A-Ok Art Collective creates murals for the film Creed

 

Creed, the heartfelt movie following Adonis Johnson, son of Apollo Creed, played by Michael B. Jordan, as he fights to take on a lethal rival took the world  by storm making the #IFightfor hashtag a trending topic on Twitter. While promoting the glory story, Warner Brothers unveiled six murals created by A-Ok Collective, a Los Angeles based art collective, embodying the spirit of the film. Each mural  has a unique theme and larger than life visuals to match the power of the story. A-Ok answered a few questions about the one of a kind murals and how the team created the pieces for six different cities.

 

1. How did you strategize on the murals? Meaning the time to complete them and which artists from the collective worked on certain pieces?

A-OK tapped Studio Number One, Shepard Fairey’s creative agency to produce the series of six of murals, each created to represent its respective community and the beliefs it fights for. Studio Number One is known for its bold, disruptive, and iconic aesthetic, so it was an obvious choice to work with them on this project.

 

2.What media was used on the murals?

The murals were wheatpasted on walls in six different locations.  Wheatpaste is a method of hanging large posters, signage, and murals.

 

3. Is there only  one mural?

There are six different murals that all feature the hashtag #IFIGHTFOR,” a call to action tied to the movie Creed. Each mural represents a different belief that community fights for and is meant to encourage a dialogue about topics impacting today’s citizens.  The list was generated by social media polling, community outreach by Big Brothers, Big Sisters and input from community leaders within and outside that organization. A list of the cities with their corresponding theme is below:

Philadelphia fights for liberty

Atlanta fights for a big future

Chicago fights for love

Oakland fights for our dreams

San Francisco fights for a brighter future

Los Angeles fights for equal right

 

4. A-Ok collective created art work for films in the past?

Studio Number One has produced campaigns and artwork for numerous films including Super Troopers, Walk the Line, G.I. Joe, Whip It, The Lady, The 11^th Hour, and many more.  A-OK has worked with Warner Brothers on projects for Inherent Vice and We Are Your Friends.  A-OK’s creative director, Matt Goldman, also worked at The Ant Farm working on campaigns for many films including Lord of the Rings, Shrek, The New World, Memoirs of a Geisha and more.

 

5. Did A-Ok Collective approach Warner Brothers or did they approach A-Ok Collective?

Warner Bros. approached A-OK for the project.

 

7. Were you able to see the film before you completed the artwork? If so what elements did you take away from the film to inspire the work?

Studio Number One had the opportunity to view the film in advance and was inspired by the main character’s drive to achieve his goals. Therefore, it was important to feature bold type and strong graphics in order to ensure the “I Fight For” message was clearly conveyed to viewers.

 

8. Did the works need to be approved by Warner Bros. and did you receive any guidance as to what the client wanted from the artists?

Studio Number One’s only guidelines were to create an iconic and striking mural that represented each community that was inspired by the movie. It was important to Studio Number One to design the mural to look nothing like a movie ad, but like a unique and provocative piece of art for anyone to enjoy.