Phil “Sike Style” Shafer and the Buck O’Neil Bridge

Across Kansas City, the vibrant work of Phil Shafer’s Sike Style Industries punctuates his decades-long career in public art. Whether it’s the Raised Royal mural near Boulevard Brewery or the tribute to A Tribe Called Quest on the old Josey Records, you have likely seen his work adoring downtown walls.

A graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, Shafer leaned into his love of street art and graffiti, creating murals for both community and corporate projects. Most recently, Shafer was chosen to create a massive, 4,000-square-foot piece on the new Buck O’Neil Bridge, located at Third and Broadway. He chose to dedicate his project to the bridge’s namesake, legendary baseball player Buck O’Neil. For those not in the know, Buck O’Neil was an epic first baseman for the Monarchs who later made Major League Baseball history as the first Black coach.

Tell us about your Buck O’Neil project? Why do you think your proposal was selected? Mine was specifically dedicated to the story of Buck O’Neil. It didn’t try to do three other things. I had it completely designed for the presentation. It wasn’t a sketch or a rendering. I think that it also showed how much the Buck O’Neil story resonated with my own life. 

You met Buck O’Neil after a Royals game with your dad. What was that like? My dad said, “Hey, let’s walk down here and meet this guy. He’s important.” I just thought I was meeting a nice old guy, but my dad made a point to say that this is a person you should know about and you should understand who he is. I’m glad that he did that for me. To pay him back for that introduction, there’s a caricature of my dad in the mural.

Why do you think it’s important to put art in public places—where people are forced to see it—and not just in museums? You don’t need to be invited or feel like you don’t understand the secret language of art. My murals, specifically, tend to speak directly [to the audience]. You know what the subject is. I mean, there’s metaphors and Easter eggs in all the stuff I do, but I don’t try to abstract the obvious if it’s supposed to be about something.

Do you think the government has a responsibility to create public art? It’s absolutely paramount because it’s supporting local businesses—because artists are local businesses. It’s supporting the cultural growth and engagement in town so that people know there’s life here. We have a very vibrant arts community in Kansas City. If you let the arts groups and the artists organize it, you get a different thing. I think it’s important, but it’s important that it’s done the right way. 

More than any other artist, you seem to have left your literal mark on Kansas City. What are you most proud of? Right now, it’s got to be the bridge. But the murals that mean the most to me are the murals in schools. The indoor school murals last long, and generations will see them as they grow older, understanding that art is a part of their life and a part of what makes them well-rounded. That’s super important to me.  

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