By Sam Starnes
On October 19 at the Rutgers’ homecoming football game against UCLA, Art & Design alum Alonzo Adams (BFA’84) will unveil a massive mural depicting 1919 Rutgers alum Paul Robeson. The mural, which measures 24 feet wide by 8 feet high, will hang on a wall behind student seating in sections 142 and 143 in SHI Stadium. The mural in the stadium is a reproduction of the original painting by Adams, which measures 12 feet by 4 feet. Plans are underway to display it at Rutgers as well.
Accomplished as a scholar, athlete, actor, singer, and global activist, Robeson is regarded as one of Rutgers University’s most distinguished alumni.
“I want his image to be magnified,” Adams says. “I want people to like, ‘Wow, okay, that’s who Paul Robeson was.’ And then I want them to go back and do research on Paul Robeson.’ ”
Two Art & Design students assisted Adams in painting the mural: senior Jocelynn Dow and recent graduate Beatryz Mendes Hornung.
Dow says working on the Robeson mural with Adams was inspiring and insightful. “I’ve gained so much from working on this project, especially in honing my technical skills, and deepened my appreciation for Paul Robeson while working with Alonzo,” Dow says. “I’m very grateful for the experience.”
Read more about Adams and the mural on the Rutgers Foundation website.
Watch this video of Adams creating the SHI Paul Robeson mural:
Image credit: Photo by Jonathan Kolbe