In the forward to this book (in the 1st pdf), Goodman and Moynihan write:
"Art is powerful. It moves people. It inspires. It unites. It provokes the power elite. The true power of these murals lies in their local, community impact, their ability to illuminate the issues that resonate with people, the oppressed, the poor, the overworked, the unrepresented. The process, the act of community building and collaboration, the beautification that community murals provide, create intangible threads." (pdf pg. 1)
A bit later the authors write, "For many of those involved, the act of painting a mural is itself a political act" (pdf pg 4). They describe the process, the negotiation and consensus building, decision making, and the tensions that also ensue and the significance of this process to the final product and the issues, hopes, and dreams it makes visible.
The second chapter follows a particular organization called Cityarts Workshop (Lynn and I will be working with this same organization this summer in NYC-- with a group of DUC students!) and the many issues that were present when this group formed. Why is the fact that the group was not formed by professional artists significant? What are some of the issues of these times that are being addressed through murals? What are the "politics of affirmation and accusation" and how are these different approaches manifested in the murals? Find places in the text that resonates with colloquium themes and our mural. Reflect on the relationship between the processes and purpose described in Chap. 1 and the issues and artistic responses and processes described in Chapt 2. Compare our colloquium process-- use quotes from text and specifics from your experience to illustrate.
These chapters also speak to how murals are important to the community in which they reside. Location is not an arbitrary decision it is deliberate as the content.
So as you think and reflect on these questions throughout the two chapters, think about our own murals:
To whom (audience or receiver) are we speaking/acting up to? In what way, or where is it seen, and with what effect (desired social impact)?
Our murals will need homes. Reflect on where they might be displayed to reach the audience and have the effect we hope for. . .
Robin Goldschmidt
ReplyDeleteCLQ: Thinking for Change
November 15, 2011
Blog 11
Most murals are created to draw attention to certain aspects in a community that are important to the people and issues that need change and not just to beautify the area where they are located. This is stated by the author as they that, “They call attention to neighborhood concerns and, chronicling cooperative efforts to address problems, and convey the pride of communal accomplishment” (2). This is an important aspect for the murals as it draws the neighborhood together around a common idea. The murals in New York City reflect almost every issue that can be seen in everyday life and that residents believe that need to be fixed. They range from health care, education, better police relationship, and fixing political issues. “In their democratic aspects, community murals may be an ideal microcosm of the larger society, one in which the result is an expression of mutual respect and commonality” (4). This basically demonstrates that everyone needs to be present for the formation of the murals even though many ideas may differ. Without separate ideas the mural would not be able to represent the entire community, thus garnering less support and may even lead to hostility when creating the mural. One of the main goals of the murals is to voice the opinions of the community as they want to see change. The activists chose to use murals as their avenue to describe the issues in their society as pictures and paintings may be more powerful than. It also shows that individuals are dedicated to see change as they make plans to create a mural, and then create it, while words can easily be spoken and just as easily can be forgotten.
It is significant because the majority of people that are not artists would chose to use words to describe the issues going on at the time and try to make changes through that. As it would seem that it would be a disadvantage for City Art it was actually an advantage as they had the freedom to be as creative as they pleased. An important aspect that helped City Arts garner support was that, “Throughout its development, Cityarts hewed to its basic philosophy of involving neighborhood residents on the conception, design, and execution of public art or “people’s art”” (2). The neighbors that would not be included in the design or execution of the mural project could also be the worst enemy of the projects, showing the importance of making it a community effort. Black power, equal education, ending the Vietnam War, police brutality, the ideas behind these murals then shifted to murals celebrating community action instead of murals on accusation. There was a general belief that, “People could change their lives if they had the opportunity to express their creativity in such fields as music, theater, and sculpture” (6). This is an important aspect as it is talking about individuals that live in the poverty and crime ridden areas of New York City. The arts would give the individuals other things to think about than the crime that is wreaking havoc in their neighborhoods and through murals would be able to spread the ideas of peace instead of violence.
Our murals are for a broader audience, it cannot really be pinpointed as it is key to reach everyone and not a select few. The murals we create can be placed almost anywhere where there will be a large amount of people that will see them and be able to connect with the ideas that are being represented. With that it might be the best if they would be placed in one of the busier areas of San Francisco that has a variety of different types of people that would see the murals. In a way our murals are trying to reach the powerful in society as they can be responsible for the change we would want to see in the schools and the current issues facing democracy.
