A Mural for Hope.

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this service-learning project was to engage in a community-based arts project in El Salvador to foster the arts and provide the El Salvadoran youth an avenue to explore alternatives to the troubled environment of El Salvador. Specifically, with the collaboration of the student body of a local public school, I designed and created a mural painting that seeks to play a role in advancing community development as well as raising social awareness about the country’s identity in a national and international context.

Summary

Over the years, the University of Indianapolis has been characterized by education for service and the act of inspiring excellence. In order to highlight these extremely significant characteristics, I created a project through the Honors College that allowed me to utilize the knowledge and different skills that I obtained during my studies at the university to serve the community of El Salvador. I utilized different skills that I learned through my marketing courses in order to inform people about the development of the project. Additionally, I employed the crucial knowledge I learned in my different fine arts and graphic design courses to create the finished mural as well as to plan successfully the execution of the final piece. This was an amazing opportunity to bring into play different areas of visual communication I am interested in to reach a specific goal.

This project aimed to provide others an opportunity to become a part of something positive that could give them a desire to aspire to greater things. As I developed the project, I became passionate about the idea of becoming a part of something bigger than myself. I wanted to share this feeling with others. I wanted to impact the lives of the people of my home country as well as the lives of the student body at the university.

Symbolism and Meaning

The overall symbolism of the mural focuses on encouraging the viewer to imagine a better future for the youth of El Salvador and consider the different elements that can be involved in achieving this future. Accordingly, the focal point of the piece is a smiling boy and a girl holding hands. (all the compositional elements in this piece lead to this point) This embodies the equality of both males and females and the happiness and optimism that can be obtained by standing equally in any endeavor. They are both standing on top of a wall that contains negative symbols of violence and gang activity.

These symbols are white, reminiscing bones, and are crossed out, suggesting that they are dead. The children are standing on top of the wall of the negative imagery, implying to the audience that they have surmounted and defeated these obstacles on their way to a better future. This new era is represented by a rising sun directly positioned behind the children. Furthermore, these negative elements are dead due to the joyful message these children are carrying.

In front of the children, there is a microphone that represents this powerful message. Concentric circles that visually represent the voice of the children radiate from the microphone. Subsequently, within the propagating waves, (the voice) the meaning of the message can be found. The message is comprised by the elements that can overshadow the unconstructive and lead to something better.

The first space in the voice is typified by the arts, denoting that an involvement in the arts can offer children an avenue to escape from the troubles that plague the youth.

The second space depicts symbols of labor. True progress is achieved through steadfast determination and hard work. In addition, El Salvador is known to be a largely agricultural country that grows cotton and coffee. This space also seeks to praise the hard labor of its people.

The next space combines books and butterflies. The books represent education and the butterflies represent hope and change. A beautiful, beneficial change can be achieved through education. Next, doves, which symbolize peace, harmony, and freedom, can be seen flying.

Ultimately, in the foreground, a crowd of people celebrate this message, encouraging the audience to become a part of it.

(40 x 7 house paint on concrete)