Arizona Labor History Mural

Mural Design: 100 Years of Labor History 1908 - 2008

Sometimes as artists we put many hours into the development of a mural proposal. The Arizona Labor History Mural is one such project. The initial mural proposal made in 1999. The goal remains the same to this day, to have this mural placed on a prominent wall in the downtown of Tucson. Some day the political and cultural climate of Southern Arizona may at last be tolerant of images that vividly portray a living peoples’ history. Ironically the struggle to create this mural in many ways mirrors the struggles of working class people in Arizona, currently a “right to work” state.

In 1998-99 colleagues and I interviewed people from various unions and organizations including Jobs with Justice, Southern Arizona Central Labor Council, Southwest Alliance for Economic Justice and members of the International Union of Mime Mill and Smelter Workers. These interviews took place over a period of several years and became the contextual basis for this project. The Tucson Arts Brigade (TAB) organized a series of popular education workshops revolving around the theme. The research also became the basis for the TAB Community Works project that resulted in the display of a series of bus bench images throughout the city from 1999-2001. The drawings and watercolor images you see here were part of the design phase of the project. The final design is presented in this visual essay as well.

There are several themes represented in these works that come up over and over again. The Bisbee and Jerome deportations of IWW members, the film Salt of the Earth, the massive 1983 strikes in Morenci, Ajo, Clifton and Douglas as well as the contributions of communication and farm workers, teachers and teamsters in literally building Arizona. The struggles for a minimum wage, women's rights, civil rights, a workers bill of rights, a safe and clean works place, affordable health care and housing are also depicted in the images. People like Juan Chacon and César Chávez are represented with regional labor celebrities.



The support for this project all along came from ordinary working people. Everyday people who struggle to make ends meet on a daily basis. It is for them this project is dedicated.

Sketchbook Image: Interior of a cafe in Bisbee, AZ

Sketchbook Image: commemorating miners


Sketch of a lime mine that closed in 2002

Sketchbook Image: Downtown Bisbee, AZ

Philadelphia Freedom School Banner

In this project I worked with twenty 9-11 year old students from the Philadelphia Freedom Summer School to create a participatory banner over a series of eight 2 hour sessions through the Fleisher Art Memorials Community Arts Partnership Program. This summer school enrichment program emphasizes cultural democracy and history through story telling, dance and visual art.

When I started working with this group they though of visual art as “being different", "drawing anything” or said they didn’t know anything. Some of them had art in their schools others had little to no formal art making experiences. Several were particularly resistant.

Over the weeks I struggled to keep the kids engaged and teach them a few solid skills. I know I was being successful when the room was silent and everyone on task if even for a few minutes. Even the camp counselors and the children who had been resistant were enchanted by the paint and pencils once they had a basic understanding of the elements or art.

On the last day I asked what they now know about visual art. They responded: “ I learned the colors’ shades and hues and that my teacher is a colorfully vivid person”. “I’ve learned perspective; one point, atmospheric, eye, worm and bird view”. “I learned that black and white can make different colors of gray”, “How to draw people, bodies, places and roads. I had a great teacher”. “That it was fun for me, doing the mural”, “when you do art you can look at it for many perspective”. All the children said they learned about primary and secondary colors, value and perspective.

We discussed and illustrated the connection between the individual and community through individual drawings, portraits of each other and journal drawings. The connection of their community to the community at large was illustrated through the creation of the banner/mobile mural. Finally the connection to the world was made through drawings of our hands that will be brought to Malawi in Africa by Philadelphia University professor Wendy Anderson as part of the ”Hands Across the Water” community arts project.

While this was a short unit it was very successful and I was asked to teach again with the program. Something I look forward to doing. The banner will be on display at the Philadelphia Freedom School offices and other locations about Philadelphia.

Show Someone How You Feel About Something

A public art service project, coordinated by Zoë Cohen
July 19,23,24,30 and 31, 2007
Noon-1 pm
Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA

A brigade of public art facilitators will be available in the center of Rittenhouse Square on selected Noon lunch hours in July, to encourage the public to show someone how you feel about something.

Clipboards, paper and drawing materials will be available, along with envelopes and a list of addresses of public and elected officials. Participants will be invited to communicate something (anything) that they feel strongly about through drawing, and to address an envelope to someone (anyone). The recipient could be a public official, or a friend, family member, etc. Their drawing will then be stamped and mailed by the facilitators.

