discover ››
students Chloe Barber, Madison Mayle, and Michaela Riffle on researching, designing, and painting the mural under the instruction of Professor Joel Dugan, chair of FSU’s Department of Architecture, Art, and Design. We tried to reimagine the lives, struggles, and identities of the people of Marion County, and we chose luminaries—people who shine bright—who initiated change in our county. The mural features symbolism in a cross- stitched rhododendron, a map of the park, and a luminary design. The cross-stitching represents the sewing trade that many women took part in, and the luminary design depicts the art of punching holes in materials to shine light through in a decorative fashion. The map highlights the location of the mural as a frame of reference. All of the imagery lies atop three organic color waves that reference the movement of the Monongahela River as it flows by the park and the natural shades found in West Virginia. “As someone who ended up with a suitcase full of pictures when my elders died, I found myself putting together the pieces and trying to reimagine the life, the struggles, and the identity of these people, and I think that probably is true to what we attempted here,” Dugan says.
“While our focus was on history, diversity, and art, the collective focus was unity through all of them,” Barber says. “We tried really hard to dig deeper than skin, and I think that’s what’s really important, that all of these characters are portrayed in black and white,” Dugan says. The grayscale used to render the figures creates a unity between races, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds. “We are taught that diversity is valuable because, like us artists, not all of us have the same style or medium. Yet when we put a gallery show together, it fills a space in a collectively unique way,” Barber says. Our group hopes the piece will serve to unify the citizens of Marion County. “When somebody can come to the wall, they can ask questions about the icons that are infused into the piece, and that will spur more research and more active investigation into those people,” Dugan says. We completed the mural
DIVERSI T Y W FAIRMONT Unity Through Public Art Four Fairmont State students embrace diversity in a new park mural. five historical fairmont residents now gracing a wall in the city’s Palatine Park celebrate the diversity that has made West Virginia what it is today. Famed musician Johnnie Johnson stands alongside Tuskegee Airman Colonel George “Spanky” Roberts, abolitionist Julia Pierpont, and the city’s last surviving slave, Harriet “Aunt Hat” WilsonWhitely. An anonymous coal miner representing the roots of so many West Virginians rounds out the group. The 28-by-80-foot mural is the work of four Fairmont State University students, including me—I had the fun of working with my fellow
over the summer, and it’s now free to be enjoyed by visitors to Palatine Park. written by maralisa marra photographed by carla witt ford
30 wvl • fall 2020
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online