Bison mural to stay, Superstore rep says

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This article was published 31/12/2010 (5574 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While Real Canadian Superstore is sporting a new coat of paint, the bison mural will not be painted over.

Craig Ware, director of corporate affairs for the chain’s Western Canada stores, says that even though the store’s other three walls have been updated to reflect Real Canadian Superstore’s new red, blue and white colour scheme, the mural will remain untouched.

Though Real Canadian Superstore representatives did not immediately explain why, many customers out shopping yesterday afternoon said they don’t want to see it covered up.

Scott Ingram, 50, expressed a sentimental attachment to the Prairie scene.

"The new paint job really looks nice and bright, but the mural shows the Prairies. But the mural has really faded. They should touch it up a little to brighten it up," Ingram said.

Jessica Slimmon, 23, a former Brandon resident who now lives in Montreal, says she was glad to see the mural when she returned home for the holidays.

"When I came home and saw they had painted the store, I went around and checked to make sure the mural was still there. Maybe they could retouch it a little. But I hope they don’t paint it the blue colour (that’s on the front of the store). It’s a little bit assaulting," Slimmon said.

The mural, which faces the future site of the new police station, has an interesting history in the Wheat City.

When the store was built, there was a lot of debate in the community, including the political community, about the huge grey wall facing one of the city’s busier intersections — 10th-Street and Victoria Avenue.

Real Canadian Superstore set aside $20,000 to commission a mural for the wall and put out a call for design proposals. Brandon commercial artist Curt Shoultz sent in a few designs. His herd of buffalo was chosen by the judges over a number of other designs.

"It was something that reflected the Prairies — something that would be active and stretch across that huge space," Shoultz said.

After creating a series of designs and large-scale panels painted with the designs, Craftsman Painters was hired to paint the mural on top of the brick surface, with Shoultz as overseer.

The mural was completed in eight short weeks over the summer of 1992. But there was some drama involved.

The primary painter working on the mural, Keith Steingard, continually left his truck parked on the sidewalk beside the mural overnight to save the hassle of re-setting everything in the morning. But he kept receiving tickets from the Brandon Police Service for parking illegally.

As the project was in its final stages, the painter got so upset about the tickets, he walked off the job and disappeared for a few days. Shoultz says he and Steingard’s boss finished the painting.

"At the time, it seemed like quite a big deal, but it was fairly easily resolved," Shoultz said.

The mural was updated with more details in 1998, including aboriginal hunters and a pond.

Shoultz says while he is proud of the work and doesn’t want to see it painted over, perhaps what was once a big grey wall could provide an opportunity to another local artist.

"Every time I pass by it, I think, ‘well maybe when I retire, I can do something about it, touch it up or update it. But maybe it’s a chance for another artist to come up with an idea and express it … Perhaps something more community oriented."