Browse Items (4 total)

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  MemorialMinneapolisMuralMusic...4 more

  Crown Our Prince

  Hiero Veiga's portrait captures three different “looks” of Prince. He uses vibrant colors, natural forms of floral patterns, and intricate details to emphasize the uniqueness of the artist’s identity and persona. Scale immediately impacts where viewers choose to stand as they view this piece; because of its size, we will take a step back, in hopes to “take in” all the mural’s qualities. All three of the depictions of Prince are far larger than life size, with the image of Prince standing with a guitar taking up more than half of the entire piece. The image of Prince that appears closet to the viewers because it is brought to the foreground of the mural (also known as overlapping), gives a sense of personal connection to the musician, and allows us to make eye contact and absorb every detail of his purple top, jewelry, strands of hair, etc. Veiga is once again paying attention to form in the context of detailing, as the ends of each strand of hair and the feathers of his pink scarf are very delicate. Veiga also chose to make the image of Prince that is most iconic or identifiable as the primary subject, so cars driving from multiple blocks away, or those walking on high floors of a building, are still able to easily understand who the mural is dedicated to—those that are standing below it, of course, get the full experience. Veiga also made the stylistic choice of having the largest depiction of Prince looking straight on to the audience with a fierce gaze, amplifying the emotional power; however, the smaller Prince images have their heads slightly turned sideways or showing his side profile, which creates a more sensitive or realistic version of his day to day persona. Though he is posing in the far-right image, we can see his facial hair is fuller, and his hair is styled more freely, which exudes a feeling of rawness or humanization to the mural.
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  Lake StreetMinneapolisPablo Kalaka

  Chimborazo Is Here

  In Pablo Kalaka’s "Chimborazo is Here," Kalaka’s vibrant style is evident with his use of bright and highly contrasting colors. The wall itself that the mural was painted on has differing depths, with the front wall of Aspro Auto Sales protruding out from the larger wall of Amaana Adult Daycare Center. As an observer taking in the large mural as a whole, the eye first travels to the piece of “canvas” closest to the observer, which is the awning protruding out from the auto sales office, which Kalaka painted a shingle-like effect with various pinks and reds of various sizes and depths. Below the awning, on the wall of the auto sales office, Kalaka uses the natural set up of the business to set his scene. He paints vibrant green and blue shutters around the existing windows, and paints his own window scene, where he paints a man and a woman appearing inside the building, accommodating the request of a young patron on the outside of the window. On the left side of the mural, Kalaka creates depth with his placement of Mount Chimborazo in the background and an Andean Condor in the foreground. Preceding the mountain, Kalaka lays several wavy, horizontal lines. These lines are filled in with light blue in the foreground and fade into a darker blue close to the mountain, giving the visual of moving waters. Billowing clouds rise up around the snowcapped mountain. The bird and the surrounding vegetation flow into the upper portion of the wall and a continuation of the foreground. The lush vegetation and wildlife settles in behind the illusion of a local business with a beautiful Chimborazo view. Kalaka gives the illusion of the lush vegetation from overlapping and stacked leaves and flowers. Colors pop in this section with bright and contrasting greens and blues of leaves versus oranges and reds of flowers and a cardinal. Kalaka places two other people on the mural as well. On the far right side of the mural, he painted a woman cloaked in magenta, wearing a hijab with detailed natural creases and shadows. Around her, the illusion of wind is given by Kalaka, with garments and fabrics given a billowing effect, as they appear to be blowing in the wind while being hung out to dry. On the side wall of the protruding auto sales business, not visible when viewing the mural from “head on”, Kalaka paints a man walking next to the blue trimmed front door of the business. Like the woman’s hijab on the opposite side, the man’s clothing is given impressive detail and depth with the use of wrinkles and shadows. The man appears old, with a visibly wrinkled face and cane in his right hand.
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  Lake StreetMinneapolisMinnesotaPablo Kalaka

