Art: murals old and new

Since the time we lived in caves, we've been drawing on the walls. Sometimes Mom gets mad, sometimes the drawings are works of art. The first cave drawings were likely made using charcoal from the fire or stone tools harder than the cave wall. As humans progressed drawing became painting on the walls.

From the Minoans to Renaissance Italians to the present, frescoes have been the preferred method. In frescoes the pigment is laid down on fresh or wet plaster. As a side note, oil paintings on cave walls have been discovered in Afghanistan that date to the  mid-7th century CE (Common Era, also Current Era or Christian Era).

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Bamiyan Oil Painting, CAIS

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In more recent times Diego Rivera held the spotlight for murals, as well as a dispute with one patron that resulted in the destruction of his work "Man at the Crossroads." Here's one of his works still available for viewing.

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Rivera Mural in the National Palace, Mexico

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Often murals are considered decorative art, as stated in the article Reassessing Artworks of Ancient Rome. Pictured in the article is the fresco below. It may have been merely decorative (or commemorative) at the time, but has with the passing of time taken on more meaning.

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The Aldobrandini Marriage, NY Times

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Murals can be political statements, certainly in artist Rivera's case. In my view, street art often qualifies as murals, although they generally are more transitory. Here's a photo essay of The 50 Most Stunning Wall Murals From Around The World. Note that some of Rivera's pieces are included. The image below appears to me to be a statement some might call political.

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Berlin art at Oberbaumbrucke Bridge, The Scenic Sidewalk

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-- Marge

Street Art vs. Illegal Billboards

There's a war going on in Los Angeles between artists and corporations over what populates the city's outdoor surfaces.  An article in The Atlantic, titled "The Convoluted Path to Ending Los Angeles's Mural Ban," by Nate Berg gives some details on the issue.  Again corporations have demanded citizens' rights in the form of freedom of speech.  (For a somewhat biased, but accurate, description of corporate personhood, take a look at Josh Clark's article "Why do corporations have the same rights as you?")  As stated by author Berg --

In the late 1990s, the city was sued by the outdoor advertising industry, which argued that the city was unconstitutionally privileging one type of protected speech – murals – over another – advertising. As a result, the city enacted a ban on signage – including murals – in 2002. The rules were then adjusted, creating "sign districts" where signs and murals and billboards would be allowed. But what tended to happen in these districts is that large developments included space for signs, and that space tended to be allocated to paying advertisers rather than non-paying artists. As a result, large ads and billboards started popping up all over these areas, prompting outrage from many residents.

Another result was a crack-down on street artists. There's a movement afoot to save the murals, as you can see at the SPARC Save LA Murals site and in the videos below.  SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center) is "is a non-profit community arts center based in Venice, California."

Below is a three-part series by Voice of Art that was published on YouTube that gives the artists' viewpoints.  i am OTHER is "is a new channel and cultural movement dedicated to Thinkers, Innovators and Outcasts."

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As street artist Lydia Emily explains in Part 2, political art can be a difficult experience.

-- Marge