Memories of the Mural in Room 125
Mike DeMazza, Retired HVRHS Social Studies Teacher:
In the fall of his junior year, one of my students – Jordan Monsell – approached me with an idea and asked if he could paint on the wall of room 125. My initial reaction was “um … no!” Jordan replied “No, no, Mr. DeMazza … it’s going to be great – I want to do a mural of famous people in American History.” After a quick check with his art teacher, I changed my answer and, for the next two years, Jordan was a frequent visitor to my classroom, working diligently to complete his work. In his summary below he mentions standing on a desk to draw – he did this before school, during study halls and lunch and after school. At the end of his junior year the mural was about half done – moving from John Smith to Abraham Lincoln – and I looked at it with admiration and with disappointment: admiration for the great work being done and the noticeable improvement in Jordan’s skills and disappointment that it would never be finished.
Little did I know …
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Jordan Monsell, Professional Artist and Illustrator in CA:
I had always intended the mural of famous Americans to be painted. Over the years I have learned to paint portraits without drawing a pencil sketch first, but back in high school I didn’t trust my painting skills. Instead, I drew the faces in pencil, and it soon dawned on me that even in the two years I had remaining at Housatonic (I attended my freshman year at Indian Mountain School, and I started the mural in my junior year), I would not have time to draw and then paint all 170 portraits.
I also remember the cinderblock wall that really ate through pencils. Depending on the size of the portrait, some faces took several pencils to complete–sharpening them down their erasers. I described the wall as like a giant Thomas English Muffin–all those nooks and crannies! It was hardly a flat surface.
The mural took two years because I could only work on it during my free time–sometimes only an hour or two each week. I also had to stand on a desk, and if I wanted to see my progress, I couldn’t simply back up but had to climb down from the desk. I remember sympathizing with Michelangelo, climbing a rickety scaffold to work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Did he have to climb down to see if Adam was in proportion? Or did he have artist friends below helping him?
Occasionally students would ask me why there weren’t more women or African Americans in the mural. I had to tell them that unfortunately much of this country’s history– at least politically–was dominated exclusively by white men. But I did include many musicians and poets and athletes and civil rights leaders who were not white men and who were all important in shaping this nation.
It amazes me that the mural is still there as I do not recall varnishing or spraying a fixative over everything. I feared that on humid summer days the moisture on the wall would make the graphite run like mascara. But I’m happy to know that this is not the case and new generations of students can enjoy the art.
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Mike DeMazza (continued):
It was not until the fall of Jordan’s senior year that I found out my disappointment had been misplaced. Unknown to me, Jordan came into Housatonic several times that summer between his junior and senior years to work on the mural. When I returned in August to set up my room, I found that Jordan had continued to work and had progressed from Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt and many Americans in between.
During his senior year, Jordan was again a regular fixture in room 125 as I taught another year of United States History. His progress was steady … then, with some urgency, Jordan worked to complete the mural – finishing with Bill Clinton on the morning of his graduation from Housatonic.
A few other memories: indeed, Jordan completed the entire mural in pencil – in fact, the final pencil he used was up on the cork rail below his mural for years … until I touched that pencil while telling this story and I inadvertently pushed the pencil behind the cork rail where it remains to this day.
The humidity issue was obvious each summer when the graphite would bubble. Fortunately, it was never touched during these hot days and current art instructor, Warren Prindle, came up with a preservative spray that darkened the mural slightly, but which still protects the mural to this day.
Twice construction issues threatened the mural. When the new Agricultural Education building was constructed a new emergency exit was constructed in room 125 and part of Pocohontas’ face was lost. Later a bracket for a video monitor was installed and – for nearly 20 years – Joe Namath and Jimi Hendrix were slightly obscured. Today that bracket is gone, Namath and Hendrix are back only slightly worse for the wear, and the mural is again fully visible. Marilyn Monroe – in her iconic dress blowing pose – is, however, without a nose or mouth. Jordan often revised his efforts during the two-year project, and she was the only one who was not finished.
More than a generation of students – and I – have passed through room 125. All have been respectful of Jordan’s work, and it is today a work that is admired and asked about by all who see it.
When the 75th anniversary of Housatonic was celebrated by the community, visitors were introduced to the mural, and it was added to the school’s permanent art collection.
Jordan Monsell has gone on to be a respected and talented artist since leaving Housatonic. I have retired from teaching but still work at Housatonic. He and I are connected by this wonderful memory. One of my most cherished possessions is a caricature of Theodore Roosevelt that Jordan painted for me on my retirement. Each time I look at it in my home I recall our two-year relationship that led to Jordan’s completion of the room 125 mural of famous Americans in our history.