Public Art Projects: Si’alik Hiosik and Bernie the Robot

Address

111 W Monroe St
Phoenix, AZ 85003
(602) 324-5770

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Details

Si’alik Hiosik | Thomas “Breeze” Marcus + Miles “El Mac” MacGregor

Located on the south wall of a historic two-story brick building adjacent to The Monroe tower at 111 W. Monroe Street, “Si’alik Hiosik” is a 45-foot mural by two renowned local artists — Thomas “Breeze” Marcus and Miles “El Mac” MacGregor. From the O’odham language, the title translates to “morning blossom.” Featuring El Mac’s signatures portrait style, utilizing repeating contour patterns, and Breeze’s interlocking geometric designs, the central image is a portrait of a real-life Onk Akimel O’odham girl from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Community. Spearheaded by ViaWest Group, which owns the building with joint-venture partner GEM Realty Capital, Artlink Inc. facilitated the call to artists, and the project was sponsored by the Downtown Phoenix Partnership. The mural was completed in April 2021.

Thomas “Breeze” Marcus: @breeze1phx
Miles “El Mac” MacGregor: @mac_arte

Bernie The Robot | Doug Boyd

Fabricated by artist Doug Boyd, “Bernie the Robot” was installed on the southwest corner of First Avenue and Monroe Street in March of 2019. It took roughly a month and a half to build, about two weeks to powder coat and four hours to install.

Wonder what the robot is reading? There’s actually a story inside the book, hand-written by Doug Boyd himself. Here’s an excerpt:

Break free every now and again. Take a walk. Read a book. Or just sit here and watch the world around you. — @artfully_rogue

Click here to watch a video about the creation of the robot — and to read the full transcript.