The project was conceived and coordinated by Zoë Cohen, who last summer presented Philadelphia with the Listening Station, a public, participatory art project. Show Someone aims to engage the public with their inherent creative abilities and to encourage a different kind of civic involvement than they may usually be presented with. The interaction of the facilitators with the public is as important for the success of the project as the reception of the drawings by their recipients.

Facilitators for the project include Liz Manlin, Jodi Netzer, Michael Schwartz, Leigh Seeleman, and Scott Rigby.

The July series of Show Someone is being presented in conjunction with the alt.space festival being coordinated by Philadelphia's Basekamp space: www.basekamp.com

Documentation of Show Someone How You Feel About Something

can be found at :

http://showsomeone.blogspot.com

The Pride of Feltonville Community Mural

Click on any image to enlarge

Mural Size: 90’ x 26’ (taller area is 36’)

Location: Feltonville School for Arts and Sciences, 210 E Cortland St. Philadelphia, PA

Sponsors: School District of Philadelphia
Assistant: Erika Matyok
© 2007 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program/ Michael Schwartz


















“The Pride of Feltonville Mural” embodies the spirit of the neighborhood surrounding the Feltonville School of Arts and Science. I worked with 20 students from the school, their art teacher Trina Brand and my assistant Erika Matoyk. Over the eight weeks we researched the history and theme of the mural; arts and science.

Following colonization Feltonville was primarily a farming community. Fruit trees still volunteer themselves in peoples backyards and along the streets. The school sits between an old factory and a graveyard. The graveyard extends for many acres and is lined with trees. It's a peaceful hilly place. The factory, whose owner Bruce came out one day to introduce himself and compliment the mural, said he was down to a handful of workers. This was once a thriving industrial area. Immigrants poured into the area building track homes and opening hosiery's. Small factories and mills produced clothing, refrigerators and other appliances. Many of the immigrants were Jewish and at least one synagogue was in the area. To depict this I included the Tree of LIfe with the five chakras, as well as King Solomon's Knot - a symbol of wisdom. German, Italian, Irish and English immigrants also populated the area during it’s early history. Now the area is home to immigrant families from Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. The mural depicts the spirit of immigrants working to improve the lives of their children. A figure in the sky, painted in browns and blues represents past generations, the hands are extended, wearing workers gloves. From the hands leap their offspring jumping into open books.

To depict the sciences we decided to depict a student investigating the nature around her. She holds up a magnifying glass amidst a field of insects and flowers. We see several areas that are enlarged to show the interior of plants; Water Carriers, Stiffeners, Class Chlorophyceae and Light Catchers. Students are learning the same information in their science classes. Students also added some of their own imagery to the bottom of the mural including a quetzal, an elf, flowers and insects.

The largest figure in the mural is of a young woman holding a basket of peaches, she has gathered the harvest from the place she lives. This figure is the symbol of youth who go to school and live in the area, who have grown up in this place for some period of time. She suggests that if we get to know and cherish things about the places we live, to look at the small miracles all around us, we can raise to great things. Our dreams can come true, if we work hard and take stock of what is right in front of us. It is then that we can find bounty in our lives, be able to share, grow and learn. Appropriate for a place of learning and friendship.

I think that murals help to define a place. They can become landmarks. I’ve tried in this mural to keep the composition simple, accessible and the narrative universal. The meaning can change with time. The color and space in the mural suggest an inner world of the mural, there are spaces that recede, but much of the subject matter appears to be in a fishbowl - pushed up against the picture plane. The idea here is that the school is in many ways an insulated institution - a safe place where students can learn and make friends in relative peace.

I like to have the community get their hands dirty. In addition to the students involvement in the design process and adding their own touches to the mural we had a community paint day (see below). Over 65 people were involved. People were wonderful during this project; the staff, students, faculty and neighbors. I think this will be a mural that has a long and cherished life in this unique Philadelphia neighborhood.

Feltonville School for the Arts and Sciences Mural

"The Pride of Feltonville"

This project is a part of the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program Beautifying Schools-Transforming Lives project. Since April of this year I’ve been working with a fantastic group of students a remarkable art teacher, Trina Brand and their dedicated principal Ralph Burnley. On June 1, 2007 we held our community paint day. Over 60 people participated, led by the students I have been working with.

