Feb/March 2006

 

Digital Murals

By Leena Prasad

 

 

 

 

 

But, what’s the point? This was the first thought that sprang to mind when I heard about the Digital Murals project.  After all, the power of the wall murals in The Mission isn’t contained in just their political message but also in their location and traditional style.

 

On second thought, I considered the fact that if the murals were replaced someday by dull white walls, we’d at least have the digital versions. Thankfully, given how San Francisco feels about its mural art, I feel fairly comfortable assuming that our murals will be protected past my lifetime and into the lives of the future generations. So…then…why digital murals? With this question in mind, I set out to explore the twenty three murals that are part of the Digital Mural project at http://www.galeriadelaraza.org/eng/programs/murals.html.

 

The earliest dated mural at the web site “The Mission Y2K: A History of Displacement” is a visual question of the implications of gentrification.  The question is posed to both the dislocated and the dislocators.  At the time of the mural’s creation, the exodus of the existing Mission population was caused by the dot.com generation, many of whom, ironically, were digital artists.  Another mural, ‘Ese, Last of His Tribe’ approaches this same socio-economic and cultural issue with a humorous depiction of a front-page newspaper article on Ese, ‘the last surviving Mexican found in the Mission district.’

 

In the mural, “Heaven,” the artist uses two panels to depict the story of a Chicano lesbian woman. The woman in the mural re-interprets her cultural influences of religion and mythology to tell her own story of being directed by an angel towards her future lover. This mural uses painting and collage techniques to tell the story in vivid details, style that is rooted in traditional Mexican murals.

 

In “Justice is in the Eye of the Beholder,” the artists trace the history of racial profiling in America by filling up most of the ‘wall’ space with dark sunglasses that are surrounded by graphic icons.  The sunglasses reflect images of the various people affected by racial profiling.  The icons surrounding the sunglasses depict the history of racial profiling:  1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, Japanese internment camps, and the deportation of unwanted Mexican migrant farm workers.

 

In “Run Bush Run”, George Bush tries to run away from his own nose which has grown so long that it’s chasing him and looks threateningly close to catching up to him.  This mural was created in an editorial cartoon style and leaves no ambiguity in its political message.

 

And lastly, “A Tribute to César Chávez” repeats the quote “The first principle of non-violent action is that of non-cooperation with everything humiliating.”  The quote is attributed to Cesar Chavez which I thought was a mistake when I first saw the mural. I was sure that it was a quote by Mahatma Gandhi. A quick google search left the source unclear because some sources attribute the quote to Chavez and others to Gandhi.  Whichever the case might be, this mural demonstrates one of the benefits of a digital mural over a traditional one…the attribution can be changed if it turns out to be incorrect!

 

There were many other murals at the website but I selected a representative set for this discussion. The earlier murals on the website held a close resemblance to the traditional murals in their expansive and painterly style. The mural styles expanded over the years to incorporate photos and cartoons and other forms of visual art.  The intent of the murals, however, has stayed consistent with the traditional purposes of exploring political and social messages.  The murals explore political subjects ranging from gentrification, history of the Latin community, gay and lesbian relationships, modern politics, racial profiling, and more.

 

Why digital murals?  After looking at these murals, my answer is why not?  They are simply another medium for artistic explorations and they have the power to reach and inspire people beyond the physical borders of San Francisco.  For example, I viewed and wrote this column about the murals from a hotel in Kansas City.  Even though I couldn’t be in San Francisco at the time, I was able to experience the power of its political culture.

 

The murals are exhibited on the walls of Galería de la Raza'  during specific time periods. Details can be found at the website www.galeriadelaraza.org/eng/programs/murals.html

 

For comments/complaints/kudos/article ideas/etc., please write to Leena Prasad at art@WeAreNotAmused.com.  Please let me know in your letter if it’d be okay to publish it as part of this column.