'Satanic' zombie mural sparks controversy in Midtown Memphis

On Willett, just north of Lamar Avenue, a fangs-bared viper snakes through Elvis Presley's eye socket and mouth. Nearby, on the side of a boarded building, a gray, rotting, maggot-infested zombie groans "SPAGNOLA" in front of a bed of red roses.

The murals — two of the more unsettling works in this summer's colorful collaboration between more than 150 artists as part of Paint Memphis' annual street and graffiti art project — received withering reviews from City Council members on Nov. 21.

Council member Jamita Swearengen said her constituents have been calling her "totally petrified" by the zombie art of Dustin Spagnola, which she mistakenly said was a "mummy ... sucking someone's blood."

"Well, it's a satanic mural," she said. "It's just terrible."

Council member Joe Brown added: "If it ain't painting Jesus, it's got to go."

Swearengen, who represents the area, said she wants the city to vet the artwork before it goes up on public property to weed out "despicable" artwork such as the murals, which she also called "totally distasteful."

"We should know what they're going to paint before they paint it," she said.

Spagnola, who hails from Asheville, North Carolina, said he opposes the idea of vetting public art — as well as any implication the mural is satanic.

“I think it’s pretty ridiculous,” Spagnola said. “I guess on some level I feel like the most important thing about it is I’m not a Satanist, and the mural is not intended to be satanic. I’ve just been drawing and painting pictures of zombies for a little bit because they’re fun.”

Council chairman Berlin Boyd, who has voiced opposition previously to a mural including a grim reaper on Chelsea, also part of a Paint Memphis collaborative, said he objects to images of death in black communities where death is already too prevalent — especially when the communities have no say in what murals are painted. The grim reaper was replaced by an angel about eight months ago following complaints.

"I think that's very insensitive," Boyd said of the zombie and similar murals. "That's just rude."

Paint Memphis, led by Karen Golightly, an assistant professor of English at Christian Brothers University, obtained city approval for the murals lining the walls of the Willett underpass but also painted two nearby private buildings and a skatepark. She said the artists abided by the rules: no gang symbols, drugs, nudity or obscenities.

Golightly said vetting the 33,000 square feet of murals isn't "feasible" for the city or artists, who work on a volunteer basis and often decide impromptu on their designs. Asked whether some of the murals are too scary for young children, she said no.

"Being afraid of a cartoon zombie means you have to quit watching Scooby-Doo," she said.

As horrified as council members were, neighbors said the artwork was a big improvement over the previously colorless and run-down walls and buildings.

"Some people just complain about anything," said 73-year-old Lisa Farrell, a native of the Philippines who had lived in the house closest to the murals for 20 years. "We just thought it was nice. Even though Elvis had a snake in his mouth — it's just art."

Her neighbor across the street, 33-year-old Josh Breeden, a senior designer with local creative marketing firm Loaded for Bear and a freelance artist, was asked whether he was offended by the murals. "That seems silly," he replied.

Looking at the zombie mural while pumping gas across the street not far from where he lives, mechanic and part-time tattoo artist Adrion Stafford sarcastically wondered if council members were just jealous of the artistry. He said the mural expressed the artist's feelings and should be respected rather than denigrated.

"It's better than the two-tone, quadruple-tone building that it was before," he said.

The city reserved the right to remove any artwork that is offensive or unsatisfactory, and has the option of exercising that right, Public Works Director Robert Knecht said during the meeting. Brown said the city could also remove the artwork from the private buildings and charge their owners a fee under the city's graffiti ordinance, although Golightly says the city can only remove art that doesn't have the owner's blessing.

"I am sick and tired of being sick and tired of these people coming into decent communities and doing the things they want to do for art's sake," Brown said.

At Knecht's recommendation, the council members agreed to invite Paint Memphis to a discussion about council members' expectations, although Boyd implied the city may not allow the group to use public property in the future.

"They need to call themselves Paint Collierville, Paint Germantown," Boyd said.

But for Spagnola, the controversy comes with the territory.

“In general, you know if you do anything that anyone’s paying attention to, there are going to be people opposed to what you’re doing,” he said. “That’s just the way the world works, and people want to be critics. And that’s OK with me. I kinda feel bad for people on the City Council, though. They sound incredibly closed-minded and very strange.”

Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Jennifer Bowman contributed to this story.

Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @ryanpoe.