As a teaching muralist with MAP I have observed the changes in students as they take part in this program. These measurable outcomes include;

1) Increased willingness to collaborate and communicate differences.

2) Meeting and exceeding the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities including a comprehensive understanding of the elements of art, principles of design and historical context of murals.

3) A feeling of accomplishment and pride resulting in higher self esteem.

4) A feeling of being connected to a larger community, of belonging and connectivity.


5) A unique hands on approach to putting into practice what we have learned in the classroom.

6) A reduction in violence because students learn to collaborate and communicate their feelings, to channel their emotions into something positive.

7) a place where everyone feels included and accepted, where differences become strengths.

8) Students report feeling more connected to their creative and poetic sensibilities, thus
teaching students to be divergent non linear thinkers. This skill set is specifically what many employers are looking for in today's competitive global economy.


I’ll be posting more information and images when the mural is finished.

Just after Community Paint Day I received this letter;

School District of Philadelphia Mural Arts Project
Beautifying Schools-Transforming Lives

June 5, 2007

Dear Friends,

As you may have heard or read, our School District Mural Arts Project has been cut from the School District budget for next year.

I am urging you to write and/or email the people whose names are listed at the bottom of this letter to tell them about the wonderful collaboration between the School District and the Mural Arts Program and how it has benefitted your students and your school community.

It would be a great loss to hundreds of children if this program is cut. The comment that most students wrote on the post-test was that working together as a team to create a work of art was the most important thing they learned in the Mural Arts Class. They learned about the history of mural arts, community involvement, developing skills to make a mural and to respect each others’ opinions and abilities.

We have just completed our third year (60 murals) and were hoping for at least another 2 years….we would have liked this grant to have been available for many more years into the future!

I would appreciate your support in this matter and, as soon as possible (I know how busy you all are finishing things at the end of the school year). It would be a great way for you to show your appreciation for the wonderful piece of public art that you have received.

Please cc the emails or letters to me.

Thank you,

Deborah Zuchman
Project Manager
School District of Philadelphia Mural Arts Project
1729 Mt. Vernon Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
T: 215. 685.0739
FAX: 215.685.0757
deborahzuchmanmap@hotmail.com

letters@phillynews.com
mcdonam@phillynews.com
deanm@phillynews.com
James Nevels, Chair jnevels@phila.k12.pa.us
Sandra Dungee-Glenn sdungeeglenn@phila.k12.pa.us
Martin Bednarek mbednarek@washingtonsav.com
James Gallagher Gallagher@philau.edu
Denise Armbrister darmbrister@phila.k12.pa.us
c/o School District of Philadelphia
440 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130

Exploring Culture through the Arts Mural

The finished mural.

This mural was a part of the 2007 Drexel Elementary School Arts Day Extravaganza held on March 15 in Tucson, AZ. The 5th annual event featured over 160 local artists, musicians and entertainers representing over 46 groups. The event provided interactive, multicultural and multi disciplinary arts experiences for the children at the school.

The organizers Lupe Pressey, Arts Day Coordinator and Lorena Escarcega Principle of Drexel Elementary hope the event will inspire children to “attend a play,shoot a video,compose a poem, dance, paint a picture,sing, attend a concert, beat a drum, or read a book about your favorite artist.”

The event is not only great for students it’s a model program for educators and community arts organizations. Principles from other schools attended and witnessed for themselves how the arts can transform and enrich a learning environment.

I designed this mural with the spirit of the school and place in mind. I included places for students to create things that fly, things that grow, patterns and the interior of windows. For this project I had four groups of kids work with me for 90 minutes. In this time they were asked to create drawings and then enlarge and transfer them onto the mural (a combination of on the wall and parachute cloth) with pencil. They then selected their paint from a pre set pallet of 91 colors created for the mural. The kids painted until the very last minute, they were so careful with the supplies,mixing colors and had the ability to express their ideas through drawing. Clearly this is a school with a fantastic art teacher!

Transfering Ideas to Parachute Cloth.

The next day Jodi and I came in and installed the parachute cloth pieces. I then spent several days I doing the touch ups and varnish.