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"SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES"
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When it comes to community identity, there is nothing like a
mural to trigger dialogue. With the mural movement in full swing almost every
large and medium city in our nation now has murals, and new mural organizations
and initiatives are popping up everywhere.
From San Luis Obipso to Boston
and Rochester, NY these new murals, and aesthetics, are forcing city councils and residents to
struggle with complex issues.
These issues range from first amendment and property rights
to sign codes and developing a process to approve designs. These are healthy
conversations that promote civic participation and engagement in the arts. Who
are we as a people? What images define us? What makes a mural offensive to
someone? In July for example a David Choe
mural in Hawai’i was painted over hours after it was finished. Little did local residents know this might have been a once in a lifetime
opportunity to be stewards to one of the most important and talented artists of
our generation.
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| Artist David Choe in his studio. Image: Ramin Talaie/Bloomberg via Getty Images |
A new ROA mural in Rochester, NY has perked controversy as well. Synthesis Collaborative who
hosted the well know artist and many others in a program called Wall Therapy. The
organizers write:
“Essentially, what we are doing is a community-level intervention in the form of mural art in the public space. The walls are our vehicle for inspiring and rehabilitating our community. We are intervening visually to address a fundamental collective need of our citizenry, the need for inspiration. In addition and quite literally, the walls on which our “therapists” will paint are being resurfaced and rehabilitated…given new life and energy.”
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| ROA in Rochester with Wall Therapy Photo: Stephen S. Reardon www.uglypancakes.com |
Cities that have established mural arts and public arts
programs have to contend with these issues and have managed to organize and
rally support when controversy arises. With public art it almost always does,
and sometimes this is better than being ignored. I think it’s fair to say that
most people hope their art inspires, unify and promote all things good. However
many well intentioned muralists with no community design and feedback process
are running into challenges, especially if they are parachuting in with little
knowledge for the places they are working.
My question is what is the responsibility of the artist for
contributing to and offering meaning to these conversations – or is it our job
to paint and move on? What is the
responsibility of the host agency? Is the responsibility of the host to employ
an additional step to site preparation and planning, specifically a Community
Arts Integration (CAI) plan? I’ve been watching as this process has taken root
since I first started writing about the concept several years ago. In
implementing a CAI plan artists and hosts are provided with a wealth of
information and strong context for the project.
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