Above the portrayal of the epic battle are the words: “Never Rust Away or Fade Away.”
The mural was created last weekend by the graffiti artist who goes by Emte as part of an art contest called Battle of Midway, in a nod to the nearby airport.
About 10 artists used the wall along 49th Street between Oakley Avenue and Western Boulevard to compete based on a theme celebrating the 50th anniversary of what some regard as the birth of hip hop music.
Those artists focused on the east side of the wall. Others, not involved in the competition, put up murals on the west half.
Together, they transformed the concrete span, with their work taking the place of murals done last year featuring video game and comic book characters.
Emte, who’s in his 50s, says that when he was much younger, he “honed my craft” on the Orange Line.
“Before, we used to say, ‘We’d rather rust away than fade away,’ ” Emte says.
For winning the competition, Emte got a prize fighter-type belt — and hundreds of dollars worth of spray paint.
Which will come in handy for doing graffiti art, of which he says, “It’s kind of mind-boggling to me even now that it’s become a respected art form.”
