ARTS 3260 Mural Painting

This class focuses on the planning and execution of a mural painting on campus. All in class projects will involve thematic research, preliminary scetches to final mural cartoon, design of composition and technical process. This is an intermediate/advanced level painting class. The earliest surviving works of art in the Western Tradition are murals (caves in Lascaux and Altamira). Murals played a significant role in diverse cultures from the Mayas and Aztecs to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in Italy. In the 20th century, mural painting was significantly revived in Mexico after the Revolution; this in turn influenced the practice of mural painting in the United States during the New Deal/WPA period. Since the 1960’s, mural painting has reclaimed its social agency through the Community Mural Movement in Chicago, as well as murals in the Chicano community. This course will present and contextualize these histories in order for the student to understand the distinctiveness of the practice of mural painting from other artistic practices. Simultaneously, the students will be introduced to the technical process of making a mural from preliminary sketch to a completed work on a wall on campus. Prerequisite(s): ARTS 2220
Credits: 3.0