Here at Backroads we pride ourselves on finding the unjustly forgotten, unknown, or overlooked artists. Particularly those who make our homebase of Memphis, Tennessee one of the most distinctive and soulful cities in the world. Until now, those artists have been of the musical variety. But there is more to Memphis than music. It's a city of texture-- cracked sidewalks, broken glass, and crumbling facades; and a city of color. Driving through North Memphis, Whitehaven or Orange Mound you'll see a fine collection of street murals. Most of these painters have left only an obscure tag behind, like the great, out-of-pocket juke joint painter Zorro. Hard to trace someone named Zorro via the white pages.
Backroads art director Justin Fox Burks felt a connection to one such artist's work, who signed his bright stylings "Brick." Undaunted by the absence of anyone named Brick in the phone book, Justin wandered around the South Memphis neighborhood of Orange Mound like a Mormon missionary until he met the artist. His words and pictures tell the story here.
http://www.backroadsofamericanmusic.com/archive/2008/03/31/james-quot-brick-quot-brigance-south-memphis-muralist.aspx