Controversy over
Student Mural in Bastrop High School,
Texas.
Students working on left half of the 'extremely
controversial' mural in the fall of 2003.
There was a 'religion' based complaint lodged against the
subject matter of this mural. Painted by a large group of
high school students in 2003, I was not surprised that
something like this would happen, but not five years later!
Doing an artist in residence gig in Bastrop was great,
especially when I think about the great kids that I got to
work with and some great, open minded teachers who were
very helpful. There were reasons to expect anything as I
had been warned and told by several individuals; "this
ain't Austin!" When I painted a mural for the main
administration building I got an indication of what they
meant. It's the first time I do murals with no dedication
ceremony of any kind as well as some other strange
criteria.
The theme of the student mural was "World Peace through
Knowledge and Understanding," so when I heard that someone
had a problem with it I wasn't completely surprised. It was
a visitor to the school. The subject was beyond the
understanding of the young people of the school and would
confuse them Is what I heard. If I remember correctly, the
students I worked with in 2003 were quite intelligent and I
found them easy to motivate as they worked on the mural.
Everything from conducting a survey to construction
(building panels) to research to drawing and finally to
painting. I never disallow any students from participating,
some of the kids I worked with were what they call 'at
risk,' a term I don't like or use myself, but those so
labeled became part of the team along with a bunch of 'A
& B' students. The "best" or the gifted & talented
art students weren't allowed to participate, this was a
first for me. There were other teachers however, who were
cooperative and welcoming of the project, so I focused on
working with them. They realized the full potential of the
mural project. My projects go beyond the production of a
visual art piece, they are designed to be a life lesson on
the importance of education as well as becoming an integral
part of the community, as always. My goal is to stimulate
curiosity, instill pride and always exemplify respect.
During this process several students confided in me that
they weren't staying in school much longer and I spoke to
them quite convincingly, I think, to stay and finish. Later
I found out that those students actually stayed and
graduated, I'm not a school counselor, maybe a street
counselor? Sometimes that's the best kind.
As with all my artist in residence gigs the students did
the research after having several brainstorming sessions to
decide on the subject matter and theme. We conducted a
survey of the school population for their ideas. This is
how I have been conducting projects since the 1970's.
Asking the community what theme would be appropriate for
them ensures that they assume ownership of the piece for
years to come. The most requested theme was Bastrop's
history, so we all researched. I personally interviewed
some very interesting and wonderful elderly ladies and a
gentleman. We obviously couldn't represent all world
cultures, and we discussed being brief and concise. To
represent world cultures we went with the great ancient
civilizations of Stonehenge, China, India, America, Greece
and even the ancient Assyrians. We included children of
different skin colors reaching out toward the viewer,
reaching for our planet and launching a dove of peace
toward the world. The musical notes that run through the
mural are the tune of the Bastrop High School song.
Realizing I'm leaving a lot out, I'll write a detailed
description of the mural in the near future, including
Buddha & Shiva, who we included as cultural symbols
with respect. Congrats to the Bastrop school board for
voting unanimously on June 16, 2008 to keep the mural in
place, as is.
Now you tell me, a positive, in school, learning experience
like this has to have some merit. The ludicrous complaints
and recent attention given this mural made me include it in
my site at this time. There are quite a few more murals I
haven't included, particularly school murals that I have
done that may be included in the future, they all have
their story. It's all good!