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1600 Gamble Place
'What We Build'
This wall was created by Sarah Collard for Hertz Equipment in 2012 with sponsorship by Take Pride Winnipeg. It was lost in 2020 when the company moved to another location.
Original notes follow:===
Sarah Collard: "Dave Mintenko, the manager of Hertz Equipment Rental approached me about a
Mural for the side of their building where their staff takes lunch breaks. Initially he wanted all of
his staff painted in the Mural, working on machines, or in the buildings but as we progressed we
decided a group photo would be better."
"The main goal was to feature all of the buildings that their equipment helped
build. We began with the Richardson International Airport expansion, the MTS Centre, the
Museum of Human Rights, the new Bomber Stadium and Provencher Bridge. I used the road
ramp up to the arrivals as the entry point and collaged much of the people and equipment on this
section. It proved to be very busy, so I simplified it by omitting the airport, and putting the other
four buildings in chronological order from past to present, left to right. The airport underwent its
expansion in 2011, the building of the Museum of Human Rights was did not have the glass on
in 2011 and the Bomber stadium had the beams up when I began taking photographs. When I
took photographs of the Museum of Human Rights, the Esplanade Riel was in the background so
I decided to include both in the Mural. The addition of the Salisbury House logo was a last
minute detail to honour Earl Barish who owns the property and also owns Salisbury
House."
"All of their current 2012 staff are in the photograph. Lawrence was initially on a scissor lift,
Russ using a jack hammer, Willy assembling scaffolding, Ken on a zoom boom, Jim on the
phone, Jason in a bobcat, Garry at his desk, Ernesto fixing a light tower, Denise and Mae holding
clipboards, Coleman on a boom lift, Art at the counter, Jim solving problems, and Dave in an
office window. I took these photographs in September 2011 so by the time 2012 arrived, the
fondly remembered Art left for Thompson where he opened a Hertz rental branch with his family
and there was a new addition to the team. There were a couple people who missed the first photo
shoot, so Dave Mintenko (the manager) gathered everyone together, got them to wear the new
shirt uniform and took a group photo. This worked well as it focused the detail in one
area."
"Creating the ideas for this was done through email, so I created a photo montage which we
worked with. Once approval was obtained, I did a colour drawing which gave the client a
realistic idea of what it would look like. This was the first time I did a painting limiting the
colour palette to cool colours (blues and purples) and contrasting warm colours (orange and
yellow) for emphasis. The idea here was to make the equipment stand out against the buildings.
All the machines were supposed to be orange and yellow while the buildings were to be blue,
receding in the background. Once I was on-site painting, some of the staff felt strongly about the
boom lift remaining blue, so I made this change. It did alter the overall effect slightly, but it
made everyone happy."
"Painting the Mural was fun because I did not feel rushed and I was able to prime it and do the
drawing in May when I visited for two weeks. This dispersed the painting time in the summer
(four weeks), which proved to be a good idea since the bricks were raised a quarter inch, making
it difficult. It ate up the paint and my brushes. I had to use a spray bottle to move the paint
around the entire surface of the brick. It was slow and tedious but I got it done. The best part
was being able to paint with my son, Manny whom I 'hired' as my apprentice. He was only 12
at the time and took a real interest in painting, climbing the scaffolding and saving money.
Together, we painted an extra section at the front where we put a Hertz logo. When this was
finished, he was able to apply this knowledge of the Hertz Rental sign to the Mural. He is
responsible for painting the sign which is located between the MTS Centre and the Museum of
Human Rights. I think he did a great job!"
"The wall was in the shade for most of the day, until 3:00pm or 4:00pm. which created ideal
working conditions. It was also attached to the staff room where I was able to take breaks; and it
had picnic tables on the grass so I could observe it from a distance. There was a slogan which
Denise invented and was placed on the top right hand corner: 'It's our job to help you do your
job!'. It defined what Hertz Equipment Rental is all about."
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