Texas Southern University

          Bob Heliton’s mural pays homage to music, sound, and live performance art. The mural is composed of intersecting and overlapping forms and figures. Heliton captures the scene of a jazz band and vocalists performing. A drummer, two trumpeters, one saxophonist, one bassist, and two singers are pictured in the rapture of performance. The intense facial expressions, especially the brow lines of the individual singers, pull the viewer into the scene; one can almost hear the music they are playing. The flow of Heliton’s brushstrokes mimic the smooth rhythms of jazz. The  warm toned palette reflects the feeling of a club scene, with a variety of colored stage lights over the band. The artist uses an acrylic wash to create a transparent look throughout the mural, mimicking a watercolor finish. An acrylic wash refers to diluted paint, in this case water could have been used to thin down or stretch the paint. Most artists use this method as a start to an underpainting, adding more layers to create shadows, depth, or texture. 

          Multiple student muralists chose to paint themes of music and jazz to reflect the popularity and growth of this genre over time. Houston was home to many jazz spaces including the Eldorado Ballroom, a historic Third Ward venue which hosted jazz and blues legends as part of the so-called “Chitlin Circuit.” Heliton’s use of intersecting and overlapping panels of color is reminiscent of, and perhaps inspired by, Aaron Douglas’ painting style. The placement of the mural is also notable. Heliton’s mural is the only one in Hannah Hall that stretches across two perpendicular walls. This lends an extra element of depth to the composition, as if the rhythm section is set further back, behind the vocalists, trumpets, and saxophone.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.