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Hebru Brantley Flyboy Mural in Uptown To Be Completed Friday

By Josh McGhee | October 2, 2015 3:27pm
 Hebru Brantley painting the Flyboy mural on the Uptown Broadway Building Friday.
Hebru Brantley painting the Flyboy mural on the Uptown Broadway Building Friday.
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DNAinfo/Josh McGhee

UPTOWN — Local fans of Hebru Brantley will no longer have to travel outside of Uptown to see his classic Flyboy character.

The street art sensation has put his personal stamp on the side of the Uptown Broadway Building in the 4700 block of North Broadway. Brantley said he hoped to finish the work by about 3 p.m. Friday.

Brantley's Flyboy character, which he calls his "Mickey Mouse," can be seen in various locations across the city. Though he said he hates using the term "pop culture," the character grew from "people of color within popular culture," Brantley said in an interview with Michigan Ave. Mag.


Hebru Brantley painting the Flyboy mural on the Uptown Broadway Building Friday. [DNAinfo/Josh McGhee]

"I mean you look at cartoons. You’ve got animated sponges and ducks and birds and whatever, and it’s very rare to see a popular character within any medium that is African-American, Latino, even Asian. What I wanted to do was create that, but in a space of high art and be able to have some historical context to that character," he told Michigan Ave. Mag.

"So I looked at the Tuskegee Airmen, who were fighter pilots in World War II. They flew successful missions and they never lost a person. But at that time black folks were treated far less than equal. For me, it was important to have that historical context to a character, not to just have one for the sake of needing one or wanting one," he said.


Hebru Brantley painting the Flyboy mural on the Uptown Broadway Building Friday. [DNAinfo/Josh McGhee]

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