It only takes a second for Alexander Austin to recall his finest moment impersonating Michael Jackson.
"In ninth grade, I played football and we'd have to go out of town for games," he says, laughing at the memory. "And, on the bus, I'd lead a Michael Jackson song: 'Dancing Machine.' All the guys on the team would do the background, and I'd just break out. My coach used to get mad at me and he actually banned me from singing after we lost a game. But we did end up winning the city championship that year."
When the King of Pop died in June, Austin was devastated, like all of Jackson's fans. It just so happened that the Kansas City artist was already looking for inspiration for a new mural at 18th and Troost.
Austin is one of the most notable muralists in Kansas City. That's his memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. at Linwood and Troost Avenue. He painted that colorful collage of Kansas City history on the south side of the downtown Power & Light district. Now, his modest scaffold is leaning against an old, red building at 18th and Troost.
The building houses I Am You Entertainment, a local arts promotion company, that contacted Austin months ago to dress up their blank wall. "They had been asking me to do something there," Austin says, "but I didn't know what I was going to do."
He considered some sort of jazz mural or maybe an homage to notable poets. Then Michael Jackson died. All the other artists in the building agreed Austin should create a tribute to the pop icon.
Austin quickly came up with a theme and title for the mural -- Shattered. "When he died, we were all shattered," he explains. "But he also broke the sound barrier in music and shattered the records for selling albums."
Austin has already started on the west edge of the larger-than-life painting, but what's visible now is just the beginning. "Shattered" will include portraits of Jackson dancing and singing; images of his iconic gloves; possibly some gold-leaf lettering that spells out "King of Pop." At the east edge of the mural, Jackson will be wearing sunglasses that reflect like mirrors. Playing on the title, Austin says, the lenses will be -- you guessed it -- shattered.
Though he just started, Austin is already working on a tight deadline. Partnering with both I Am You Entertainment and Magic 107.3 FM, Austin is planning a public unveiling on August 29.
With less than two weeks left, Austin was down on Troost, working until sunset Monday night. He just couldn't get MJ's features right. So don't be put off if Jackson has no face for a few days.
"I'm going to do the whole thing over again," Austin says. "It's gotta be done right. I'm putting a lot of time and effort into making sure the likeness is correct."
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