A Collaborative Effort

I never had anything to do with a mural before. The closest memory I have tied to any mural in general is on my way to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the city on 6^th street, but even then I couldn’t make sense of it. I didn’t understand the imagery, the creative direction, or even why it was there. People were depicted with having blue skin, there were graffiti-styled letters, and woman that was half human and half bath tub. I would acknowledge murals as simply great feats art creation on a large scale (without getting caught by the police), but now I understand different. There is so much more to a mural than it just being there. A mural is where it’s located, what it depicts, and even more so the message it brings about. Poet Pablo Neruda writes, “They are a window into the unwritten history of a neighborhood, providing depth and understand equal to or perhaps greater than that provided by any ‘official’ records,” (Neruda, 1). He argues that murals are a symbol of the visual history of its location. Murals have the ability to show more than what they are. It is an effort of many and the stories of those involved are carried into one piece.

A mural is greater than the sum of its parts. I was very self conscious about the mural to begin with. I asked myself questions like, “what would I want on it?” or “where do I even try to start?” The biggest thing I had ever drawn was no bigger than 8 ½ x 11 inches. Then I began to start thinking outside of myself. This mural was not “Gerard’s mural.” This mural is the culmination of a collective mind and its ideas. I began realizing that other people shared the same sentiments as I did. We took the key words that the MCCS students had chosen and threw in some of our own. As soon as the brainstorming was finished, we began the actual design process. One by one, we all gave input on what direction, symbols, and details should be added to the mural. “The artists accept that the mural design is open to discussion and change until the community’s final approving of the drawing,” says Neruda (7). The mural is not just the work of the artist. It is the work of the community because it is the community that is sharing this message. The artist is just the medium through which to share the message. That is why the collaborative effort of the mural is so important. It has to be something that all parties involved would be proud of.

Lastly, a mural is a manifestation of creativity. At the very least, it is an effort to beautify an area that would most likely need it. An organization in New York is making an effort to give communities the opportunity to take part in public part projects that sends messages that aren’t quite heard. The Cityarts Workshop holds the motto saying, “Latent creative talent exists in abundance among many people who have just not had the opportunity to express and refine it,” (Cockcroft, 3). Cityarts is liberating people who feel that they are unheard because of their economic status or social class. They are providing an outlet to the unheard voices of the streets. They work with communities, local businesses, and other local organizations to create murals that represent the communities involved.

Being able to be a part of creating this mural is a very exciting opportunity. I feel that without having it be a part of my class experience, I would have never taken up the chance to do something like this. I may never understand what the mural on 6^th street stands for or know why its there, but I realize now that that’s not what it’s about. It’s about sending a message the way we want it sent.