If you spend any time in downtown Madison, you are living with the artwork of Tiffany Black. She’s a muralist who went to Hanover College almost 20 years ago, and she hit our little town like a tornado of energy and talent. Anyone who knew her then knew she was going to make her mark in the world.
The mark she made in Madison is on the side of Shipley’s Tavern, and on the front of the riverfront overlook down at the city boat ramp. The Shipley’s mural features the riverboat Revonah (Hanover spelled backwards!) plus a number of small vignettes of local historic sites. The mosaic tile mural on the face of the overlook is based on a Harlan Hubbard painting, depicting a man setting out a trot line from a small boat.
Tiffany and her family were in town recently doing some restoration work on the tile mural, and I was able to catch up with her. “This riverfront mural gets flooded quite often, so some of the tiles were missing and the grout was in bad shape. The city hired us to come down and restore it, which we really appreciate. Madison is a town that values public art, and is willing to make the investment to preserve it.”
Tiffany said “hired us” because she’s not a lone artist like back in her college days, but part of a growing family. She has a husband, a young daughter, and a baby on the way. “My husband Qahar is from Afghanistan. He was an artist in Kabul, and he was a translator for the American military mission. When the government collapsed he had to flee to the U.S., and I met him at Camp Atterbury where I was doing some art programming and he was doing legal work for refugees.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been 17 years since I was in Madison doing these big projects. Chris Sauer from Shipleys came to me and said he wanted a big mural on his building, and I was just graduating from Hanover. I stayed in town, worked at JoeyGs and Village Lights bookstore, and dove into the mural. A big part of the project was rounding up sponsors … funding is always half the battle with public art. The Madison murals really kicked off my career, I’m very grateful.
“Over the years I’ve done murals all over the U.S., probably about 50 in total. Plus, living in Indy, I am working closely with the NBA and WNBA on special projects at the sports venues. I’m more of a consultant on those, deciding what should be done, and then I hire artists to come in and do the work.
“Qahar is very much my partner now, in work and life. I mentioned he was a painter and artist when he lived in Afghanistan. We work together now for the Indy Arts Council, and now with our children, it’s very much a team effort.
“I have very fond memories of my days at Hanover and living in Madison. My professors Robyne Hart and Letitia Bajuyo, the folks at the Boys & Girls Club, Nathan and Anne Montoya from the bookstore. We’ve been down here at the boat ramp mural for just a couple days and so many old friends have stopped by to say hi and pitch in.
“If you haven’t seen this mural I encourage everyone to check it out. You actually have to drive down onto the boat ramp to see it, but it is looking so good now, all refreshed and repaired. But if it needs work again 20 years from now, I’ll be ready!”
HOT TIP OF THE WEEK
There are two shows of note this weekend. One is the Neil Young tribute show at the Ohio Theater on Saturday, performed by Madison’s own Rusty Bladen and a hand-picked backing band that can really re-create that classic vintage sound. You’ll need tickets for this one, at Madtixevents.com, or at the door. The other show to consider is at Thomas Family Winery, also on Saturday. It’s part of the Kindred Folk Society’s “Still Folkin” Series, and they are bringing in Clinton Davis, a Kentucky-born California-based player of old-time music styles. The Ohio Theater show will be big and bold and rockin’. The Thomas Family show will be quieter, intimate, and cozy. Choose your style and see your show! Oh, don’t forget, Saturday also has music at Mad Paddle, The Central, The Lighthouse and 1st Street Saloon. They don’t call us Indiana’s Music City for nothing!
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