including Rajacich, reminds pedestrians to slow down and take a breath. Their message brings awareness to self-motivation and positive attributions. Some of the messages included were \u201cKeep on going,\u201d \u201cYou got this\u201d and \u201cJust take a breath.\u201d The large mural presents a colorful scene of a happy community surrounded by nature and music.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Women
The three young women working on their mural.<\/figcaption> Photo by Macy Rajacich<\/span><\/figure>\n

It took a lot of trial and error when presenting their mural ideas. \u201cDeveloping the concept was much harder than the drawing and painting of the mural,\u201d said Rajacich. She worked with Nikki Freyermuth and Audrey Lyall, all three women of color for over a month designing the mural and then another five days painting it. \u201cIt went so smoothly, one of the other artists does figurative drawing, so we both drew figures down and then sent to the other artist who is a graphic designer,\u201d said Rajacich. \u201cTake It Easy\u201d <\/span>deviates in style f<\/span>rom her other artwork. \u201cI had an online painting series called \u201cCalling U Out\u201d tha<\/span>t had cartoon illust<\/span>rations like in the mural, me and the other artists combined our figure drawing to create the ones on the mural,\u201d said Rajacich.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rajacich started painting as a way to express herself but now it is much more than that. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of pressure to paint, it\u2019s no longer a hobby. It\u2019s not arts and crafts anymore I am building myself as an artist,\u201d said Rajacich She makes an effort to be in her art studio at Hunter at least twice a week. \u201cIt makes me let off a lot of steam,\u201d said Rajacich.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her creative process is always changing, being in a space where she can produce and come up with ideas is her main focus. Her sketchbook goes everywhere she goes. \u201cWhen something happens I have to write it out, my sketchbook is mostly filled with writing instead of sketching,\u201c said Rajacich.\u00a0 Staying motivated is one of her struggles as a young artist. \u201cThere are days I don\u2019t want to paint or do anything and just stay in bed but I know that I have to grab a pen. I have to create in order to feed what\u2019s inside if I don\u2019t do that I lose that fire,\u201d said Rajacich. \u201cJust like everything else in life, if you don\u2019t practice you are just never going to get better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Women
The beginning process of painting the mural “Take it Easy.”<\/figcaption> Photo by Macy Rajacich<\/span><\/figure>\n

The art director at MoCADA,\u00a0 Ami Andrieux asked Rajacich to join the mural. Andrieux gave the three artists the challenge of fusing all their artistic styles together into one.\u00a0 She wanted to give the project to young artists. \u201cIn general MOCADA has a legacy of giving emerging artists a platform, we call them MOCADA first\u2019s many of whom are now major like Wangechi Mutu who is currently at the MET and Jamal Shabazz, everyone’s favorite photographer especially with the Gucci campaign,\u201d said Andriex. Rajacich has used her time to prepare for opportunities like these, she attends galleries, networks with other artists and is always creating whether that means in her studio or outside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of Rajacich art teachers, Professor Williamson who taught her Advanced Painting class stresses the importance of studio time and practice. \u201cWorking on your craft is the most important, everything Macy has achieved is because she has done an incredible job with the work she had presented she is a very hard worker,\u201d said Williamson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rajacich is grateful that she gets her own art studio at school because of her painting class. \u201cMy artistic style is putting myself in a space where I can crank out something is how I get started,\u201d said Rajacich. Painting is always on her mind either that be for her painting classes, her fellowship or a creative project.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ironically enough, Rajacich has been able to follow her murals advice now that she has finished the piece. Her busy schedule consists of balancing her school, work, art and social life. Rajacich is a full-time student taking five courses and works part-time at the MoCADA<\/span>. <\/span>Rajacich has also heavily emerged herself into Hunter activities. She is a part of the Office of Arts and was also offered an art fellowship offered by her major.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Being at Hunter full time was tough during this process. \u201cI\u2019m a student so I was coming in and out, I had to be there at 10 a.m. and then leave by dark, we were there all day,\u201d said Rajacich. \u201cIt was a lot of work, time management was important,\u201d said Rajacich.\u00a0 Always creating and building her skill, Rajacich has recently taught herself embroidery and is writing a cookbook.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently, Rajacich is focused on her painting and has started an underground tailoring business. Having her art publicly displayed has been very monumental. \u201cI remember when I was in high school I had my first showcase to the public at a cafe. I remember being so proud of myself and the recent mural was really surreal for me, to have my art be put up permanently,\u201d said Rajacich.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new Atlantic Terminal mural by a Hunter College art student encourages commuters to “Take It Easy.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":2079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[56,184,14,218,204,206],"class_list":["post-2077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-arts","tag-cuny-hunter-college","tag-hunter-college","tag-mocada","tag-mural","tag-painter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2077"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2173,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077\/revisions\/2173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}