Airbrush artist Malcolm McCrae imbeds history in art

With paint and an iPad at his side, entrepreneur and Milwaukee-born painter Malcolm McCrae is on the brink of creating in-depth, augmented reality projects using history as the backdrop atop his Spanish Street studio in Cape Girardeau.

When he moved from Milwaukee roughly 10 years ago, McCrae said he "couldn't really find any history here, specifically, African-American history."

So research began before any paint was airbrushed. That was his motivation.

"And as an artist, I'm always looking for ways to be inspired," he said.

From digging through Cape Girardeau's history, McCrae came across African-American historian Louise Duncan. He met with Duncan and recorded conversations with an end goal of somehow connecting pieces of history to artwork.

To reach the youth in the community, McCrae is set to use a mobile app intertwined with the latest augmented reality software. It will allow his creations to come alive with the press of a button.

McCrae has traveled the country, he said, working with youth. So in order to reach youth here, McCrae said it had to be done through a media-based structure.

His goal was to present history in video form. McCrae also wanted something to serve as a "digital, historical host" for educational purposes.

Alongside cinematographer Reggie A. Brown and in-between interviews with Duncan, St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau contacted McCrae. The church requested a community-themed mural for the sanctuary.

He soon found out Duncan was an elder of St. James AME Church. The endeavor began to take shape.

McCrae titled the project "Sankofa."

"It's an African proverb that means you can't go forward without looking back," he said.

Before what is only a template now, McCrae explained the key parts of his soon-to-be 20-feet-by-10-feet design.

The three-panel painting will be comprised of African Adinkra symbols, he said, which represent different symbols of peace, power, love and positivity.

The mural will include depictions of the AME Choir and Smelterville among bright purples, yellows and greens -- just a few key parts to local African-America history.

Funds for the community-painted mural will be raised through a partnership with St. James AME Church. Prints of the mural design will be sold and donations will be received during an upcoming community event.

"So pretty much this is the art," McCrae said holding the design beneath his iPad. "It can be printed, duplicated or blown up. You put your phone over the art, and the video plays."

For someone who had never seen the documentary highlighting Duncan's retellings, this will provide background -- and the opportunity to see the overlapping artwork. It also can be shared on social media.

But, McCrae emphasized, "We have to always include our youth."

Art, technology, science and engineering all play into the project, he said, adding he makes his own paint. He's also the first African-American to create his own airbrush, he said.

"This whole thing with technology, it opens up the mind," McCrae said. "Our whole thing is about creating experiences, especially right now with the country being so divided. People want feel-good stuff; people want to feel something, people want to be a part of something."

McCrae said he will never run out of subject matter in Cape Girardeau.

"There's so much history here that's untold," he said.

For updates on the project, follow McCrae's Facebook page.

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