Showing papers on "Mural published in 2004"

Pre‐Columbian mural paintings from Mesoamerica as geomagnetic field recorders

Abstract: [1] This paper reports a reconnaissance archeomagnetic study of mural paintings in various pre-Columbian sites in Mexico. The magnetic measurements of the pigments show that at least four murals (sites: Cacaxtla, Cholula and Templo Mayor) retain a remanent magnetization carried by a mixture of magnetite and minor hematite grains. In most specimens, a characteristic remanent magnetization is successfully isolated by alternating field demagnetization. The mean directions are reasonably well determined for each mural and within the range of secular variation during the last centuries. Studied Mesoamerican murals apparently retain the direction of the magnetic field at the time they were painted and therefore are an invaluable source of information concerning its secular variation. The archeomagnetic study of pre-Columbian mural paintings opens new alternatives to drawing a reliable reference master curve for the region and may largely contribute to the Mesoamerican absolute chronology.

The Use of Murals in Preadolescent Inpatient Groups: An Art Therapy Approach to Cumulative Trauma

Abstract: This article describes a small group of preadolescent, psychiatric inpatients and their collaborative painting of a memorial mural about the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. Through an immersion in the group experience, the group members became increasingly introspective about their feelings of loss and their histories of multiple trauma. They developed a strong group identification and participated appropriately in a national process of mourning. The creation of the mural enhanced their sense of self-efficacy and earned them considerable positive recognition. Reflection on the mural making process itself, as well as its interpersonal impact, increased the group members' mutual attachment and their tolerance for their own traumatic memories. The inclusion of the mural in a museum exhibition of children's art solidified a powerful lesson about the symbolic value of art for therapeutic healing.

Shaping Sacred Space and Institutional Identity in Romanesque Mural Painting: Essays in Honour of Otto Demus

Abstract: Romanesque mural painting was arguably the most visible field for religious images in Western churches between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. Beyond its traditional justification as Bible of the illiterate mural painting demarcated the principal functional spaces within the church and propagated the sacred narratives, the systems of belief and institutional politics. The present volume provides the first accessible collection of essays devoted exclusively to the contextual interpretation of Romanesque mural painting. They are offered in homage to Otto Demus, who established the essential parameters for the field with his unsurpassed survey of the field over thirty years ago. Presenting previously unpublished research on individual case studies from Italy, France and Spain, the collection of essays published here pursues Demuss premise that mural painting was designed both to shape the experience and ritual use of distinctive spaces within the medieval church, and to advertise certain institutional affiliations and political agendas. The introduction, by Thomas Dale, provides a methodological overview to the field, assessing Demuss contribution to the study of Romanesque mural painting and surveying the scholarship of the past thirty years. It also furnishes the first overview of primary texts that refer to the functions and exegesis of mural painting between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. The ten essays are grouped under four topics: 1. Patterns of Narrative Disposition in Sacred Space 2. Reinforcing the Praesentia of the Saints: The Church as Locus Sanctus 3. The Burial Crypt as Mediator between the Living and the Dead, Terrestrial and Celestial Space 4. Ecclesiastical Politics and Institutional Identity.

Eve's Daughter/Modern Woman: A MURAL BY MARY CASSATT

Abstract: Often regarded as merely the creator of sentimental images of mothers and children or an expatriate heavily influenced by Impressionism, Mary Cassatt is not typically regarded as an artist of radical convictions. In "Eve's Daughter/Modern Woman", Sally Webster re-evaluates these dismissals with a historical, aesthetic, and symbolist analysis of Cassatt's unique venture into the male-dominated realm of large-scale mural painting, "Modern Woman". Commissioned for the Woman's Building at Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, "Modern Woman" also stood as a personal and professional manifesto. This book undertakes a complete overview of Cassatt's mural, synthesizing a wide variety of interpretations and original observations to present the first complete treatment of the work. Webster connects the symbolism of the painting to Cassatt's life as a woman artist and a member of the Parisian avant-garde, and to the history of woman's emancipation. She ends with a detective story as she joins the hunt to unravel the mystery of the now-missing mural, last known to be in the possession of Mrs. Potter Palmer (of Chicago's Palmer House family).