  Pablo Kalaka YWCA Abstract

  This very colorful mural on the YWCA building in Minneapolis is a very energetic piece of art that brings life to the brick wall. The artist has chosen to use a very bright color palette with colors such as orange, pink, red, purple, black, and blue to make the wall stand out and give the dull brick more character. The mural is made up of many figures and shapes such as hands, lines, circles, and assorted curves that move and connect with each other and the other shapes. The design and use of these figures give the mural a playful tone with a lot of motion and moving parts making the wall very dynamic. Rather than a realistic scene, the artist goes for a more abstract approach for this mural and uses the color and shape to express more emotion and meaning. The big contrasts with the color palette and the many moving parts in the picture draws attention to the wall as a whole and not just to one specific or central part of the mural. The dynamic parts could be some kind of symbolism for a sense of community or teamwork. Overall, the mural gives much creativity and color to an otherwise bland and generic brick wall. The abstract style leaves messaging up to interpretation. The art work helps the building feel more welcoming with symbols of community, creativity, and togetherness in a very publicly visible area
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  Franklin AveImmigrationIndigenous artMinneapolis...3 more

  Defend, Grow, Nurture Phillips

  The Defend, Grow, Nurture Phillips mural is located on Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis, which is in the Phillips neighborhood. This mural was painted on a large, wide building. The mural's focal point is six indigenous people painted in the center, with a woman breastfeeding and holding her out her hand, as the main figure. There are many generations represented, including two elders (the last two people on the right). There is a man to the left of the breastfeeding mother, another woman with a child in front of her to the right of the mother, a man to the right of the woman and child, and another woman to the right of the man. Sunflowers, along with other plants and flowers, surround the people, forming a square with one large sunflower at the far-left edge. The sunflowers depict scenes that are of importance to the community. The people are all facing to the left and appear to be in protest. Two large triangles are pointing to the right and left, which are formed near the group of people. Inside the triangle pointing to the right, there is a silhouette of people protesting. The left side of the mural depicts mountains in the background and items representing disruption, gentrification, and destruction. The right side of the mural depicts water with tepees being reflected in it and buildings behind the more modern tepees on the top. There are constellations on the top and bottom, along with circular stars with figures depicted in them. There are also northern lights in the top right. The main tones of the mural are earthy browns and reds with cool tones on the right side.
  The composition of the mural has people as the focal point, depicted at the mural's center, with the mother being the focus. The balance of light and dark shades of paint for the skin tones adds depth and creates a sunshine-like effect. The two triangles balance the scenes depicted on each side, which also creates symmetry. Another point of symmetry is the square made up of flowers and plants that surround the people. The four sunflowers create a square around the people in the center, which also adds symmetry. The tepees in the reflection of the water, along with the constellations, balance the buildings above them. The mountains and flowers appear to be distant in the background of the people. The middle and foreground are used to display the people and sunflowers, with one larger sunflower displayed in the background. The dark brown triangles add depth to the images displayed. The protest silhouette is in the middle ground. The contrast of light and dark on the far-right side adds depth. The oil, gun, crane, needle, danger sign warning against arsenic and lead, and barbed wire are in the foreground and part of the middle ground. The tepees are in the foreground, and the buildings and other tepees are in the middle ground. The stars and constellations are in the background and foreground.
  Yellow curved lines outline the people, which show their importance and make them seem like they are surrounded by sunshine. Curved lines over the tepee represent waves, which create a sense of peace and tranquility. There are also straight lines that are formed by the two large triangles, creating a frame around the people and a visual sense of direction to the scenes depicted on both sides. The straight lines of the barbed wire in the bottom left corner point at the mother, who appears to be deflecting them along with the oil, gun, and crane. The curvy lines of the constellations and northern lights at the top right are reflected in the water and represent nature now and then. The paint adds texture through the sharp appearance of the barbed wire and the hook attached to the crane. The thin brush strokes of the feather attached to the headband on the child’s head make it look soft and fluffy.
  The colors in the mural are very earthy in their tone. The mountains and hills displayed on the left use brown, peachy tones, which give it a very peaceful tone, contrasting with the filth and desecration of land shown in the bottom left corner with unattractive tones and themes. The scene on the right uses cool tones, which could represent water and bring a calming message. The dark blues used in the top left corner are meant to show the impacts and changes due to colonization. The bright colors around the people show that they are full of light and connected to the earth through the flowers. The yellow shows that the people are full of light.