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In 1934, Aaron Douglas created an epic four-panel mural series, Aspects of Negro Life (1934), for the branch library on 135th Street in Manhattan, now the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The panels answered a call, issued by the first major program for federal support of the arts in the United States, to represent "an American scene." In them, Douglas traced the trajectory of African American history in four stages and across two mass migrations: from Africa into enslavement in America; through Emancipation and Reconstruction; into the modern Jim Crow South; and then northward with the Great Migration to Harlem itself. The narrative Douglas constructed was remarkable in both its historical sweep and as a story of America seen through Black eyes. This essay explores how Douglas's approach to the trenchant and understudied Aspects of Negro Life panels was shaped by rich conversations across a decade-about what it meant to be Black in America, how the "African" in "African-American" was to be understood, and what a distinctly African-American modernism might be-with an interdisciplinary nexus of thinkers, activists, and artists that included W. E. B. Du Bois; a co-founder of the NAACP and co-editor of the Crisis, sociologist Charles S. Johnson; poet-activist James Weldon Johnson; bibliophile Arturo Schomburg; and philosopher-critic Alain Locke. Looking at Douglas's visual narrative in this context offers insight into how parallel practices of archive-building, art making, history writing, and criticism came together not only to shape a vision of America but also to champion a model of Black modernism framed through diaspora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article examines public art and the risk of canonization by considering the case of "Swing Landscape, a mural completed by U.S. artist Stuart Davis in 1938. Topics covered include the positive criticism received by the mural from art historians and critics, art critic Edward Alden Jewell's rejection of the mural, and its eventual canonization which began as early as 1945.

Copyright of Public Art is the property of Shanghai Fine Arts Publisher Ltd. co. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The removal and destruction of Angelo di Benedetto’s Justice Through the Ages mural (1976-1977) from the Colorado State Judicial Building in 2010 marked the loss of a civic icon by a local Denver artist. The mural did not have controversial imagery; rather, its toxic substance (i.e., asbestos) determined administrators’ push for demolition. Far from a thoughtless choice, however, di Benedetto’s use of compressed asbestos panels was in line with a career spent selecting materials for their formal and functional possibilities. This article considers how the end stage of the mural exposes public art’s material matters. When fear of invisible fibers floating in the air became a significant concern, a three-decade-old mural was reduced to just dust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the controversy, street art has now assumed the role of a relevant artistic form in modern society. Appearing in the United States during the 1960s, the street art has spread to Europe as an underground phenomenon, but in recent times its protagonists have taken on international fame such as Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Invader or Banksy. Within a multifaceted and discussed phenomenon, street art manifestations can be divided into two main strands. In interventions that manifest creative identification with their author, as in the case of Bansky and Blu, it is difficult to think of their conservation due to the subversive and illegal character they present, but often these compositions have been accepted and actually incorporated into the urban landscape. The case of interventions commissioned on occasions of festivals or institutional projects is different, in which street art is used as an instrument of urban regeneration. In these cases, high market quotations can also be reached, with speculative reflections that have motivated tear-off interventions, as in Bansky's graffiti in some cities of Germany and England. The question of conservation of street art continues to be controversial. It goes from the wall paintings removed between the protests of the inhabitants in Mexico and Peru, to the positive action taken by the institutions. One case is that of the oldest dated graffiti, La Madonna in Lipsia, cleaned up, repainted by the artist and protected by methacrylate. There are cases of replication, like a graffiti by Keith Haring of 1989, repainted on a new wall in Barcelona, while in Madrid it was proposed to subject to legal protection a Muelle wall painting of the Eighties. The conservation of murals is not an easy task: the question of the meaning of the operation and above all of the authenticity of the work remain fundamental. Furthermore, the reluctance of the artists in considering their work as artistic and the Kunstwollen himself who presides over each graffiti is to be taken into account. The answers to these questions are varied. The transfer of the paintings in museums is inappropriate, both for reasons of context, and because often operated against the will of the author, who rather seeks the perishable nature of the work. As a reaction to the musealization of one of his paintings, for example, Blu has deleted all his works in Bologna. The most important changes are perhaps by associations of researchers who, in various countries, try to preserve the work in their own context, according to the author's intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Street art, public murals, and graffiti are forms of contemporary art which flourish in the urban environment. The current socioeconomic and political crisis in Greece has rendered Athens a living city canvas that attracts artists, art lovers, young people, tourists, journalists, and photographers. The conservation of street art in extreme outdoor conditions is a new area of interest for conservation research and practice. Since 2010 the Conservation of Wall Paintings Laboratory of the Department of Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art (CAWA) of the Technological Educational Institute (TEI), Athens has been engaged in a project to explore ethics, carry out documentation, and initiate new research into street art and its conservation. Since 2012, Street Art Conservators (St.a.co.), a team comprising academics, conservators, and students from CAWA has worked in the streets of Athens for the preservation of street art. The protection and conservation of street art require the creation of a critical mass of people who are interested in the study and preservation of street art, co-operative conservation work and research, and the documentation and digital mapping of street art as an alternative means for its preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I investigate the mural-making experience of Mabel Spofford, an early 20th-century art educator from Massachusetts. Spofford designed and created a mural titledGloucester and the Friendly Seawhile attending a Pennsylvania State University Summer Arts Institute course with Viktor Lowenfeld in 1947. By placing archival documents, such as the written mural plan, in relation to relevant historical, social, and cultural contexts, a story emerges about the personal and social motivations of Spofford as an art educator whose life was inextricably intertwined with place. The story I tell is of a woman who had a deep connection to the local and whose experience in the mural course served as a pivot point (Ellsworth, 2005) in her own becoming—one which brought her lifelong experiences of place into relation, allowing her to see the known anew. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Mid-twentieth century Mexican hospitals – the buildings themselves and their interior and exterior walls – became stages that depicted national hopes and aspirations. Hospitals and clinics became ideal spaces that married science and medicine with the state’s version of a triumphant social revolution. Visitors and patients to hospital waiting rooms, lobbies and auditoriums would see, indeed be surrounded by, depictions of the complicated hopes placed on science and medicine as interpreted by politicians, architects, and artists. Hospital walls became contested spaces where art depicted Mexico’s embrace of modern technology and medical practices while also showcasing, in vivid color, citizens challenging the government’s broken revolutionary promises, especially the right of all to health and social security. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses changes in the monumental art of Denver, Illinois at the onset of the Chicano Movement in the late 1960s and mentions topics including Chicano murals' iconographic nature, artists' depiction of indigenous imagery, and murals by Emanuel Martinez.

