Culture

MidCity has begun work honoring the late rock and roll legend Little Richard in a big way – a 40 foot by 30 foot mural. And Logan Tanner, a Huntsville artist, is responsible for it.

Many rock and roll aficionados may be surprised to learn of Little Richard’s deep roots in Huntsville, Alabama, but there is a history there. In fact, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer felt so connected to the city that he was buried here at his request. And Huntsville wants to celebrate this through art.

I meet with Logan on a drizzly Tuesday outside of the mural, which spans the east-facing side of the Wahlburgers restaurant building at MidCity.

“[MidCity] approached me and said they wanted a Little Richard mural,” says Logan as he hoists cans of paint from the back of his minivan. “This is shortly after he had been buried in Huntsville and it was still very fresh on everyone’s minds, and we figured it was a good way to let people know he has a connection to this city.”

Logan had previously worked with MidCity to honor late rapper Mac Miller during their event, Mac Miller night, where he painted a live portrait of Mac as a tribute.

“This is the biggest wall I’ve painted at one time,” Logan tells me, peering up at his project. It’s an amalgamation of several different images of the late, great Little Richard rendered in loud, harmonious colors – warm oranges, teals, and purples. It suits the dynamic personality of the prolific rock and roll singer.

While not technically Logan’s biggest mural – the psychedelic dogs in Lowe Mill take that prize – the Little Richard mural is the largest single-wall piece he’s painted. The projected time frame for this project? “Two weeks,” Logan says with a shrug, as if it’s casual. “Three, if it keeps raining.”

This chill, hyperzen attitude pervades the entirety of our interview, even as we encounter minor obstacles like rain, a shaky scissor lift, and a small hive of wasps.

“I’m not scared of heights,” Tanner explains as he keeps a tense hand on the lever, eyes fixed anywhere but on the ground shrinking below. “But I don’t particularly like them, either.”

“They said I could free the nipple, but I ultimately decided against it.”

The result is a bodacious fish-headed mermaid with one arm crossed coyly over her generous chest. A little tease with your tiki.

He also painted several murals in Lowe Mill: the stairwell pieces, both dancing dinosaurs and psychedelic dog. There’s also a Gospel-based series at the Downtown Rescue Mission in the men’s dining hall, where he has one final mural left to paint: the Crucifixion.

But murals aren’t Logan’s comfort zone, which makes his work all the more impressive.

“If I had to paint anything it’d be smaller canvases like oil paintings where I can really finesse the details and stuff.”

One such piece is currently on display at the Huntsville Museum of Art as a part of their Red Clay Survey, an exhibition of contemporary Southern art. This piece is called Leviathan, and as Logan describes it, “It’s Leviathan who’s been slain – it’s the dragon that God slew. In my paintings, I work with the chaoskampf. This one is after the battle with Leviathan cut open, and the wild animals feeding on him.” An apt piece for the 2020 exhibition.

To see Logan’s Little Richard mural in person – and you really should – you can check it out at Huntsville’s MidCity district and watch the progress as he wraps it up. You can also follow Logan on Instagram to see what he’s up to and buy some of his weird, funky pottery.

“I never accepted the idea that I had to be guided by some pattern or blueprint.” – Little Richard, 1932 – 2020