Muralist Bunnie Reiss
at work
INSET: The mural
includes folk symbols
reminiscent of the
artist’s Eastern
European Jewish
roots.
“I wanted to use the building to highlight the mural rather
than using the mural to highlight the building.”
— BUNNIE REISS
dery-like, in hues of plum, turquoise and mustard,
suggesting a royal garment. The mural incorporates
the doors, windows and fire escape of the synagogue
building. She says she hopes it encourages conversa-
tion — and makes people happy.
Reiss, who grew up in Colorado in a Conservative
home, considered the project unique because she had
never worked on a building that housed a faith-based
group.
“I thought of it as special and unusual,” Reiss says. “I’m
Jewish — that’s part of it, for sure. Part of it was inspired
by my own heritage, but as a muralist, it’s an unusual
building. A lot of muralists wait for those projects.”
Reiss chose not to lay down a coat of paint to cover
the brick, as many muralists do; instead, she painted
“raw” as a way to reveal the building’s architecture.
“I wanted to use the building to highlight the mural
rather than using the mural to highlight the build-
ing,” says Reiss, who was the only artist the Downtown
Synagogue considered for the project. “I want people to
feel a sense of goodness inside, and I also want them to
feel a sense of size. It’s so big, it makes you see your own
size in the world. I like that about big buildings.”
Reiss has done work in Detroit before, including a
project at Ferndale’s Boston Tea Room about five years
ago and a few private commissions in the area. A gradu-
ate of the master’s painting program at San Francisco Art
Institute, Reiss is busy doing murals all over the country
but she also has solo shows each year.
The idea for the mural grew out of the synagogue’s
Make It History campaign, which crowdfunded reno-
vations to the building, including installing a new fire
escape and building a new bathroom.
“We thought the mural would be done locally —
maybe have kids from Summer in the City do it — but
along the way, we changed our mind,” says synagogue
President Jodee Fishman Raines. A RFP did not yield
the response they were hoping for, and then board
member Oren Goldenberg suggested Reiss for the
project.
“We fell in love with her for a couple reasons,” Raines
says. For one, she was raised in a fairly observant home.
For another, she says, “She really, really wanted to do
this mural. That was infectious.”
The designs, which incorporate Jewish mystical sym-
bols, also made Reiss perfect for the project, she says.
“She’s got a great spirit about her,” Raines says.
Last summer, the board cleared the project with the
city’s Historic Commission, power-washed the building
and invited Reiss, who will return with her boyfriend and
family for a party to celebrate the mural.
“We’ve gotten a great response,” says Executive
Director Arlene Frank. “It’s a great way to create conver-
sation about what we’re doing in the synagogue in con-
tinuing and contributing to Detroit’s art culture.”
The mural project was the Downtown Synagogue’s
first real contribution to Detroit’s art scene; next is a
sukkah design contest initiated this year. The winning
teams will each get $15,000 to cover materials, con-
struction and living expenses. The 5-7 designs will be
displayed in Capitol Park Sept. 23-30 and coincide with
Sukkot programming by the synagogue, Hazon and
other Jewish groups in Detroit.
Art, says Raines, is “another dimension of how you
experience your spirituality and engagement with
the city.” •
jn
July 5 • 2018
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