"I wanted to make an image of someone I admire that had roots in Milwaukee and someone who I felt was under-represented or that I hadn't heard much about in Milwaukee," said Matthes, who also teaches at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.
Matthes-whose works varied and multidisciplinary are tied to each other with a thread of social conscience--admired the dedication of Cortez to the struggles of the working and lower classes and a disdain for commercialism in art world which led so far to ensure your will if your prints became collectible more convenient to downplay them.
"In reading about it and looking for texts it is written and its imaginary one thing that stands out is it seems that there are a lot of compassion in everything he does," Matthes, said.
Cortez was born in Milwaukee in 1923 a Mexican-Indian father and German mother. He was arrested for objecting to the draft in World War II as a pacifist, contributed by writing and cartoons for newspapers of Union and came to be known for their wood and linoleum cut prints.
"When he was in prison in Minnesota North at night he would hear always Coyotes and became sort of a call for freedom for him," said Matthes explaining coyotes in mural, "one of my favorite things about having a Studio in Bay View and being sometimes in Bay View is seeing and hearing coyotes especially as you get closer to the Lake. So I felt it was a very good link. "
During his work the collections of major museums of the world, including the Museum of modern art, New York Cortez remains relatively uncelebrated outside of radical art circles, Matthes, said.
Matthes said the mural was a refreshing change of pace after facing two sprawling projects that included works for the Group of public art in: Site with a hand of 18 per 48 feet painted mural and a multi-faceted campaign to Iraq veterans against the war in Chicago redeployment of troops, mentally and sexually traumatized opposition.
"The campaign has increased my desire to do something really chart with a specific message, but also made me want to focus on something that celebrated something a little more than ' stop this. Or not. ' I wanted to do something to celebrate about someone I admire and don't hear much about and that is how I started Carlos Cortez, "said Matthes.
Matthes discusses social and political themes in a lot of his work and is a part of the artists collective, only seed a group distributed across North America whose multiple campaigns, exhibitions and internet presence to address issues such as the prison industrial complex and the depletion of natural resources.
He stumbled upon studying art at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, he says that after spending some time thinking about it grow.
"I grew up just always doing construction work or doing electrical work. Then when I started thinking that art was something you could do when I was not declared in college I ended up doing pottery where there is a lot of work. Seemed to make sense with the way I always was doing things, "said Matthes.
Worked in a variety of media, sculpture, engraving, drawing, painting and immersive installations that draw on its experience in construction.
"Generally is quite natural, that wants to create me a certain assignment and a lot of times what's with the collective work, or when you are trying to work with an organization," said Matthes on your process ", or becomes more open whenever the work I do is a combination of Mashing up things that I'm thinking about or experiences that I had personally, trying to look into the world and trying to participate in that."
Matthes is currently working on his next show "fire drill Trade Show" that he will be showing in a gallery in Antwerp, Belgium, in the spring. He is also working with the artist Makeal Flammini, founder of pop-up Gallery of projects of parachutes, to open a gallery space at the Walker.
A show featuring the work of Cortez, Walker point Center for the Arts opens April 1.
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