Josef Norris

Josef Norris (born April 14, 1965) is an American artist who specializes in public murals and mosaic portraits. He has been commissioned to create murals for Starbucks Coffee Company, the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program[1], San Francisco Neighborhood Beautification Fund, the City of Oakland, MUNI[2] and the San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks[3]. Norris is the founder and director of Kid Serve, a non-profit organization dedicated to working with youth to create public art in their communities.

Anthony Josef Norris
Born	April, 14, 1965 Mount Dora, FL
Occupation	Artist/Muralist
Spouse	Jo Kreiter
Children	Adrian Norris (born June 15, 2004)

Early Life

Josef Norris was born in Mount Dora, Florida, and grew up in Heidelberg, Germany; Basel, Switzerland; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Buffalo, New York. His father, Tom Norris, was a biochemistry professor, and his mother, Margo Norris is an English professor and James Joyce scholar. Norris attended Community High[4] in Ann Arbor, an alternative public school commonly known as “Commie High,” where traditional educational models were eschewed and creativity was nurtured. A self-taught artist, Norris toyed with becoming a cartoonist during his years in Europe. He painted his first mural in high school, then attended Eastern Michigan University[5] in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Career

Public Art: Josef Norris[6] has created more than 100 murals throughout the United States. First commissioned in 1998 by Starbucks to create a mural at a prominent San Francisco location, Norris was commissioned that same year by the Neighborhood Beautification Fund to do the Harvey Milk Mural on top of Harvey Milk’s now-famous camera shop.

Norris created his first youth mural in 1999, conducting a one-week workshop with teenagers in San Francisco’s Excelsior district. Since then he has worked extensively with youth, and in 2003, Norris founded the widely acclaimed Kid Serve Youth Murals[7].

In 2004 he was commissioned by the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program to create Camilla’s Dream[8]. Norris is probably best known for his 2003 Performing Arts Mural[9] located at the Performing Arts Garage at Gough and Fulton Streets. Many others, including the 2008 Jalisa[10] are located in neighborhoods throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. A selection of Norris’ murals can be seen on his website[11].

Collaborations: Norris has collaborated with partner and wife, Jo Kreiter, on a project entitled MISSION WALL DANCES / something there is that doesn't love a wall,[12] The block-long mural was commissioned by Jo Kreiter/Flyaway Productions[13] as the set for an aerial dance performance taking place on the outside of this building in September 2002.

Kid Serve: Norris is the Artist/Director of Kid Serve, an award winning arts education program guiding students age 6-18 through the design and creation of permanent outdoor murals in their communities. The 16-week projects integrate social justice, creativity and community service and empower young people to take a leadership role in beautifying and transforming their neighborhoods.

In 2008 Kid Serve won an award from San Francisco Beautiful[14] for the mosaic murals created with high school students along Geary Boulevard, including the mural A Sign of Hope[15].

Kid Serve has done over 80 youth murals projects with Bay Area kids since 1999, including the Fell Street Mural Project, unveiled in Jan. 2009. This mural is the first in a series of three projects involving students from San Francisco’s Ida B. Wells High School[16].

Physical work on the second mural is scheduled to begin in February 2009. The 10th grade students have researched, written essays, and begun preliminary design based on the theme Women Heroes. When completed in May 2009, the mural will measure 8’ by 75’. Work on the third mural in the series is scheduled to begin in fall 2009.

[PHOTO TO BE UPLOADED] Detail: Fell Street Mural Project, January 2009

In addition to his numerous public art projects, Norris does smaller-scale work: grid portraits and mosaic portraits, which are available for sale through the artist.

External links

• Norris’ website[17]

• Kid Serve[18]

• Flyaway Productions[19]

• Wordpress.com, Blogs about: Josef Norris[20]

• Buy book: San Francisco’s Mosaic Walls[21]

References

W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Learning In Deed, Project profile interview, October 1, 2003 [22]

San Francisco Unified School District Press Release, "Leonard R. Flynn Elementary School Pays Tribute to Dolores Huerta," February 10, 2003, [23]

Noe Valley Voice School Report, "New Mural Features Endangered Turtle," April 2005 [24]

Western Edition.com, "Local High School Unveils New Mural," January 2, 2009 [25]

SF Mosaic.com News, Travel Diary, "Josef Norris Mural Unveiling," 2005 [26]

San Francisco Beautiful Newletter, Vol. 21, #3, Fall 2007 [27]

California Council for the Humanities, California Story Fund, Program Profile [28]

Society of American Mosaic Artists, Members Meeting and Presentation, March 2009 [29]

Gateway High School Press Release "Gateway High School Students Unveil a Mural of Hope," June 5, 2006 [30]

Amazon.com [31]