Mural

About: Mural is a(n) research topic. Over the lifetime, 1144 publication(s) have been published within this topic receiving 5050 citation(s).

A Second Look

Abstract: Rise of the Picture Press: Photographic Reportage in Illustrated Magazines 1918-1939 International Center for Photography New York, New York March 27 - June 16 "Rise of the Picture Press: Photographic Reportage in Illustrated Magazines 1918-1939," held at the International Center for Photography (ICP) in New York City, took as its subject large-format illustrated magazines produced in Europe and the United States between the World Wars, including examples of well-known publications such as Harp Harper's Weekly, Life, Picture Post, Match and Vu; as well as lesser known publications such as USSR In Construction, Let's Produce!, BIZ (Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung), Muncher Illustrirte Presse, Voila, Lilliput, Look and Regards. Work by several now-canonized art photographers appeared in the exhibit, including Bill Brandt, Brassai, Alexander Rodchenko, El Lissitzky, Andre Kertesz, John Heartfield, Man Ray, Margaret Bourke-White and Robert Capa, to name just a few. However, the work of these photographers blended relatively smoothly into the larger context of the exhibit, which is to say that name-recognition was, for the most part, sacrificed to the social, historical and formal contribution of illustrated magazines. In fact, the exhibition organizers, Christopher Phillips and Venessa Rocco, and the exhibition designers Julie Ault and Martin Beck highlighted the collaborative nature 'of illustrated magazines by defining the different roles played by photographers, writers, editors, layout designers and various press agencies in determining the look and content of the end product. They also included wall text showcasing Stephan Lorant and Henry Luce, the most prominent and influential editor and publisher, respectively, of illustrated magazines at the time. The most provocative example highlighting the collaborative nature of magazine work, however, was the wall-sized mural of marked-up contact sheets from a photo-essay entitled "How the Picture Post is Produced" that ran on December 24, 1938. The enlarged contact sheets show editor Stephan Lorant sorting through newswire photographs at his desk; men and women working the printing presses, collating the pages and finally bundl ing up the finished product. Next to the wall mural, in a small case, the issue in which the story originally appeared was opened to reveal the first two-page spread of the essay, in which one of the pictures of Lorant, circled in yellow on the wall mural (and thus probably selected by Lorant himself), leads the story. This kind of innovative exhibition design was unfortunately not consistent throughout the entire show. Most ineffective was a large section of the exhibit in which framed spreads from the magazines jutted out from the wall. Some of these displays appeared beneath a row of images at eye-level, placed flush with the wall, but others were placed above those at eye-level, making the images, and especially the print, barely legible. At first I dismissed this slight annoyance and vowed to have my eyesight checked until I noticed several other visitors experiencing the same difficulty. A quibble hardly worth mentioning except that it raised questions about how one might ideally display such printed matter without doing irreparable damage to the essential character and context of the magazine format. This commentary is not meant to diminish the accomplishment of "Rise of the Picture Press," for it takes on a body of material often neglected by museums and galleries. While there have been several major exhibits in the last five years focusing on photojournalism or the work of particular photojournalists, the material selected for this exhibit is different. Primarily because the photographs on display are shown in their original context of the magazine, rather than reprinted and framed as single images hung separately on the wall without text, save the typical wall-label identifying artist, title and date. …

Politics and Painting: Murals and Conflict in Northern Ireland

Abstract: Politics and Painting is a study of wall murals in Northern Ireland. The core argument is that the art of wall mural painting is influenced by the political conflict in Northern Ireland.

Canadian Ceramic Relief Murals: Studio Craft and Architecture – A Case Study of the Sturdy-Stone Centre Murals, 1975-1983

Abstract: The modernist Sturdy-Stone Centre’s monumental ceramic mural project is the subject of this case study that examines its agency. Initiated in 1975 by the Saskatchewan government for their new Saskatoon office building it was commissioned in two stages and completed by 1983. Six designer/makers executed two exterior and six interior relief murals in a variety of styles, making this the largest and arguably most eclectic ensemble created by studio ceramicists for any building in Canada. Despite local interest at the time of its reception this remarkable project has remained at the periphery of art, ceramic, craft, and architectural discourses. To address the agency of these murals throughout their lives this study adopts an interdisciplinary approach that promotes their integration into architectural, ceramic, sculpture, and craft histories. It argues the decorative and ornamental aspects of these murals transmit intellectual content through their sensuality and visual and material delight. The first section, “A Social and Material Complex,” presents an overview of the development of this unique project as group formations, methodologically using a combination of sociology and material culture. These groups comprise the government with its attendant political and social agendas, arts and crafts organizations and their aesthetic concerns, and the physical unit created by the building and the murals. A particular concern is the implication of ceramics as the designated mural material. The second section, “The Lives of the Murals,” looks at the biography of each mural, arguing they emerged from and contributed to political and cultural ideologies active in Saskatchewan, including discourses of multiculturalism and socialism. Each chapter combines the biographies of the murals with those of their makers, from their commissioning to their installation. An important aspect in each discussion is the co-constitution of the murals and their makers, as suggested by a postphenomenological approach. This involves taking into account a variety of group formations involving, among other things, materials, technology, tools, architectural spaces, humans, and ideas. As agents these murals promote the professionalism of ceramic practices and dialogically address issues touching the rural and urban, local and global, vernacular and modern, and fine art and folk craft.