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The Kaposia Times
This mural, located in the Chroma Zone at 715 Raymond Avenue, St. Paul MN (Imníža Ská), was created by Marlena Myles in 2021. The mural consists of one wall split into four sections. Starting from the left: we see outlines of buildings making up the Minneapolis skyline above and behind some clouds – both (skyline and clouds) sitting behinds some branches of a sycamore tree with a few leaves. We also see stars in the sky as well as some native flowers in front of the skyline. The next section showcases a lighter blue from the background as the Minnesota River and Mississippi River, as well as a sailboat, tipis, and a heron around the water with additions of a horse, more flowers and stars. The next section to the right - and the focal point of the mural – depicts a Native couple sitting on a bench, reading the news entitled “The Kaposia Times” along with the text “Imníža Ská” which translates to “White bluffs/cliffs” and is the Dakota word for St. Paul. They both are wearing clothing that appears to be a fusion of Dakota and English styles, and the paper’s date of 1851 references the treaties such as the Treaty of Mendota and the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux that were signed the same year, perhaps accounting for the English influence in clothing. The couple are also both decorated with flowers in their hats and they both have traditional Dakota braids as well as moccasins. In the background we see a few more tipis and more of the Mississippi. The final section highlights the St. Paul skyline with added detail of the First National Bank Building, more stars, and a moon in front of the clouds the buildings sit behind. Below the clouds, we see more native wildlife – three buffalo as well as another horse and its tracks and two tipis. The layout of the mural is such that your eyes immediately go to the couple in the center, as the bench and woman’s dress contrast with the blue background. From there, you can follow the Mississippi to the left or right, towards St. Paul and the horse and buffalo, or towards Minneapolis – seeing the horse, heron, and sailboat, seeing stars and tipis either way. The mural utilizes many pastels, such as the blue background, pink and purple flowers, the sail, some buildings, horses, and the woman’s clothing. The stars are all yellow and oranges for leaves with some earthy tones like browns and tans used for the man’s clothing and top hat, buffalo, tipis, building, boat, stems, branches, and leaves. The use of color and palette is very similar to Marlena Myles’s “We Are On Dakota Land” bus, as well as similar design elements like the horses and some flowers. Her use of color refreshing and very unique to her, and if I had to describe it in one word, it would be optimistic. The mural utilizes very defined lines, with everything but the stars and curvy rivers being outlined in thin black lines, most being straight, other than the braids and curved items like flowers and animal bodies, making the mural detailed and defined. The mural was painted on a brick wall but that is very smooth allowing for an easy viewing experience. The lines of the brick are still defined, but the faces of the individual bricks are relatively flat, likely allowing for an easier surface to paint on. However, the wall’s structure has some additional texture as two sections stick out from the wall and this space is used to continue the mural, but towards the bottom is also the perfect size spot for an added flower (the same on each part sticking out). Myles also created depth on the mural by placing the items relative to each other, for example, the sycamore tree branch is right in your face, and behind it sits the buildings and clouds of the Minneapolis skyline. One can tell they are behind the branch because Myles places a leaf in front of them to partially cover up a building and cloud. The flower on the left-most wall also sits in front of the Minneapolis skyline, adding more depth. Other examples include tipis being different sizes to show distance and the heron and St. Paul sitting in front of the Mississippi. The foreground consists of plants and wildlife, the middle ground is the people, buildings, and clouds, and the background is the two rivers and a solid darker blue for the rest of the background.