CapMetro unveils Austin FC-inspired mosaic mural at Red Line's McKalla Station

J Muzacz faced a tall order — a 7-foot-9-inch by 81-foot-10-inch order, to be precise.

More than two years ago, after a monthslong selection process, Capital Metro commissioned the longtime public artist to design and install a mural with those dimensions as part of McKalla Station, the Austin-area transportation authority's new stop on its Red Line commuter rail service between Leander and downtown Austin.

The $60 million station, which opened on Feb. 24, is located outside Austin FC's Q2 Stadium in North Austin. Given that proximity, Muzacz, 40, figured the mural could weave together elements relating to the city's Major League Soccer team.

He'd attended just one game before, describing the experience as "pretty chill" and enjoyable, even for a self-described soccer novice. He sat in the general admission section, cheesy nachos in hand. Now looking for inspiration, he attended his second game, joining the boisterous, standing-only supporter section and sitting near a "huge" bass drum used by La Murga de Austin, a fan band performing in the stands.

"It was wild," Muzacz said in an interview, recalling the "infectious" experience. "You're cheering and you're chanting the whole time. The whole 90 minutes."

He attended a few more games, drawing on the energy as he formulated his ideas for the mural. He met with as many fans as he could in the Austin FC support groups, including members of La Murga de Austin. He weaved a few of their likenesses and those of other supporter groups into the mural, creating a long-lasting tribute to what he called the "everyday people" who make up the fandom and the larger Austin community.

On Saturday, before an Austin FC home game, CapMetro unveiled the final product: a colorful pixel mosaic — Muzacz's biggest to date — composed of more than 130,000 glass pieces. Taken together, the installation depicts a lineup of Austin FC fans, supporter groups, community figures and transit workers.

The mural is titled “The Heartbeat of Austin,” a reference to a nickname La Murga de Austin often goes by. Though Muzacz had met a few of the mural's subjects, there were a few he met for the first time in person during the unveiling. Seeing their reactions to their pixilated reflections in the mural put him "on cloud nine," he later said.

CapMetro commissioned Muzacz for $100,000 to design and install the mural. The funds for the project come from CapMetro's capital project contribution to the construction budget for McKalla Station, said Jorge Ortega, a CapMetro spokesperson.

The mural represents the culmination of more than just Muzacz's effort as the lead artist. Survey responses from nearly 80 Austin-area residents informed the final design. More than 200 volunteers pitched in to lay the small glass pieces into larger, hand-assembled square sections that were cemented to the wall to compose the final image.

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Among those volunteers was Rigoberto Rodriguez Lira, a member of La Murga de Austin. Before the installation, the longtime Austin FC fan saw the mural's full image laid out on the ground, all its 12-by-12-inch sections making real what he'd only seen on a small printout before.

"I was excited, but it was also in the middle of the process," he said in an interview. "The second time I saw it was when I got to the event. That place was filled with people in front of it. I think it just gave me that sense of community."

Muzacz said he wanted to depict everyday people in the mural and showcase Austin's diversity and flair for the arts, particularly live music. Austin FC players who might move on to other teams were out of the question, he joked.

"Unless you're friends with these people, you wouldn't recognize them. You don't see them on TV, but that's kind of the point," he said. "It's like, why don't we highlight them — our friends and neighbors, our bus driver or train driver, or our service workers or teachers — as we would Martin Luther King Jr. or Ruth Bader Ginsburg?

"These people can also rise to be leaders in their own way," he continued. "The mural is meant to represent the whole city, literally."

After the unveiling, Muzacz said he attended the Austin FC game against the San Jose Earthquakes, a "nail-biting" match in which Austin ultimately prevailed over San Jose 4-3. He watched from the supporters section.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: CapMetro unveils Austin FC-inspired mosaic mural at Red Line station