6: Critical Public Art Pedagogy

In 2005, I heard Jane Golden speak about the Mural Arts Program at the PAEA conference in State College. Having been to Philadelphia many times, I was familiar with some of the murals, particularly quick glances at the scenes along the side of the road while traveling down the Schuylkill Expressway. The mural making began in 1984 as an initiative to transform subversive street art into cross-cultural messages of hope. Twelve years later, that part of the Anti-Graffiti Network reorganized into the Mural Arts Program, supported by the Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates.


The Mural Arts Program is about intentional, transformational public pedagogy displayed in more than 3,000 murals. Throughout the art-making process and through interacting with the complete work, the people of Philadelphia are empowered. The following is taken from the Mission page on their website.


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Our Mission Statement
The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program unites artists and communities through a collaborative process, rooted in the traditions of mural-making, to create art that transforms public spaces and individual lives.
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Our Golden Rule
When we create art with each other and for each other, the force of life can triumph.
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Our Palette of Core Values

Art Ignites Change
Art heals, art unites, and art changes minds in a convincing fashion. Art drives the agenda. Great art is never silent, can't be ignored, and serves poorly the status quo.

Stories Must be Told
The sublime power of narrative drives our lives. Stories well told will shine transformative light into dark corners.

We Beats Me
It's simple. We work in conspiring teams whose goal is gestalt. Everything we do is by and for the community. There's no "I" in mural.

It Ain't About the Paint
What we do is deceptively complex. What drives us is the opportunity to help life triumph over the forces of despair. We just happen to be good at painting murals.

Make Promises and Keep Them
We're an ansty bunch, and proactively committed to the commitment to be proactive. When we walk into a room , we walk in ready to make great things happen. And when we say we will, we will.

Take Turns
There is no such thing as not my job. We expect to take on unexpected burdens when it's our turn to do so.

Think Deeply, Create Fearlessly
The surface is something to get beyond. And because we have each other's back, we go beyond in bold fashion.

Expect Permission / Ask Forgiveness
Bureaucracy has its place. Just not in our mindset.

The Biggest Risk May Be Not Taking It
Why look back on a life not lived? We see our chances and we take 'em.

Art Is An Economic Engine
This is not art for art's sake. Our institutional wisdom and intellectual property have value, add value, and are valuable. There's no shame in earning fair compensation for unique professional expertise.

Yo, This is Fun!
We're from Philly. We're for Philly. And we're having a hell of a good time.
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The Mural Arts Program embodies many of the postmodern principles delineated in Gude’s articles. While some murals utilize appropriation, recontextualization, juxtaposition, and layering, they are all about Representin’ the people of Philadelphia through investigating community themes.


In a similar fashion, SPARC (The Social and Public Art Resource) began with a woman, some cans of paint, and a desire to break into the networks of gangs via their chosen art form—graffiti. According to Judith Francisco Baca, “I began working with gang members from different neighborhoods to establish networks between them to promote peaceful solutions to such conflicts. Redirecting gang members’ inclinations toward public expression via my own artistic training as a painter, we began painting murals as a way to create constructive cultural markers.”

The Great Wall of Los Angeles was the first project after the official establishment of the SPARC nonprofit organization. The Army Corps of Engineers asked SPARC to create a mural to line the flood control channel. The longest mural in the world, the project was completed over five summers. During the first summer, “80 youths referred by the criminal justice department, ten artists and five historians collaborated under the direction of Chicana artist Judith Francisco Baca to paint 1,000 feet of California history….”

In working with young elementary students, I would first connect students to the piece through the name. (They are familiar with a different Great Wall.) To explain mural, I would refer to a shopping district in town, Taidong, that is covered in murals. We would then discuss the length of the Great Wall, comparing it to our campus. Sheer size necessitates collaboration. We would talk about how many people were involved in making the wall. What are some of the good things that happen when so many people work together? Do you think there were any problems? What might have been a problem? How might they have worked through that problem?

Looking at sections of the wall, we would discuss the narrative through their observations and feelings. Older students (2nd grade and older) could work with a partner to make a sentence about their section(s) of the wall. Sentences could be strung together in chronological order and read as the class verbal companion to the wall. Ideally, students would be spending classroom time (in social studies or language arts) learning about the culture and history of Los Angeles.

To further connect to some of their lives, I would show images of Cheonggyecheon, a recently restored stream in the heart of Seoul. The canal, below street level, is now a park with some public art projects. We would also discuss a site outside the elementary building that could contain a short chalk mural. Rather than tell the life of a particular people-group or geographic location, we could tell the story of childhood. Even my prekindergarten students can understand a narrative from mommy’s tummy to their 4 and 5 year old bodies. To experience collaboration, we would divide the work up among pairs of students and literally chalk up our campus. (Two years ago, I did a simpler mural component. Students were free in content and lacked the depth of understanding of murals, but independently grouped together and took on some larger tasks.)

With upper elementary students, I would discuss The World Wall. We would look at metaphors in art as an extension of language arts learning of metaphors and similes (such as the picture book Owl Moon). Transferring emotions and ideas into the visual would be a challenge in abstract thinking. The students could look to the symbolism in the created panels for inspiration, along with the orientation and progression from individual to universal. For practicality, I would suggest making work on a small scale, then scanning and printing the works in a larger format for a whole-class display.

Though I do not teach high school students, I would love to use these works in a secondary setting. The World Wall would be an especially enriching experience for our expatriate students. After looking at the plans for the walls, and some of the completed panels, students might be asked:

          If The World Wall came to Qingdao, where would we display it?
          Pick one of the panels for The World Wall. Sketch your own answer to a world without fear.

In collaboration with the Model United Nations class, I would task students to envision their own “world without.” Art students could work as the clients for the MUN students, helping the MUN students by creating a visual representation for solutions to global problems: human rights violations, poverty, hunger, mistreatment of minority groups, AIDS/HIV, and other MUN topics. Completed artworks could be displayed at the MUNiSC conference, held every spring in Qingdao. The emphasis would be placed on making the possibilities visible, just as The World Wall makes peace visible. The show could be titled Envision the Change.

I would also like to engage high school students in a comparison of graffiti, street art, and mural programs such as SPARC and the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia. Some points to consider:

          Which do you find the most aesthetically appealing?
          Who created each piece?
          Who is the intended audience?
          What is the message?
          Which piece is most powerful/has the most impact on the community?
          What are the moral issues for each venue of communication
               (destruction of property v. bureaucratic censorship, etc.)?

Through creative thinking, we could find ways to create non-destructive (and administration-approved) “graffiti,” “street art,” and a semi-permanent or permanent mural on campus to test different spheres of influence.



Assignment: Continue to develop and use the glossary of contemporary art concepts and select a minimum of 3 concepts as the focus to discuss one or more of the “making visible” critical public pedagogy artworks and how you might introduce the artwork as critical public art pedagogy to your students. What would you have them learn or do with the work and in creating their own work? Brainstorm an art lesson, pedagogical approach, or curricular emphasis.

References:
www.muralarts.org
Gude, O. (2004). Postmodern principles: In search of a 21st century art education, Art Education, 57(1), 6-14.
Gude, O. (2007). Principles of possibility: Considerations for a 21st century art and culture curriculum, Art Education, 60(1), 6-17.
www.sparcmurals.org

Colors of Light: Mural Arts Program
The Great Wall of Los Angeles: SPARC Murals
Taidong: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/131692
Cheonggyecheon: NY Times