The artists of Nathadwara : the practice of painting in Rajasthan

Abstract: Introduction: At Home with Shri Nathji Home and the World: Mural Paintings by Nathadwara Artists "By Omkarlal and Friends": The Cooperative Workshop in Turn-of-the-Century Nathadwara Champalal's Sketchbook: A Glimpse of the Temple in Old Bombay Narayan and His Descendants: Family as Framework for the Evolution of Style Ghasiram's Sketchbooks: An Artist's Eye to the Future England-Returned Master Kundanlal The Women Artists of Nathadwara Family Matters Conclusion

Computer aided protection and restoration of Dunhuang Mural

Abstract: The paper proposes a computer-aided way for culture heritage protection and restoration, which is based on virtual navigation and image processing technologies. It first creates the database for the digital information of the cave construction and the mural and also provides some operations, such as insert, query etc., for the database management. In a virtual environment of the cave, users can navigate, mark the disease area, inquire for information about the mural, monitor and analyze the environment data, and also do virtual mural restoration and simulate the mural evolution without damaging the heritage itself. The article introduces the following technologies: virtual construction of the cave, knowledge expression of Mural, interactive disease marking, object extracting, color restoration with mural knowledge, color harmonization for simulating the mural evolution, and also the functions, modules, workflow of our system.

Art for a People: An Iconographic and Cultural Study of Mural Painting in Minnesota's New Deal Art Programs

Abstract: People of the Soil. Life in Grand Rapids and the Upper Mississippi. Favorite Recreations. Early Logging at Koochiching Falls. Production. Discovery of Ore. These murals and dozens more decorate the walls of post offices, schools, hospitals, and town halls across the state of Minnesota from Ely and Brandon to Rochester and Minneapolis (Image 2.5). They show images of men working in Minnesota industries and on farms of different types. Other murals show historical scenes of regions and communities in significant or representative moments. There are scenes of children playing, of men and women dancing, and of Native Americans in their traditional lifestyle. The murals depict scenes in rural areas and in the wilderness, though few urban backdrops. There are even a few rare abstract, surrealist, or more modernly artistic images. In the figurative murals, communities gather together and individuals do their part. Life appears prosperous and steady. Rather than expressing any extreme emotion, either overly happy or sad and distressed, characters appear determined and incredibly focused. Overall, these murals present a fascinating collection of both unmistakable patterns and striking similarities, along with a certain degree of diversity in artistic styles and subject. These are the murals of the New Deal art programs in Minnesota. These murals have been a part of their respective communities for over 60 years, yet few people fully realize the heritage and history that these images carry with them and the significant

Between Modernity and “the Real Thing”

Abstract: In February 1937, American artist Maynard Dixon was invited by the Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and Sculpture, a New Deal arts program, to paint a two‐panel mural for the new Department of the Interior Building in Washington, D.C. The assigned subject matter for the mural was ”themes taken from the activities” of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), a government agency headquartered in the Interior Building. In examining the multiple designs Dixon proposed, this article considers the convoluted politics surrounding the visual representation of Indians and the American West in the 1930s as well as the artist’s own projection of modern masculine malaise onto the bodies of Native Americans. On one level, Dixon’s mural—titled Themes from the Bureau of Indian Affairs—seemingly upheld the ideology of the New Deal BIA, which aimed for a balance between indigenous self‐sufficiency and national assimilation. On another, it critiqued acculturation by visualizing separate, binary identities for Native an...

By the Sword and the Plow: Théodore Chassériau's Cour des Comptes Murals and Algeria

Abstract: Theodore Chasseriau's monumental cycle for the Cour des Comptes in the Palais d'Orsay, Paris, executed between 1844 and 1848, was a crucial exponent of the mid-nineteenth-century revival of mural painting and its concomitant, allegory. This essay proposes that the artist reanimated outdated conventions by structuring the ensemble so as to incorporate visitors into a visual narrative drawing on the vernacular of colonial rhetoric and debate pertaining to Algeria. The testimony of Theophile Gautier, parallels with contemporary discourse, and references to archaeological excavations in Algeria suggest further that the program resonated with themes central to France's involvement in Africa.

