What Are Murals?
Mural painting has a long history among artists, and it never seems to lose its tendency to mark and change history. But just what is a mural?
Facts
Murals are paintings that do not require a traditional canvas. Instead, artists paint murals directly onto permanent structures such as buildings and fences. Murals are often featured on walls, floors and ceilings. The world "mural" comes from the Latin "murus," which means wall.
Murals are much larger than most other painting genres and are often used to deliver messages to wide swaths of the population within a certain community. Murals often tell a story, support a cause or serve as a public tribute to a historic culture.
History
Mural paintings are an art form almost as old as man. In 1940, a group of teenagers discovered murals painted on the walls of a cave in Lascaux, France and archaeologists traced the painted figures to the Paleolithic Age, which ended 10,000 years ago.
Murals were popular among the painters of the Italian Renaissance period, and they regained significance in the 20th century via the efforts of a trio of well-received Mexican muralists.
In the 1930s, the U.S. government's Works Progress Administration created the Federal Art Project and focused on mural art. The project created more than 5,000 jobs for artists, who produced more than 200,000 works, including many murals on post office buildings.
Today, many city leaders hire muralists to paint the outer walls of aging downtown buildings.
Significance
Murals allow artists to express themselves in a form that is near mass media in its influence. Many muralists use the artform to express pride and pay tribute to their heritage, and their bold expressions force the hundreds or thousands who view the murals on a regular basis to consider political issues and other similar concepts. In Los Angeles, dozens of murals express views on social justice and tackle such issues as drug addiction and gang warfare.
Famous Figures
Three Mexican mural artists hold special acclaim for their vision and creations: Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros and Jose Clemente Orozco. Rivera, who was born in Mexico, studied in Europe and held exhibitions in Paris and Madrid before coming to the United States, where he designed many notable murals, including one in 1933 at the RCA Building at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. Rivera gained fame for his ability to paint history into murals.
Benefits
Mural art provides for the free expression of ideas and adds character and charm to communities. Murals improve the aesthetics of crumbling neighborhoods and help to curb crime by providing a positive influence. In the 1970s, a group of Los Angeles artists began to replace gang graffiti with murals to promote pride in a way that reduced the likelihood of conflict between rival gangs. Although city leaders initially opposed the group's unapproved painting, the success of the murals in curbing crime and bringing pride to some of the city's poorest families led to a citywide mural program.
Misconceptions
Many people believe murals are only for the outside of structures, but many murals are painted on interior walls of buildings. In fact, murals have become a popular alternative to wallpaper in some residential buildings. Many communities feature private mural artists who design commissioned works.
