A New York-based artist is not in Key West for the next month at the request of wealthy, second-home owners who want sunrises and seascapes adorning their million-dollar Old Town mansions. Art for the masses is what he will be doing for the next 30 days.

MOMO -- yes, that's his legal name -- will design and create 10 murals in private residences at no cost to the homeowners in a project he dubbed "Public Art in Private Spaces." He will produce a small booklet of photographs of his work.

"I want this to be reflective of the people that live on the island," he said, explaining he plans to paint his murals in the homes of a cross section of the Key West community, representing different ethnic and social-economic backgrounds.

"This is essentially a public art project in private homes," said Eric Halowacz, executive director of The Studios of Key West, which is funding the project. "It's really a great idea. ... It's not just going to be the typical art supporters. The end result will reflect the diversity that is Key West."

MOMO started this week in the living room of a New Town home owned by preschool teacher Kathy Kilroy and her husband, Michael Blades, an office manager with the RPM Nautical Foundation. They are typical working-class art enthusiasts who collect art whenever their budgets allow.

They traveled to Cuba with a photography class at the Florida Keys Community College and purchased a few pieces of art there. After Hurricane Wilma, they purchased a car from someone who was moving away that had been painted by local artist Rick Worth.

Their lime-green home on Fogarty Avenue, which matches their car, represents their eclectic taste. The style is perfect for the loud colors MOMO regularly uses.

"Art is an important part of our lives," Kilroy said. "Art is definitely something we don't like to pass up."

In a twist of fate, Kilroy's grandfather was a source of inspiration for MOMO. James Kilroy was a World War II shipyard worker said to be responsible for the "Kilroy was here" grafitto. As the story goes, Kilroy chalked the phrase on bulkheads to show he had inspected the riveting on newly constructed ships. Troops began scrawling the phrase and accompanying cartoon of a man peeking over a wall wherever they went. Artists recognize the phenomenon as the origin of street art.

"It is one of the earliest examples of that kind of art becoming viral and spreading globally," said MOMO, who didn't know the Kilroys were related when he started the project.

He expects to have their mural complete by the end of the week and has secured two other locations, but is still looking for the remaining seven locations and is accepting the public's suggestions.

Calling the project an "experiment," he enters a home with no preconceived notion. His ideas are generated from conversations with the homeowners, or at least in one case, with their children.

"Every place I will have to feel out," he said. "It is an experiment to see what these end up meaning to the people."

Accustomed to working outdoors with bright colors and crisp shapes, he acknowledges he may have to tone down his work for this project.

MOMO has become one of the nation's foremost muralists and graffiti/street artists. His work has appeared in galleries in New York, Seoul, London, Madrid and Sao Paulo. He recently designed the Y-3 high-top leather shoe for Adidas, and corporations including J B and Scion/Toyota have commissioned him for billboards and other large public art projects. He also has collaborated with Key West artist Cayman Smith-Martin on several murals for Margaritaville restaurants.

tohara@keysnews.com