The article discusses the impact of arts in promoting social awareness highlighting the blessing of murals in Estrada Courts, a public housing community in Los Angeles, California that feature the painting of female muralist Norma Montoya commemorating the relevance of the art to Chicana movement.

The article discusses the opposition of the conservatives and Communists to the social message and social decorum that are represented by the murals of artist Thomas Hart Benton during the 1930s. Benton's artistic style and aesthetics were criticized on several grounds such as his vision of American history, his depiction of a true people's history and his use of three-dimensional rhythms of design akin to cartoons. Benton decided to transfer from New York to Kansas City in 1935.

The article explores the history of historical preservation and cultural heritage in Mexico. The author reflects on the cultural impact of anthropologist Manuel Gamio and painter Diego Rivera. Emphasis is given to topics such as the political aspects of applied anthropology and archaeology, government patronage for mural painting, and the assimilation of indigenous culture.

Copyright of Technical Transactions / Czasopismo Techniczne is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Overhills Estate became property of the United States government in 1997. Previously the estate was a private, exclusive leisure and sports home for the vacationing Rockefeller family and their special guests, and later a working farm. Several residences were built on the estate, along with support structures and landscape features geared towards recreational activities of seasonal visitors. At its pinnacle, the furnishings of these domestic buildings represented affluence. Of particular interest were built-in decorative elements, some dating to the late seventeenth and mid-eighteenth centuries, which remained in situ once the estate changed ownership. These tiles and murals testify to a penchant for indoor art. As the buildings pass into the archaeological record, destroyed by cultural and natural processes, the remains of these artworks now become artifacts of remembrance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a critical analysis of the four-panel mural "The Negro's Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America" by Millard Sheets for the U.S. Dept. of the Interior Building in Washington, D.C. completed from 1937 to 1948, focusing on the work's meaning in the context of the era's construction of black identity. Topics include the reception of the murals since their installation including by black and white critics, public art as a means of social advocacy, and the collaborative aspects of the work.

The article presents the authors views that mural paintings do not always provide better iconographic evidence than literary sources. As a case in point, the author discusses his experience of the same for the chinese wind instrument Suona. Topics discussed include easily accessible caves by the general populace, and discussions on the paintings found in Kizil caves which highlights the suona, which was also found in the 4th century, A.D.

The article discusses the mural "The Destruction of War/ Rebuilding the World Through Education" by Fred Ross, which was painted during the late 1940s at Fredericton High School (FHS) in Fredericton, New Brunswick, taken down in the 1950s, and recreated in the 20th century at the University of New Brunswick. According to the author, the original mural's removal and subsequent loss was not a product of censorship but nonetheless demonstrated that the artwork and its message were not considered sufficiently valuable to be preserved. Details on the effects of the Cold War on New Brunswick art and society are presented. The depiction of a corpse and a nuclear explosion in the mural are discussed.

