A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
(Wikipedia)
Recently I watched a lengthy documentary about the life of Frida Kahlo. I’m not a fan of Frida, but I try to be attentive to all arty things whether I like them or not. It always gives up something interesting & you can always learn something.
In all honesty, I knew about her husband Diego Rivera long before I knew about her. I arrived at Frida because of Diego. But in the case of this documentary, it was the other way round. Diego was twenty years older than Frida & much is made of the difficult nature of their relationship; its complications, affairs & yearnings are not things I could cope with in everyday life. The drama of Frida’s misfortunes, illnesses & injuries is offered up as subject matter, with very little left to the imagination at times. That aspect of her work I like. The starkness & accessibility appeal to me. Her portraits have good qualities too.
One of my problems with Frida are the people who ARE fans. This is often the way with me. If people are too gushing, too keen, too obsequious, it puts me off. I’m perfectly aware of this & the danger is you can miss out on something quite good if you’re not careful. But I am careful & I do the reading & I watch the documentaries. What Frida’s fans tend to do is turn her into a victim. Terrible things happened to Frida, yes & yes, she documented many of them in her art. But to turn her into a feminist icon because her husband treated her badly seems misplaced (I think they both treated each other badly at certain points). Terrible things happened to Frida, but she made them into art. She rose above the pains of her life to create something lasting which speaks to people decades on. The pains of her life are relatable but it’s the work that makes her special.
Anyway, I’m not going to blog about Frida haha – I want to look at murals, which Diego happened to be very good at.
Diego Rivera (1886-1957), Detail: From the Conquest to 1930 (1929-30) & Dreams of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park (1946-47)
Things have gone so far Frida’s way in the current mainstream art perception that the brilliance of Diego can nowadays be overlooked. A sometime communist, revolutionary & activist, he was a crucial part of the movement of Mexican Muralism. The Mexican Revolution was a key influence on this artistic movement & Diego used his art to criticise the political aspects of society. In the interests of fairness, Frida’s in one of these.
The Glasgow Mural Trail
Often, the trouble with a mural is you don’t know who the artist is. It’s as if the temporary nature of a painting on a wall is as transient as life itself. They can’t all be Banksys or NuArt artists. Sometimes you never find out. Sometimes they are just there to be enjoyed. Then again muralists are nowadays often commissioned to create works by city councils & happily the artists become famous as a result. There exists a uniquely inclusive aspect to murals & street art, whereby residents & citizens develop a relationship with the art they see every day.
ROA, The Sacred Crane
Gracing the walls of Hanbury Street in Brick Lane, this beautiful painting began life as a heron. Its story proves the point about the interaction between people & the images around them. The Bengali people living nearby asked ROA if he was painting a crane. On learning of its sacred status in Bengali culture, he continued to paint it as a crane.
Zabou, The Glitch (Clockwork Orange)
Just imagine this suitably creepy image of Malcolm McDowell’s Alex bearing down on you! Get yourself to Shoreditch & you can do just that.
Gamma “Gamma Gallery” Acosta, Denver, Colorado
Denver boasts some spectacular murals & street artist Gamma’s work is technically incredible. Realistic, often political & human.
MurWalls, Ian Rush (2022)
When we were at school & if you were a football fan, you “had” to pick your Scottish team (obviously) but also an English team. Mine was (obviously) Aberdeen FC for Scotland & Liverpool FC for England. I’d visited Liverpool with my parents as a child & really loved it. I soon loved Echo & the Bunnymen & Ian McCulloch was a Liverpool fan. They also played in red. So it was an easy choice really. There may have been times I’ve regretted being so passionate about football because it’s often desperately disappointing, but there was never a time when I regretted picking the teams I did. Ian Rush remains my favourite Liverpool legend (346 goals, fact fans) & he’s still an ambassador for the club. This fantastic mural of the great man is placed right opposite Anfield Stadium; it’s a testament to his brilliance that it’s in such a prominent position, especially since there’s a trail round Liverpool of important players.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), The Last Supper (c. 1495-1498)
On the other hand of course, sometimes a mural is so famous it’s a bit of a cheek to name it as such. The decrepitude of one of Leonardo’s most well-known works is a metaphor for the fleeting nature of life, religion & art. As our interest in the material world gains ground over spiritual possibilities, so The Last Supper wanes…
Comments
Post a Comment