Thirty years ago, a little boy running through the streets of downtown Mexico was fascinated by a man painting pictures with aerosol cans. Now, in the heart of bustling Harvard Square, that same little boy spends his days (and nights) selecting just the right bottle of spray paint to empty over his latest surreal masterpiece.
He works quickly, grabbing can after can in a wild frenzy to finish before the images escape him. A bead of sweat drips down his unshaven face onto his paint stained T-shirt, but he’s so engrossed in his world of fantasy that he doesn’t even notice the heat that has made the people around him dizzy. In a matter of minutes, he has created a picture from white nothingness. He holds it up for the crowd to see and spots a mesmerized child staring at it with forlorn eyes.
“How much?” the child’s parents ask hesitantly. The artist waves his hand at them and smiling, hands his creation to the delighted child still staring in awe.
He works quickly, grabbing can after can in a wild frenzy to finish before the images escape him.
Antonio Maycott, now in his early forties, never expected that he would spend his days painting elaborate designs on everything from paper to people’s motorcycles, refrigerators, helmets, cars and walls, but that is exactly what he does. Having lived in Mexico and worked in Japan, New York and Miami before coming to Cambridge, Maycott’s background is almost as colorful as his pictures and his personality is equally as vibrant. Every day from noon until eleven, Maycott shares his culture and his art with the people of Cambridge, rendering them flabbergasted by his talent and touched by his kindness.
“He’s such a nice person,” Cambridge resident Kathy Kottaridis said. “Even when he’s busy painting, he’ll always stop and talk to the kids crowded around him.
”However, Maycott’s compassion extends far past the occasional friendly conversation. “I remember when I went to San Francisco on my birthday and decided to work,” he said. “Business wasn’t very good because it wasn’t the weekend so I decided to give a lot of my pictures away because I have so many and it was my birthday. I wanted to celebrate and seeing the people I made happy made me feel happy too.”
But bringing joy to people isn’t all that allows Maycott to take pleasure in his work. “What I do is so interesting,” he said. “I’ll repeat designs sometimes, but it’s not as exciting.”
"Tony always thinks of something new to do with his art,” fellow street artist Joanna He said. “I’m always glad to get to know the art of other countries and Tony’s designs really represent a rich culture and a vivid imagination."
It’s not all imagination, though, as much of the artist’s inspiration comes from observation. “When I was a kid, I loved to watch science fiction movies and, even now, I look at science fiction magazines and paintings for inspiration. It’s easier to come up with designs now than when I first started, but it’s still hard to get into the right mood sometimes. That’s why I play my music.”
“I want to learn how to paint like my dad someday!"
Although Maycott thinks of the Latino rock and pop he listens to as a relaxation tool, others around the Square don’t find it as enjoyable. “Every day when I walk by, he’s playing his music,” Cambridge resident John Sandoval said. “It makes it difficult to have a conversation.”
Sandoval isn’t the only one that struggles to have conversations. After painting in the Square, buying supplies, cutting designs and doing housework, Maycott relishes the few conversations he gets to have with his two sons—Kevin, 5, and Jason, 10—who live with him instead of his ex-wife. “Families in Mexico are closer because most people have more free time,” he said. “They work for eight hours and then relax. But they don’t have the same opportunity I do: if I work hard, I know I can succeed.”
The artist’s job certainly isn’t lacking in hard work, but he didn’t always define what he does now as “work”. Like many little boys, Maycott wanted to join the military and fight to defend his country, but after moving to Tokyo, he took up work as a waiter to support himself and his family. “One day, while I was working, I saw a man making good money by painting on the street,” he said.
It was then that Maycott decided to turn his hobby into a career. “Hey, I want to do that too, I thought to myself, because then I’ll be able to make money too. After that, I practiced the art a lot harder, not just for fun anymore, but because I knew it would take me far. I think that’s why most people come to America: they’re looking for a better life.”
In the artist’s case, however, money and the promise of a better life weren’t the only reasons driving his move to Cambridge. After working in Japan for awhile, he began to miss home, but his ex-wife wanted to come to America. “I would still love to go back to my country someday, but my kids are Americans and they don’t speak Spanish. I don’t have much freedom to travel either since they’re living with me right now, but I love them and they’re fascinated with my work.”
“I want to learn how to paint like my dad someday,” Maycott’s ten year old son, Jason, said. But according to Maycott, Jason is still too young to work with the toxic paints.
Although he cannot travel the world just yet, the artist takes pleasure in local diversity. “I like how Cambridge is so international,” he said. “I have the opportunity to learn a different language – English – and I appreciate the freedom to express my art. But the best part of my work is getting to know people. I’ve made a lot of little friends, and some of the kids even come back to see me when they visit the square.”