Copyright of Cultures et Conflits is the property of Centre d'Etudes sur les Conflits, Revue Cultures & Conflits and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In Northern Ireland's Long Kesh prison in the late 1980s and 1990s, prisoners from each of the loyalist and republican groups painted highly politicized murals on the walls in their respective wings. This article seeks to examine these murals as both a symbol and a means whereby the politically motivated prisoners sought to appropriate the space of the prison for their own purposes. Their resistance, expressed in this and other ways, was not merely to the pains of imprisonment, the stripping of individuality and identity which was at the heart of the prison system. Rather imprisonment was seized as an opportunity to advance political understanding and build revolutionary structures whereby the prison was seen as one more front in their respective wars - that of republicans against the British state, and that of loyalists against republican insurgence. Each in their own way, republican and loyalist prisoners created virtual "liberated zones" within the prison and in doing so prepared for political power and conflict transformation on the other side of imprisonment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

David Alfaro Siqueiros's grand mural in Hospital de "La Raza" is elucidated through the close study of a written draft of the symbolical program and with reference to the social and political issues entertained by the artist at the time the work was planned. The mural confronts the issue of economic development, then a top priority of government, and focuses on the more specific issue of the beneficial application of advanced technologies, particularly nuclear power. The painting expresses Siqueiros's communist views by identifying the proletariat as society's revolutionary agent and by asserting that the proper goal of advanced and industrialized Mexico is the attainment of a socialist society. The mural is conceived both as an allegorical narrative and as a work of rhetorical address, with close attention given to the interplay of these two modes of expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on the design and history of the murals on the walls and ceiling of the crypt in the Lamspringe Abbey church in Lamspringe, Germany, which were painted by the German artist Alfred Ehrhardt. Several topics are discussed, such as how the murals were dismissed as "degenerate art" when they were first painted in 1938 and forgotten soon after, how the urban researcher Axel Christoph Kronenberg discovered black and white pictures of the crypt that been taken by the photographer Johannes Nissen in 2003, as well as how the murals feature the image of religious figures such as the medieval Roman priest Oliver Plunkett and the second Bishop of Athens, Greece, Dionysius the Areopagite.

The article focuses on the 28 murals created by author and illustrator Charles R. Knight (1874–1953) for the Chicago, Illinois Field Museum during the 1920s. The author focuses on the influence Henry Fairfield Osborn (1857–1935), curator of vertebrate palaeontology and later president of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, had upon Knight. Osborn referred to the murals as the Osborn-Knight restorations. Other subjects include evolutionary history, educational goals of museum exhibitions, and the relationship between science and art.

The article discusses the conflict and consensus of New Deal mural art that was commissioned by the U.S. federal government for federal, state, and local buildings during the Great Depression. It cites that artist George Biddle, inspired by the social experiment of Mexican President Alvaro Obregon during the 1920s, introduced murals in federal government to keep artists employed and popularizes former President Theodore Roosevelt's New Deals on the wall of America. It states that the problem faced by the government in the said art project was how to bridge the gap between the Social Realists and Regionalists, those who favor labor unions and the triumph of the industrial worker. It notes that the New Deal art enable the growth of American Idealism in response to the needs of the nation.

The article discusses the mural "Elements of Palestine, Old and New" by artist Temima Nimtzowitz. It was painted in the sanctuary of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism (SAJ), a synagogue established by Mordecai M. Kaplan, a founder of the Reconstructionist movement in American Judaism. According to the author, the mural and its reception illustrated the challenges faced by the movement in translating their ideology into a viable platform. It is suggested that the mural's embrace of Labor Zionism and its borrowing of nationalist symbolism from artist Diego Rivera hindered its ability to express Jewish diasporic values in conversation with U.S. majority culture. The role of figural representation in religious art is also discussed.

