A sculpture made of crushed soda and beer cans has stood quietly outside historic Dow Elementary School in Houston's Old Sixth Ward for more than three decades, and every December neighbors show up with flowers and string lights to decorate it. Now the artist behind it, Paul Kittelson, is restoring the piece and formally donating it to Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts, the nonprofit that has hosted it since 1993.
The artwork, known as “Recycled Virgin,” depicts Our Lady of Guadalupe entirely out of recycled aluminum beverage containers arranged to mirror the traditional colors of her mantel, skin, and aura, according to Arts District Houston. It was originally built for a park in New York City before it was loaned to MECA more than 30 years ago, per the same account. As reported by the Houston Chronicle, Kittelson said he never expected the community to embrace the sculpture the way it has, and he credited neighbors with keeping it from being destroyed over the years.
A Sidewalk Shrine That Became Sacred
Community members decorate Recycled Virgin with flowers and lights every December 12, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and MECA hosts an annual celebration built around the statue, the Chronicle reports. The sculpture has drawn visitors who have no formal connection to MECA but come specifically because of the statue, and the outlet notes a couple even took wedding photos in front of it. Rosa Pruneda, who handles media relations for MECA and participated in the organization's Ballet Folklórico program in 2006, said the piece has become a genuine touchstone for the surrounding neighborhood.
Kittelson is now making repairs and additions to the aging piece, including a new halo along with aluminum flowers and leaves, according to the Chronicle. The new leaves will include names and dates stamped onto them to honor the migrant community, the outlet notes. Kittelson is aiming to finish the restoration before this December's celebration and is expected to host workshops on MECA's campus Saturday, while fellow Houston sculptor Tim Glover is set to lead a workshop of his own on August 22.
Restoring a Historic Campus, Can by Can
MECA is housed inside the former Dow Elementary School at 1900 Kane, a two-story Arts and Crafts brick building constructed in 1912 that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, according to MECA. The nonprofit, founded in 1977 by El Paso-born musician and educator Alice E. Valdez to bring arts education to underserved Houston youth, acquired the building in the 1990s, according to the Click2Houston profile of Valdez. Houston Independent School District leased the closed campus to MECA for $1 a year starting in 1993 before formally transferring full ownership to the nonprofit in 2004, per Wikipedia.
MECA Executive Director Armando Silva called the community's connection to the statue beautiful, according to the Chronicle. The nonprofit received additional funding after Hurricane Harvey that has supported roof-damage and leak repairs along with further upgrades to the historic school, and the multiphase renovation has since grown to nearly $10 million. The project includes exterior and roof repairs, replacement of all 198 windows, electrical upgrades, and a new elevator, and MECA plans to eventually transform the school's old auditorium into a performance space.
A Plaza Built Around a Community Icon
Recycled Virgin is now set to become the permanent centerpiece of a new outdoor Art Plaza under construction as part of that broader campus overhaul, MECA has said. Tim Glover's 15-foot steel “Cactus” water fountain, originally built in 1988 through a youth mentorship program at MECA, is also being donated to the campus and was recently reinstalled as part of the same restoration effort. Glover created the fountain by working directly with Sixth Ward youth during one of MECA's summer camps.
The Old Sixth Ward itself holds its own preservation distinction, having become the first neighborhood in Harris County listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 before earning official City of Houston Historic District status in 1998, according to Wikipedia. MECA's footprint has grown beyond that neighborhood too: in October 2019 the organization took over transitional leadership of the city-owned Hispanic arts facility in Houston's East End Cultural District at the request of the Mayor's Office, per the City of Houston. Today the nonprofit serves more than 4,000 students and families annually through after-school arts instruction, summer camps, and multicultural programming, according to Cause IQ. The Old Sixth Ward has been drawing fresh attention lately, as Hoodline reported in its look at a neighborhood favorite's expansion near Market Square.
Kittelson, who earned his MFA from the University of Houston in 1985 and has taught at the university's School of Art since 1992, has built major public art installations across the region over a 35-year career, according to his own artist website. With the restoration underway and a permanent plaza taking shape, the can-covered Virgin that neighbors have quietly tended for three decades is finally set to become an official, permanent part of the campus that has hosted it all along.
