FranCisco Vargas spent the better part of six months in 2014 completing the Fresno Mural Stamp. File photo Fresno’s most Instagram-ready mural — a 4,250 square-foot history lesson and focal point for downtown life — is turning 10. On the morning of June 7, 2014, muralist FranCisco Vargas unveiled the Fresno Stamp Mural at 1315 Van Ness Ave.
, the home of The Business Journal. Measuring 35 feet by 125 feet, the mural has become a popular backdrop for selfies, graduation pictures, car glamour shots and music videos. It may be one of most accessible and utilized pieces of public art in town, with the word “Fresno” spelled in letters 10-feet-tall leaving no doubt about the subject matter.
“More than other murals, you want to have yourself in front of it,” said Elliott Balch, president and CEO of the Downtown Fresno Partnership, which originally commissioned the work. “It’s a caption for the picture.” Kyle Lowe, operations manager for CMAC (Community Media Access Collaborative) in Downtown Fresno, has a personal connection to Vargas, the artist.
In the late ‘90s, his family commissioned late Fresno artist Danny Perez to paint a faux brick wall in their house. Perez brought along Vargas. They spent about two months on the project.
Kyle, then 7 or 8, got in on the fun. “They put a paintbrush in my hand, and I helped out when I could,” Lowe said. “That’s a very special memory for me and my family.
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