The fact that professional artists did not form the group is significant because it makes it more open for people of all occupations to join. Not everyone that is artistic considers himself or herself an artist; they may shy back from an opportunity like this because they don’t have that label of being an artist. So by the “founders” not being professional artists it makes the variation of people that will feel comfortable joining a movement like this much bigger. The “politics of affirmation and accusation” are manifested in murals by what they represent. A mural can be more affirmation when it shows images of people or things that are doing good things in our world. It can be a way of thanking them for the good work they have done. It can also be accusation when it points out the wrong in out society. It can point things out that are wrong within our culture, government, world, and any other place that could use some improvement. One place that I think really relates to many of the colloquium themes is when he says, “Community murals beautify, educate, protest, celebrate, affirm, and motivate residents to action”(1). The fact that is does so much of what we work for in the class is amazing. To educate people through art is an amazing concept, as well as simply making a community look better. The relationship between process and purpose of creating a mural is so closely linked. The process can practically not even begin until you decide on the purpose. So many aspects go into deciding what the purpose will be. It takes a lot of group effort and discussion to come to the final result. Neruda also says that“ Community murals reflect the mood and hopes of local residents” (3). This is simply one facet of the many that need to be taken into consideration before coming to a consensus on the purpose. I never realized how much work it took until we started to begin the brainstorming for our mural. People have such different ideas it can be hard to combine them or have to choose not to put some in.
ReplyDeleteIn our murals I believe we are standing up for the voice of the MCCS and Dominican students. We are building a community that is more united and helps one another. We are not looking at economic or “social class” difference, we are coming together as students to work together on something we believe in. Often as students our beliefs and opinions can be overlooked. So by making this mural we are making statement that can be heard by many. I hope the mural makes a statement of giving a voice to those who are often overlooked. It would be cool to have one on each campus that way students from both schools can see what we came together to create.
Brittany Philpot
ReplyDeleteIn art a mural is a piece of work that is only there for a short period of time, but its affect is great in a community while it is there. “They call attention to neighborhood concerns, and chronicling cooperative efforts to address problems, convey the pride of communal accomplishment. They express cultural identification and group solidarity, commemorate historical events, speak to ethnic and racial pride, and honor local and national heroes”(On the Wall). Murals bring attention to what a community wants to change and they also express the uniqueness of the people in that community and what they want to be seen as. While designing a mural it is a time to bring together many different people and discuss the different and similar views that community wants to focus on. “On the wall, artists act as the sponsoring organization’s representative to the community at large and must be prepared for questions from passerby” (On the Wall). A mural brings about discussion and questions about society and how things need to change. Conversation between different people is always good when trying to decide how a community should be operated.
The Cityarts Workshop focused on a lot of the political issues happening in America, with the Vietnam War, hippies, Black power, and burning cities. These were main issues that people had a problem with during these times. “Early murals highlighted the negative forces threatening neighborhoods and championed community efforts to address those forces” (Cityarts Workshop). These murals allowed issues to become aware in a community and gives people the chance to fight for change. This group was not created by professional artists which is important because normal people from different backgrounds could put their ideas into the mural and fight for a cause by not just being artistic but by making a point.
"These seeming disadvantages actually afforded its artists the freedom and elasticity to experiment, change and grow" (1)
ReplyDeleteThe fact that this was started by ordinary people is key. People who aren't considered to be professional artists are free to do whatever they please. Creating a mural is a form of democracy. Getting the community and everyone to work together makes the mural more powerful.
"Latent creative talent exists in abundance among many people who have just not had the opportunity to express and refine."
When I was younger I never thought of myself as being creative or artistic at all. I always played sports and I was never introduced to art or even the art of being creative. Art was something so foreign to me. To be honest I use to hate art because I thought art was about drawing and everyone knew I could not draw to save my own life. I started to believed that I did not have one artistic and creative bone in my body. It wasn't until I got to Dominican when I took psychology of creativity class when I realized that art is a form of expression and every person in this world is capable of expressing ourselves. This is why it is important for us as a class to work with the MCCS students on this final mural project. We are all entitled to our own opinions and we should all be heard.
In the article "Teaching as an act of love" Darder states "Hence for Paulo a democratic education could never be conceived without a profound commitment to our humanity-a humanity that was not merely some psychologized notion of "positive self-esteem," but rather a deeply reflective interpretation of the dialectical relationship between our cultural existences as individuals and our political and economic existence as social beings."(3) This relates to Kiok's reflection about murals. The different dimensions of a person can all be put together and expressed through murals. "Painting murals, reflected Kiok, " enabled artists to integrate our social and political beliefs with out artistic skills and more importantly,..made art no longer superfluous and extravagant but something that belongs to the people(4). Through murals we are representing who we are as individuals in a form of one body. "Responding to Black Power, a group of young Black women demanded equal representation.." (5). Murals have the power to ignite a sense of self-righteousness amongst people in the community.