Liceo de Apodaca

Murals.

Jerónimo Treviño#25

9° “B” Norway

May 22, 2013

Definition:

Is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.

A very large image, such as a painting or enlarged photograph, applied directly to a wall or ceiling.

A greatly enlarged photograph attached directly to a wall.

Around the World's Murals in 400

WordsThroughout the world there have been murals on walls as long as there have been people to scratch them, paint them, etch them, carve them and make them. From the prehistoric cave paintings at Lascaux, France, to the ceremonial and celebratory murals of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, India, and Mesopotamia, the history of murals is a rich and varied one.

According to art historians, mural painting dates back at least 30,000 years to cave paintings. In some cases these mystical and magical works have luckily been preserved by the rocky shelters they inhabit, allowing later generations to enjoy and learn from them. These ancient murals often depicted activities in which the people of the time engaged, from religious ceremonies to scenes of hunting and gathering for sustenance. 

A wonderful dichotomy continues to evolve in the world of murals: new ones are continually being commissioned and created (like the recent George Bellows re-creation in the Short North) while old ones are constantly being rediscovered and restored (like the circa-100 A.D. Maya

 

wall paintings at the remote ruins of San Bartolo and El Petén, Guatemala, discovered in only March 2001).

The function of murals varies from culture to culture and from one time period to another. In the Tibetan world many murals, both ancient and contemporary, are created as part of reflective and meditative Buddhist practices. These mandalas are a part of the spirituality of Tibetan monks and their devotees. During the Baroque period in England, Germany, and France, royalty and rich art patrons had allegorical and Biblical murals painted on the walls and ceilings of their palaces or luxurious homes. Into these they inserted themselves or loved ones as a way of capturing their likenesses for posterity. 

In modern, urban environments from Berlin to Brooklyn, graffiti has become a form of mural art exhibiting the angst and rebellion of disenfranchised city youth. From China to Russia and from New York to Milan, wall art has been used to spread political propaganda and to perpetuate the culture of mass consumerism. Ironically, Chairman Mao and Calvin Klein have both found the mural to be greatly useful and profitable. 

Historically speaking, wall art has appeared in enclosed spaces from temples, tombs, and palaces to churches, museums, libraries, and other public buildings. In the more contemporary era, murals have found their way onto surfaces in the exterior. Perhaps we only see murals from the ancient past on interiors because those are the ones that have been able to survive, while exterior murals from the same period might have been destroyed by natural or human-made disasters.

Eventually the indoor mural started to move outdoors. Like their internal counterparts, murals in the exterior become an integral part of the environment when done well. Good designers will conceive of murals in relation to their natural or architectural setting, allowing the piece to become a social, political, cultural, and aesthetic artifact.

Modern American wall paintings

Beginning in the early 20th century, renowned masters like Thomas Hart Benton and John Singer Sargent made murals to adorn museums, libraries, post offices, and other pubic spaces. As a way to get people back to work during and after the Depression, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) under Franklin Delano Roosevelt paid federal

dollars to artists to paint industrial, social, and agricultural scenes in public buildings. 

The Mission District in San Francisco is famous for its murals. These huge paintings on building facades are part of a long-established tradition there. The city has approximately 600 murals.Although Columbus has nowhere near that number of murals, our Short North district has an impressive concentration of wall paintings in a relatively small area.

The Mona Lisa by Brian Clemons is probably the most well known of the murals here, partly because of its iconic status in the art world and partly because it has been in the neighborhood since 1986. Ironically, it is the only mural not directly visible from High Street, the main drag through the Short North. The sideways Mona Lisa was repainted about five years ago in a more monotone palette of yellows and browns. She has become the de facto icon of the Short North. The building on which she resides, owned by Sandy Wood, is undergoing major renovations, and the painting is being preserved.

The mural that threatened to dethrone Mona Lisa as ruling artwork of the area is the 2002 reproduction of Grant Wood's equally iconic masterpiece American Gothic. Passersby often pose for pictures with this piece with a twist - the woman has been turned on her head. On the corner of Lincoln and High Streets opposite R. J. Snappers, the retro American Gothic is beautifully reproduced by Steve Galgas and Mike Altman, yet makes a statement of its own.

 

Trains by Greg and Jeff Ackers, 1989

Zola (where Frezno's used to be) is the “in” spot for Columbus' 20- and 30-something jet setters. Yet the true must-see here is actually the Van Gogh's Café Terrace at Night reproduction on the Norka Futon wall adjacent to Zola. This is a multi-wall mural, as the sky of the main painting bleeds onto a wall behind it, giving a three-dimensional look to a 2-D piece of art. The sharp, bold blues and yellows and the design fit with Zola's outdoor patio. Created by Dragonfly Design, including artists Dwaine MacDonald, Susan O'Dell and Patrick Corbett, the Café Terrace night scene is a theatrical backdrop to one's outdoor wining and dining experience.

Two of the oldest and most faded murals are on opposite walls bracketing the parking lot between Union Station Café and the Utrecht art supply store. On the Union Station Café's south wall is a 100-foot-long painted array of locomotive engines and train cars. On the Utrecht wall is a mural of the city's original Union Station. These two have started to fade and the finish is cracking and crumbling and will soon need some attention. 

The restoration of murals is a contentious issue. Should murals be restored by someone other than the original artist? For example, in the case of something as sacred and iconic as Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, is it blasphemous to tamper with the original no matter how decrepit it is? Or should murals be saved at all costs for the enjoyment and education of future generations?

