Manny Vega set down his tools, sighed with relief and tied up Basia, his 9-year-old chocolate lab. He had just walked across Central Park, from his apartment in the Upper West Side to a brick wall on East 105th Street, pushing art supplies and paintings in a small shopping cart.
"This project is taking a lot out of me," said Vega. "But how much fun has this been, huh? I've never done anything like it." He took a 5-minute break before gluing one of his original paintings to the wall.
Vega, 53, has been a muralist, mosaicist, painter and illustrator in New York City for three decades. While hefty public art commissions, which ranged from $10,000 to $80,000, were Vega's primary source of income, the recession forced him to revise the way he makes money. He now works on a smaller scale to keep art accessible, but the quality is just as profound.
"The thought that you have chunks of money like $20,000 waiting for you gives you a different sense of confidence," said Vega. "And you can actually be inspired and creative with something in front of you. But I have to be realistic. People don't have that kind of cash anymore."
Federal grants given to state arts agencies across the country decreased by 3.3 percent, from $354.7 million to $343.1 million between 2008 and 2009, following four consecutive years of increases, as published by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA). And although New York remained at $49.8 million between 2008 and 2009, the same report predicts that appropriations will likely decline in 2010 for many state services, including the arts. Specific numbers are expected in January.
"State governments are going to be feeling the repercussions for a long time," said Angela Han, director of research at NASAA. "If history is any guide, they’re bracing for decline for at least the next two to three years."
This forecast means freelance artists like Vega may face a dismal few years. Vega, for example, hasn't worked on a public art project since he finished an $80,000 mural in Chicago more than a year ago. This year he sold just four small mosaics, ranging from $800 to $2,500 each. As a result, Vega is signing up for Medicaid and food stamps.
"I don't have any problem with applying," said Vega. "Times are tough, so there's no time for pride or vanity."
The artist, who considers himself a "Globarican," or a citizen of the world, was born in 1956 in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, the second child of four. He started playing with paintbrushes as soon as he could find them, and later attended to The High School of Art and Design in Manhattan. Vega has created more than a dozen public art projects in New York City and has taught classes at several local arts organizations. He has been profiled in more than five art books and a professor at Yale University has even taught Vega's work in his classes.
"What other Boricua in New York has adorned forever the subway system?" asked Robert Farris Thompson, professor of art history at Yale University. He was referring to Vega's four mosaics in the train station at 110th Street and Lexington Avenue. "He's our man."
But this recognition has not been enough to carry Vega through the recession.
"I've been chipping off my savings account when work doesn't come in," said Vega, who has less than a third of that account left.
While Vega used to spend about $2,000 per month, he brought that amount down to $1,400. This includes payments on his rent-stabilized apartment, monthly bills and everything excluding food. But Vega says he is determined to remain an artist and face the challenges that come with it.
"The thing about this recession is that is scares you," said Vega. "It rattles you to think, what the hell am I doing with my life?"
To build his business, Vega is using new tools to explore other artistic methods. Two months ago, Vega began working on a unique public art project on the corner of 105th Street and Lexington Avenue, for free. With a $30 roll of art paper and leftover materials from other art projects, Vega used bright colors to paint Puerto Rican musicians and Yoruban deities, cut them out and glued them to a brick wall.
While the cultural paintings are Vega's way to generate buzz and keep his name alive while projects trickle in, Fred Benn, the owner of the building on 105th Street, sees permanence in them.
"They bring life to the neighborhood," said Benn, 49, who is planning to renovate the building next spring. "People come up to me all the time and say, 'It's great, what you're doing.' I'd like Manny to redo the paintings in tile when the building gets renovated. That'd be more permanent."
To make his work even more accessible, Vega is converting some of his intricate ink drawings into thousands of posters, which he sells for about $20 a piece. A stark contrast to the originals that can sell for up to $2,500 each.
"In these times the short money is what gets you by," said Vega. "The wolf biting at the door has made me more business-like...and I have to be a capitalist on a certain level."
And Vega's fans appreciate the chance to enjoy his work at a lower price.
"There were some pieces that were so expensive," said Nelson Matos, 38. He bought a $250 print last summer that depicts Ogoun, the Yoruban warrior spirit, wearing a fierce gaze. "I couldn't afford those pieces but we wanted something similar."
"[This one] is strong, it's powerful and it energizes us," said Nelson, as he smiled and studied the image.
Vega, whose wife died in 2001, also found love through his art. He met Emily Hackenburg, 34, when she inquired about buying a mosaic that hung on a brick sepia wall at the East Harlem Cafe. Vega showcases eight such mosaics at the cafe, and before he even met Hackenburg in person, he knew they had an intimate connection.
"I returned her call and we spent about 20 minutes on the phone, and in those 20 minutes we exchanged a lot of information about each other," said Vega. "I've created some beautiful art projects and very hard, complicated mosaics with her as my theme. She became my muse, la musa."
Hackenburg has encouraged Vega to market his work more aggressively than he ever had. She has also persuaded him to sign all of his pieces, revamp his Web site and create a Facebook page. He said her positivity has helped him stay optimistic through the recession’s tribulations.
"This is do or die. I'm putting my whole heart into this," said Vega. "And if I die, I die with my sword in the air. I go down fighting, because these times call for it."
