February 22, 2017
βENDLESS STUGGLEβ
by Mata Ruda with Lucinda Yrene
Born in Costa Rica, Karl Miller Espinosa, aka Mata Ruda, lived in Venezuela until age 11 when his family moved to the U.S. A graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art he is now attending the University of Arizona and teaching undergrad illustration. He says he uses iconography from both sides of the border to address both natural issues like environment and spiritual healing as well as social concerns like overlooked communities and cultures. Painting with Lucinda Yrene, who he credits with providing him spiritual and emotional enlightenment and deeper understanding of the power of art to cure and empower, the two painted this 2016 mural on 6th St. for Coachella Walls: American Woman. In a relatively poor agricultural community once best known for its grapefruit, its annual music festival now brings in hundreds of thousands of privileged visitors often completely unaware of the surrounding community. Coachella Walls aims to use art to, at the very least, sensitize visitors to the plight of the community they invade every spring. @matarudaΒ @lucinda_yreneΒ @coachellawallsΒ @coachella
