10 Jan 5th–Jan 11th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | music | cafe | film | culTuRe | NighT+Day | feaTuRe | NeWs | OPiNiON | feeDBacK | cONTeNTs | Pablo luna April 19, 2022 Throughout his four-decade career as an artist, Pablo Luna walked the line between respectability and infamy, all while leaving an indelible mark on the Valley’s cultural landscape. Born and raised on Phoenix’s west side, he grew up using shards of Sheetrock to adorn his family’s concrete patio with aliens, tanks, and other fanciful drawings. As a teen, Chicano culture and New York City street art inspired Luna to become a graffiti writer. He joined local graf crews or started his own, adorning walls and alley- ways with jagged block letting. In his 20s, he began tagging freight train cars with murals and lettering under the moniker of KAPER. By the mid-’90s, he went semi-legal, dabbling in experimental metal sculptures. But he kept active in the graffiti world by forming the NG Crew alongside local artists such as Lalo Cota and Mando Rascon. Both have cited Luna as an influence. Eventually, murals and graf became legit in the art world, as did Luna. In 2011, his pieces were seen in the art book The History of American Graffiti and in local exhibitions. He also introduced more Chicano elements, such as calaca skele- tons, into his art. Four years later, he collaborated with Rascon and renowned artist and former Valley resident El Mac on Nuestra Gente, a prominent mural near 13th Place and Van Buren Street. Luna’s murals have since become a staple of downtown Phoenix’s art scene, adorning businesses such as Barrio Café and Carly’s Bistro. Since his death at age 52 due to complications from diabetic ketoac- idosis, they’ve become part of his legacy, as have the artists he influenced. “It’s hard to quantify just how big his contribution was to the cultural growth of Phoenix, both directly and indirectly,” El Mac told art publication Southwest Contemporary. “He would be considered a pioneer of the arts scene in Phoenix.” — BENJAMIN LEATHERMAN allister adel April 30, 2022 Allister Adel was a complicated character — a loving wife and mother who struggled with addiction and mental illness who also ran the third-largest public prosecutorial agency in the U.S. In 2019, Adel became the first woman to lead the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. She had prosecuted gang and drug crimes in the office from 2004 to 2011. She worked as a criminal court administrator in Maricopa County Superior Court between 1999 and 2001. Over the years, Adel also served as an administrative judge for the Arizona Department of Transportation, general counsel for the Department of Child Safety, and executive director of the Maricopa County Bar Association. Adel grew up in Dallas but studied criminology at the University of Arizona and obtained a law degree from Arizona State University. Adel carried out some of the reforms she promised when she ran for, and won, the county attorney office in November 2020. But her tenure was also marked by scandal. She resigned in March 2022, a month before she died of unspecified health complications at the age of 45. Among attorneys in Maricopa County, “Allister Adel rose to the top,” Bill Gates, chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, once told New Times. A fairly progressive Republican, Adel emphasized cracking down on sexual harassment and advocating transparency in the county attorney’s office. Adel was survived by her two children and her husband, David DeNitto. After the news of her death, DeNitto said he was “utterly heartbroken by this unimagi- nable loss.” “We are so very proud to call Allister wife and mom,” he said. — ELIAS WEISS >> p 12 Departed from p 8
