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Artist: Rose Johnson Medium: mural on the Mercer Mortuary building on 16th Street near Thomas Road. (Description below is written by Kathleen Vanesian in 2009. See her full story on the life of Rose Johnson here.)
Painted by an artist named Rose Johnson in 1998, with the help of some school kids, the mural, called The Prayer of St. Francis, stars large, stylized heads of people of all colors and races crammed together. The hand of an unseen person waves a rainbow flag, while someone else flashes a peace sign and another releases a white dove of peace. Rife with unvarnished optimism, it’s probably the most famous of Johnson’s public murals in Phoenix.
The mortuary mural has taken on an ironic quality these days — ever since Johnson, well-known painter, muralist, performance artist, and critical part of the burgeoning downtown Phoenix art scene in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, died on the exotic tropical island of Bali at the end of May. She was 48.
The countdown to Best of Phoenix continues! Last year, we profiled 100 Creatives who made a mark on the local arts scene. This year, we’ll have 100 creative representations of Phoenix. No scope or requirement on medium or size — we’ll include photography, painting, sculpture, video, installation, literary, and more. What do you see when you Imagine PHX?Imagine PHX, so far: 100: Steven Revering’s Westward Ho
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99: Jon Ashcroft’s Suspended in Geography 98: William LeGoullon’s Table
97. Jason Hill’s Phoenix Financial Center96. Kyle DeWitt’s Tempe Center for the Arts95: Allison Elliott’s Walls of Downtown Phoenix
94. Fausto Fernandez’s Grid City
93. Chikara Kakizawa’s Ship Out of Water
92: Dayvid LeMmon’s Process / Gentrification
91. Irma Sanchez’s Phoenix Rising
90. Eduardo Rivera’s De Colores
89. Arnold Guerrero’s Camelback Mountain
88. Sean Deckert’s Ginae vs. the 12th Street Gang
87. Pete Petrisko’s Admiral of Phoenix
86. Quincy Ross’ Lone Skyscraper
85. Andrew Armstrong’s Illustrated Cityscape
84. Thomas Schultz’s Phoenix Artifact
83. Adrian Lesoing’s N. Evergreen
82. Suzanne Falk’s Kon Tiki Hotel
80. Kevin Patterson’s Phoenix Swamp Beast
79. Ramy Sidarous’ Three Windows
78. Will Mejia’s Orpheum Theatre
77. Steve Weiss’ Portrait of Louis Lee
76. Larry Willis’ Apparition on East McDowell
75. Claire Warden’s Untitled No. 3
74. Randy Zucker’s Dancing Saguaro
73. Robert Brandan Martinez’s Medical Cannabis Tax Stamp
72. Edward Jensen’s Phoenix Financial Center71. Andrew Knochel’s View from PURL70. Mark Dudlik’s Phoenix Rebound69. C.J. Dyer’s Bird’s Eye View68. Virginia Martinez’s Airport Scene67. Carrie Marill’s “It’s a Cowboy State”66. Eric Iwersen’s The Saguaros Have Been Here the Longest65. Danielle D’Aleo’s 602far64. Jesa Townsend’s Stars of Flowers63. Andrew Pielage’s Sandra Day O’Connor Courthouse62. Carol Panaro-Smith and James Hajicek’s Arc of Departure
61. A Military Parade in Phoenix (c. 1888)60. Charles Anthony Darr’s Phoenix Haboob59. Lisa Marie Sipe’s Sweeping Succulent
58. Brad Armstrong’s Phoenix Carnival
57. B. Spiderman’s “… And I Never Did Get That Pony Either”
56. Colton Brock’s 810 N. 4th St.
55. Melanie and Michelle Craven’s Twin Cactus
53. Betty Schlueter’s “The Sonoran”
52. Saskia Jorda’s “You are Here – Part I: Migration”
51. Tempe’s Mill Avenue (c. 1930)
50. Michael and Kemper Goodwin’s City Hall
49. Cornelius Keyes’ Dust Storm Over Phoenix
48. Melissa McGurgan’s Home Suite Home: PHX
47. Fred Tieken’s Western Civilization
46. Andy Brooks and Danny Stoeller’s I CACTUS PHX
44. Kristin Heggli’s Downtown Architecture43. Jill Johnson’s Downtown Is …42. Peter Bugg and William LeGoullon’s Embedded
41. Downtown’s Hotel San Carlos (c. 1940)40. Rembrandt Quiballo’s Cinematic Panorama39. Sebastien Millon’s “Phoenix. It’s Fabulous.”38. Howdy from Phoenix37. beth tom’s “we live here” 36. Merz Studio’s Professional Building35. Evan Wyloge’s View from 44 Monroe34. Harry Herz’s Hole in Rock 33. Jason Kernevich and Dustin Summers’ The Valley of the Sun
32. Laura Spalding Best’s “Tarnish No. 1”
31. Jac T Bowen’s Ferdinand the Bull and The Court of Flowers in Christown Spectrum Mall30. John Scott Goodson’s Civic Space Park29. Street Map of Phoenix (c. 1932)
And, hey! It’s lunch time. Check out Chow Bella’s 100 Favorite Dishes for some foodie inspiration.
Have a suggestion for a Phoenix icon by a local creative? Leave it in the comments section or email Claire.Lawton@newtimes.comFollow Jackalope Ranch on Facebook and Twitter.