Technique

Historical mural techniques In the history of mural several methods have been used:

A fresco   painting, from the Italian word affresco which derives from the adjective fresco ("fresh"), describes a method in which the paint is applied on plaster on walls or ceilings. The buon fresco technique consists of painting in pigment mixed with water on a thin layer of wet, fresh, lime mortar or plaster. The pigment is then absorbed by the wet plaster; after a number of hours, the plaster dries and reacts with the air: it is this chemical reaction which fixes the pigment particles in the plaster. After this the painting stays for a long time up to centuries in fresh and brilliant colors.Fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster (secco is "dry" in Italian). The pigments thus require a binding medium, such as egg(tempera), glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall.Mezzo-fresco is painted on nearly-dry plaster was defined by the sixteenth-century author Ignazio Pozzo as "firm enough not to take a thumb-print" so that the pigment only penetrates slightly into the plaster. By the end of the sixteenth century this had largely displaced the buon fresco method, and was used by painters such as Gianbattista Tiepolo or Michelangelo. This technique had, in reduced form, the advantages of a secco work.

Material 

In Greco-Roman times, mostly encaustic colors ground in a molten beeswax or resin binder and applied in a hot state was used.Tempera painting is one of the oldest known methods in mural painting. In tempera, the pigments are bound in an albuminous medium such as egg yolk or egg white diluted in water.In 16th-century Europe, oil painting on canvas arose as an easier method for mural painting. The advantage was that the artwork could be completed in the artist’s studio and later transported to its destination and there attached to the wall or ceiling. Oil paint can be said to be the least satisfactory medium for murals because of its lack of brilliance in colour. Also the pigments are yellowed by the binder or are more easily affected by atmospheric conditions. The canvas itself is more subject to rapid deterioration than a plaster ground.Modern mural techniques Different muralists tend to become experts in their preferred medium and application, whether that be oil paints, emulsion or acrylic paints applied by brush, roller or airbrush/aerosols. Clients will often ask for a particular style and the artist may adjust to the appropriate technique.A consultation usually leads to a detailed design and layout of the proposed mural with a price quote that the client approves before the muralist starts on the work. The area to be painted can be gridded to match the design allowing the image to be scaled accurately step by step. In some cases the design is projected straight onto the wall and traced with pencil before painting begins. Some muralists will paint directly without any prior sketching, preferring the spontaneous technique.Once completed the mural can be given coats of varnish or protective acrylic glaze to protect the work from UV rays and surface damage.

As an alternative to a hand-painted or airbrushed mural, digitally printed murals can also be applied to surfaces. Already existing murals can be photographed and then be reproduced in near-to-original quality.The disadvantages of pre-fabricated murals and decals are that they are often mass-produced and lack the allure and exclusivity of an original artwork. They are often not fitted to the individual wall sizes of the client and their personal ideas or wishes cannot be added to the mural as it progresses. The Frescography technique, a digital manufacturing method (CAM) invented by Rainer Maria Latzkeaddresses some of the personalisation and size restrictions.Digital techniques are commonly used in advertisements. A "wallscape" is a large advertisement on or attached to the outside wall of a building. Wallscapes can be painted directly on the wall as a mural, or printed on vinyl and securely attached to the wall in the manner of a billboard. Although not strictly classed as murals, large scale printed media are

often referred to as such. Advertising murals were traditionally painted onto buildings and shops by sign-writers, later as large scale poster billboards.

Significance of murals.

Murals are important in that they bring art into the public sphere. Due to the size, cost, and work involved in creating a mural, muralists must often be commissioned by a sponsor. Often it is the local government or a business, but many murals have been paid for with grants of patronage. For artists, their work gets a wide audience who otherwise might not set foot in an art gallery. A city benefits by the beauty of a work of art.Murals can be a relatively effective tool of social emancipation or achieving a political goal. Murals have sometimes been created against the law, or have been commissioned by local bars and coffee shops. Often, the visual effects are an enticement to attract public attention to

social issues. State-sponsored public art expressions, particularly murals, are often used by totalitarian regimes as a tool of mass-control and propaganda. However, despite the propagandist character of that works, some of them still have an artistic value.Murals can have a dramatic impact whether consciously or subconsciously on the attitudes of passers by, when they are added to areas where people live and work. It can also be argued that the presence of large, public murals can add aesthetic improvement to the daily lives of residents or that of employees at a corporate venue.Other world-famous murals can be found in Mexico, New York, Philadelphia, Belfast, Derry, Los Angeles, Nicaragua, Cuba and in India.  They have functioned as an important means of communication for members of socially, ethnically and racially divided communities in times of conflict. They also proved to be an effective tool in establishing a dialogue and hence solving the cleavage in the long run.

Notable muralists

Reference Sources https://www.google.com.mx/search?

q=murales&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.46751780,d.dmQ&biw=1280&bih=662&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=2B-dUYog7c7RAePPgNgH#imgrc=LfkF1td0JyrZcM%3A%3BMwXl7feR1hz2ZM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.kelp.cl%252Fi%252Fopinion%252Fopinion_713.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.kelp.cl%252Fcgi-bin%252Fmt%252Fmt-search.cgi%253FIncludeBlogs%253D2%2526tag%253Dmurales%252520politicos%2526limit%253D20%3B558%3B501

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mural#Technique

ConclusionI think that the murals are a way of expression that you can use to show your feelings to an act or something like that.The murals can help people that need to show their feelings and also is a piece of art.