Children's Books

The History of
"The Last Staff Supper at Green Street Cafe"

The following is an interview with Megan Burbank, arts editor for the Smith College newspaper, The Sopian:

Megan Burbank- What is the history of this mural? Where did the idea come from and how long have you been
working on it? Additionally, how did you decide to paint
it in the cafe?

Jeff Mack- The mural's history began when business representatives from Smith College told the owners of the Green Street Cafe that they planned to use the
adjacent property to build a new engineering complex

early sketch for "The Last Staff Supper at Green Street Cafe"

which may eventually engulf the neighborhood. Since Smith College owns many of the properties in the Green Street Neighborhood including the Cafe, the owners of the restaurant say they are being forced to leave. They said that the college offered to compensate them financially, but they found that the cost of starting over in another section of Northampton is more than Smith was willing to provide. As a result, it seems likely that the Green Street Cafe will have to close along with most of the other businesses including East Heaven Hot Tubs. Also many of the neighborhood residents are being forced to relocate as their apartments will be destroyed. Many of them do not own vehicles, and benefit from a combination of affordable rent and their ability to walk to town. They may not be able to find another situation that offers both advantages within Northampton.

near the beginning- 1st week

As a protest, the Green Street Cafe owners decided to invite a local muralist to make a statement about the demolition of the neighborhood. They asked artists to sumbit ideas for the project and hired three independent judges to select one of the proposals. My design was the one they selected.

The mural is titled "Last Staff Supper at Green Street Cafe". It depicts thirteen people who work or have worked at the cafe and who contributed to the unique spirit of the place. The painting is modelled after Leonardo DaVinci's mural, "The Last Supper" with all of my characters striking poses reminicent of those in DaVinci's. In my design, the "Christ" figure is an architect unfurling a blueprint of the new Smith College engineering building, while the "Apostle" characters gathered around the dinner table are reacting with shock and dismay. Looming behind them and the familiar architecture of the neighborhood are cranes and wrecking balls coming to demolish everything.

I made the drawing for the mural in July. I began the painting in early August, and completed it yesterday. The painting took a little over a month to complete. It's a large painting: 28' x 9'.

We wanted the painting to be inside the cafe so that people who are dining there can look at it and discuss the issue while they eat. The main
objective of the work was to raise awareness about the loss of the neighborhood, its residents, and the unique character that they add to
Northampton.

MB- What do you think Smith students, who oppose building on Green Street, should do to raise awareness about it around campus?
How does art fit into this kind of protest?

JM- If Smith students oppose the building on Green Street I hope that they will
come to the restaurant, see the mural, discuss the issue with the owners,
look at the blueprints, talk to other business owners and residents from the
neighborhood, research archived news articles about the project, and
talk to business representatives from the college to get their point of view.
Attending common council and zoning board meetings may be informative.
It would be difficult to prevent the project or even relocate it at this
point considering the college is the landlady for these homes and businesses
and has invested heavily in them. But it may be that they would respond to
their own students if enough people asked to see this community
maintained and its members empowered. Finding ways to publicly voice concern is important in increasing the awareness of as many Northampton residents
as possible. Talking to each other and to college and city officials is
important also. It may be helpful to write letters to Smith's president,
Carol Christ, as well as the mayor of Northampton, Mary Clare Higgins at
City Hall, 210 Main Street, Northampton, MA 01060.

partly done- 2nd week

MB- I know you're also an illustrator - what kind of art have you done in the past?

JM- My main occupation is illustrating children's books. Recently I illustrated a book by Eve Bunting as well as six books about Bunnicula: the Vampire Bunny for Simon and Schuster. I currently have about eleven books in print.

Besides illustrating books and painting murals, I do a lot of painting and drawing on my own. Some of this work is for kids, but much of it is
not. Locally I've shown work at the Northampton Center for the Arts and at the Michelson Gallery. In the past I've shown work in New York City and in Upstate New York, including solo and juried exhibitions in museums and galleries there.

before the figures- 3rd week

MB- If Smith follows through with its plan to build on Green Street, the Green Street Cafe will be destroyed, along with your mural. How does this affect the way you have gone about painting it?

JM- It affects me in a couple of ways. First of all, I disagree with the values that Smith College and the city are modelling for their students and citizens in this situation, but I've used my concern to motivate me to make the mural as engaging and high quality as possible. Second, I want people to have something to enjoy as well as talk about even if it is only temporary. I think painting the mural while people are dining has generated a lot of enthusiasm among the owners, employees and guests at the restaurant despite the troubling circumstances. That kind of enthusiasm makes it a pleasure for me to paint. Lastly, I'm honored to have had the chance to contribute something unique to this interesting and valuable neighborhood. I'll be sorry to see the mural fall when it does, but I'll be even more sorry to see this fun and passionate group of people be forced to leave.

I've been fortunate to discover this small vibrant community on the border of Smith College. It will be a shame to see it sacrificed.

Green Street Cafe, Northampton, MA- September 2006

almost finished- 5th week