Russ Parr, Chuck Brown, and Donnie Simpson are featured on the new mural at Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street. (Photo by Christina Sturdivant)
By DCist contributor Blake Richardson
When he started, Aniekan Udofia only had a list.
Sixteen names — African-American icons who shaped D.C. and the country — would become 16 portraits bound by his design. He’d replace his own 2012 mural outside Ben’s Chili Bowl to revamp an artwork worn by weather (and persistent criticism that it glorified a rapist).
Udofia spent years honing his skill as a muralist. Born in D.C. and raised in Nigeria, the painter and illustrator moved back to the District at 24 to jump start his career, regularly traveling to New York City to submit work to magazines.
“The one thing that hindered me was that my work sucked,” Udofia says. “And I didn’t know that.”
That would change. As a security guard on K Street and later at Newport West on Rhode Island Ave., Udofia spent the time between making rounds during his night shift practicing on his sketchpad. His portraits didn’t resemble their subjects, so he focused on the faces. To inject energy and style, he made each picture tell a story.
Amid grueling work and pricey trips, Udofia persevered, fueled by a minuscule margin for error. His family lived in Nigeria, so there was no help if Udofia failed.
He got work placed in XXL, Vibe, and other magazines he’d show fellow employees when he worked at CVS. But even as Udofia gained prominence, he struggled to find respect. He gravitated toward drawing as a child, enamored with comic books and hip-hop album covers. But Udofia’s parents saw drawing as a hobby — not a career. He still grapples with misunderstanding about artists.
“This is not a joke,” he says. “This is a career. It’s about building something, creating something.”
Udofia pores over each piece. Nancee Lyons, MuralsDC coordinator, says while many muralists paint two or three hours daily with help from several assistants, Udofia toils over a piece for seven to nine hours each day with help from his art director, Mia DuVall. He has since dotted the District with locally renowned work, like his “Gagged Washington” mural on U Street and the Marvin Gaye Mural in Shaw.
“You know that you can depend on him to get something done,” Lyons says, “especially if it’s a project that has any level of difficulty and has somewhat of a short turnaround time.”
He approached the new mural at Ben’s Chili Bowl with the same vigor. Because he was also working on a mural at the Kennilworth Recreation Center, he had to complete the mural in three weeks. Udofia studied over 50 images of each person depicted except for Harriet Tubman (there are only a few photos of her in existence). He then made 30 to 40 thumbnail sketches to weave the 16 faces — Harriet Tubman, Barack and Michelle Obama, Prince, Wale, Russ Parr, Marion Barry, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chuck Brown, Dave Chappelle, Jim Vance, Dick Gregory, Donnie Simpson, Taraji P. Henson, Roberta Flack and Muhammad Ali — into one piece.
“We crammed a month-long work into a week,” he says.
The final composition was approved two weeks before the unveiling; Udofia started painting that night. The week of the Wednesday unveiling, he worked from 7 a.m. Tuesday until 10:45 a.m. the next day, repainting Michelle Obama’s face overnight.
“He feels the passion at that moment,” says Virginia Ali, co-founder of Ben’s Chili Bowl, “and he just wants to bring it to life.”
Each face, expression, and position was carefully picked: Prince pointing, Eleanor Holmes Norton dressed like a superhero. Even righty Chuck Brown playing his guitar left-handed was intentional, according to Udofia.
“We flipped Chuck Brown around for compositional purposes,” Udofia says. “To make sure you see him and he’s kind of leaning into the rest of the people. Because had he leaned in the other way, it would mean that he’s irrelevant, and the window would have distracted you from really seeing his face.”
Don’t forget the finer points: A second D.C. flag from Roberta Flack’s red bandana under a galaxy of stars, a pulsing white line to help the windows blend in, glittering mirrors throughout.
Udofia is still adding to the wall and is planning phase two, adding other prominent figures next to the current mural.
“This is not for me,” Udofia says. “It’s for the city… I want to create something that people can feel. You’re going to see this every day. I have to make sure that this is something that inspires you, something you’re happy about, something you’re proud of, something that you can say, ‘that’s in my neighborhood.’”
Pride for Udofia’s piece already shows.
“It’s been really an amazing reaction to see people that just are out there now,” Ali said. “I’m like, ‘OK, you’re not seeing Ben’s Chili Bowl, it’s just the mural… You better get a picture in front, too.’”
