CLEVELAND — Cleveland music rock icon Michael Stanley, who died in March after a months-long battle with lung cancer, will be remembered with a 2,200-foot large-scale tribute mural located on Payne Avenue in the city’s Midtown neighborhood.
Graffiti HeArt, an organization that promotes graffiti art in commissioned spaces, will host the “How Do I Love Thee Tour” which will feature 15 murals from Cleveland artist WRDSMTH in August, including the mural honoring Stanley.
Graffiti HeArt.
The tour was inspired by Graffiti HeArt president and founder Stamy Paul’s late Greek-American mother, who shared the poem “How do I love thee” with her husband, Harry, in a love letter in the 1940s. Her love of Cleveland and her family will live on through the mural tour, Paul said.
Having been born and raised in Cleveland, WRDSMTH’s love of Stanley started when he interned at TV 8 and assisted with the creative team on the show PM Magainze. There, he met and worked with Stanley, who he described as a “kind, affable, likable guy.”
“Kind of cool I got to call a legend my friend", WRDSMTH said.
"The tour will become a placemaking opportunity, encouraging the community, street art enthusiasts, and visitors to explore the city and seek out the murals, becoming a tour experience and another street art destination. Other WRDSMTH mural locations will include Lakewood, Greater Collinwood, Gateway District, University Circle, St. Clair Superior, Campus District and Cleveland Heights, to name a few, along with several participating partners including RTA, Cleveland Metroparks, and Cleveland Institute of Art," said Paul.
WRDSMTH, who attended Miami University, moved to Chicago before going to Los Angeles, where he began experimenting with street art. He would venture out early in the mornings to put up what has become his signature insignia — typewriters with a page above it.
As someone who now spends his time in London, he is looking forward to making his mark in Cleveland.
WRDSMTH will be installing the series of pieces the week of August 6 - 14.
RELATED: Billboards honoring Michael Stanley, Cleveland rocker and longtime radio DJ, pop up across Cleveland
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