Art for the People: The Rediscovery and Preservation of Progressive and WPA-Era Murals in the Chicago Public Schools, 1904-1943

Abstract: Art for the People: The Rediscovery and Preservation of Progressive and WPA-Em Murals in the Chicago Public Schools, 1904-1943. By Heather Becker. (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2002. Pp. 248. Index. Paper, $29.95). The book tells the history of two artistic projects, separated by more than sixty years. First, the book documents the Progressive Era and New Deal programs that resulted in hundreds of murals displayed in Chicago public school classrooms, auditoriums, and hallways. Originally appreciated for their aesthetic, cultural, and educational value, now more than 430 extant murals reflect the social, artistic, and political values of the eras in which they were produced and the artists who produced them. In the early twentieth century, Progressive Era murals were considered one way to improve the conditions of schools. In addition to adding decoration, the murals served as textbooks, teaching Chicago's diverse school population the importance of patriotism, internationalism, conservation, reform, and industrial progress. During the 1930s, the mural programs continued under the aegis of the Federal Arts Program of the Works Progress Administration (WPA/FAP). More broadly conceived than the Progressive Era initiative, the New Deal program aimed to create jobs for unemployed artists and to make art accessible to and appreciated by all citizens. By placing murals in public buildings, through fostering art education, and creating artwork that was accessible in content and style, the New Deal program suggested that Americans needed both cultural and material relief and recovery. The Illinois Art Project became one of the country's largest state WPA/FAP programs, hiring nearly 800 artists and resulting in thousands of murals, paintings, sculptures, and posters. Art for the People relates this history through numerous, lavish illustrations, scholarly essays, and first-hand reflections about the production and impact of the murals. The book describes each extant mural, noting its current condition, location, and creator. In presenting this information, accompanied by many visual images, the book operates to preserve the murals and thereby ensure a lasting record of the murals created during these earlier periods. Essays place the murals into artistic and historical context, describing the stylistic trends and political impulses reflected in the arts programs. Artists employed in the New Deal programs, including Studs Terkel who relates his experiences in the Federal Theater Program, remembers how their participation affected their subsequent professional and personal lives. Although these essays sometimes overlap, leading to a repetition of material, they nonetheless offer many diverse ways to understand the New Deal and Progressive Era arts programs and their local and national significance. …

Goguryeo Culture and Mural Paintings

Abstract: Mural paintings in ancient tombs reflect the past ages. They are a “testimony of history” containing pictures and ideas of those who lived in the past and show the culture of the day as it was. Therefore, it is difficult to understand the paintings without considering the history and culture of those days. Analysis of the formation and content of mural paintings in Goguryeo’s ancient tombs is interlocked with understanding the path that Goguryeo had traveled, i.e., its social and cultural processes. Goguryeo history drew people’s attention in the 1990s. In particular, mural paintings in ancient tombs are emerging as a major subject of study due to their value as materials with abundant content. It is more encouraging that many treatises are being published with Goguryeo’s mural paintings as the subject. However, attempts have not been made to link the mural paintings in ancient tombs, which are the basis of funeral art, to the society and culture of the times (Jeon Ho-tae 1997b). Such an attempt must be made even if only in the sense of just presenting the data for “examination and discussion,” although there are still several areas which are hard to ascertain. This paper was prepared with this purpose in mind.

The materials and techniques of relief elements in john singer sargent's triumph of religion murals

Abstract: Recent conservation of John Singer Sargent’s Triumph of Religion mural cycle (1890-1919) at the Boston Public Library included a significant objects conservation component to treat over 600 relief elements included in the mural design. This paper discusses Sargent’s sculptural materials and techniques and highlights one cleaning treatment demonstrating an intention to balance relief elements with their surrounding murals. Completed in January 2004 by the Straus Center for Conservation, this conservation project provided a unique opportunity to study the artist’s experimental sculptural materials and techniques. On most of the sixteen marouflaged canvases, Sargent applied decorative relief elements to highlight areas of the design, to animate the surface, and to help incorporate the painted murals into the surrounding architecture. Ranging from low relief to near sculpture in-the-round, the relief materials included painted and gilded plaster, papier-mâche, metals, wood, glass, and Lincrusta-Walton (a nineteenth-century wall covering material). Although Sargent was known almost exclusively as a portrait painter prior to creating the murals, it is thought that he did execute these sculptural details himself. Unlike the complex condition of the oil-painted canvases affected by past restorations, the relief elements appeared largely untouched. Structural problems in many of the relief elements revealed the experimental design and inexperience of the artist with sculptural materials. Treatments focused on stabilizing materials and mounting, and removing heavy grime and dust. This large-scale project required a multi-disciplinary approach to stabilize and clean the mixed media compositions, while considering the surrounding architectural ornaments and lighting created by the artist.