The Mexican mural in the School "República de México", managed to nave a wide covering in Latin America. One thinks that it was due to the trips undertaken by its spokesmen. In the case of David Alfaro Siqueiros, member of the so- called group Mexican mural artists, this influence is observed in other latitudes. In addition to his stay in the United States, he had a controversial stay in Buenos Aires, being repressed by closing some of his conferences. Nevertheless, in the case of his presence in Chile, it was radically different. His work in Chillan was influenced by the local situation, being his work related to a feeling of solidarity and panamericanism due to the consequences of the earthquake of 1939 in the south of the country. The work of Siqueiros became well-known because of his prestige as mural artist, managing to generate an important movement of artists in the country. In addition, Chillán became protagonist at national level thanks Siqueiros presence. Different authorities of the country visit his work, allowing Siqueiros and his group of artists to have a plan of free action, being able to express in different meetings their points of view about the social art of the state. This freedom of action was allowed and guaranteed by political status of the country at the moment, in the hands of the Radical party. Thus, the Mexican muralism in Buenos Aires, represented by Siqueiros, had important differences in respect of his work and visit in Chile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El artículo explora la representación de Tlaloc--deidad prehispánica de la lluvia--en la obra de artistas del movimiento muralista mexicano del siglo 20. Se cita la postura ideológica de éstos respecto de la continuidad cultural entre el pasado remoto y el presente mexicano y se describen algunos de los elementos visuales que utilizaron artistas como Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco y Juan O'Gorman. También se reflexiona sobre la representación de Tlaloc como ícono cultural del México moderno.

This article examines the role that public wall art has played in the transformation of South African cities. The author notes that since the 1990s community murals and billboard murals have become more prevalent in South Africa's metropolitan centers. Both types of art have been parts of larger urban regeneration projects that speak to the changing socioeconomic and political visions of the country. The author examines specific examples from Johannesburg and Durban to highlight how these two types of art have sought to redefine both the symbolic identity and urban landscape of South Africa.

The article discusses two wall paintings found in Sucuoğlu Mansion, a Turkish house located in Ürgüp, Turkey. It notes that the house was built in 1904 and its architectural features are presented. A painting of the city of İstanbul, Turkey is described, with particular focus given to the depiction of the Galata and Sarayburnu regions as well as the Yeni Valide Mosque and the Hagia Sophia basilica. A painting of the city of Edirne, Turkey is also examined, with particular focus given to the presentation of Edirne castle, Eski Mosque, and Üç Şerefeli Mosque.

The article discusses two wall paintings found in Sucuoğlu Mansion, a Turkish house located in Ürgüp, Turkey. It notes that the house was built in 1904 and its architectural features are presented. A painting of the city of İstanbul, Turkey is described, with particular focus given to the depiction of the Galata and Sarayburnu regions as well as the Yeni Valide Mosque and the Hagia Sophia basilica. A painting of the city of Edirne, Turkey is also examined, with particular focus given to the presentation of Edirne castle, Eski Mosque, and Üç Şerefeli Mosque.

The article describes wall art in England. Painting words in outsize lettering directly on to the brickwork or plaster of an outdoor wall dates from the late eighteenth century. Signs and slogans painted directly on to brickwork were never as common as wooden signboards and hoardings. They were even largely confined to the poorer districts. Elaborate stylized lettering and pictures to illustrate the goods on offer probably began to come in during the 1920's.

Scholars examining the twentieth-century American civil rights movement typically prefer action and events to objects of commemoration. When art historians turn to New Deal public arts, they generally focus on projects perceived to embody collective values rather than on works that embraced contemporary controversy. Mitchell Jamieson's 1940-42 mural, An Incident in Contemporary American Life, for the Department of the Interior building in Washington, D.C., reimagined the purpose of federal art. The subject, Marian Anderson's 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial, was a watershed event in American racial history. Although the concert has received extensive scholarly attention, the art that honors the event remains unexamined. Jamieson's little-known mural merits attention for the pivotal place it occupies in the history of American public art. It not only qualifies as the first work to celebrate an event of the modern civil rights movement but also marks an important departure in using federal art to agitate for and to enact social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the significance of the discovery of 1930s New Deal murals in identifying how the legacy of these murals impacts on public art and contemporary art education in the United States. How New Deal art played many roles in American life; WPA influence on Edgar Britton's career as a sculptor; Impact of the WPA murals on public art and education.

Focuses on United States artist Ben Shahn's mural design proposals for the St. Louis Post Office in Missouri and the Woodhaven Branch Post Office at Queens, New York City. General theme of `The Four Freedoms' mural; Depiction of immigration and Missouri's history in the St. Louis mural; Other themes expressed by Shahn's works.

Discusses how Chicano murals have captured the attention of millions of admirers and transcended major geographic and cultural barriers since emergence in the late 1960s. Popular arts tradition in the United States-Mexico borderlands; Mexican mural art influence; Chicano mural movement; Mural themes.

The article discusses a mural created by Cuban artist Felix René Menderos. The subject of the mural is Vietnam, representing solidarity and reconciliation, and reflective of Cuban solidarity posters and the changing conditions in Vietnam. The mural was shown at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Wight Art Galleries during April and May 1991.