Part of the student’s education in the Mural Crew, Schork explains, is learning to deal with criticism from the public. Especially when a mural is still in the outlining stages, reactions from passersby range from praise to indifference to annoyance. There is also the danger of graffiti: While most finished murals are left alone, unfinished ones are often vandalized. Browder explains that her group ran out of time last summer and had to leave their mural in Fields Corner, Dorchester incomplete. Soon after, their work—including her portraits of fellow students and community members—was covered in graffiti.
Still, community support for the mural crew has grown over the years. Parents are especially receptive to the chance for their children’s work to be given a public forum. “My mother loves it that I’m here,” Guillery said. “She’s always bragging about it.”
The city also has always kept the program well-supported. Schork, in fact, praises Mayor Thomas M. Menino with all the enthusiasm of someone who still depends on City Hall for funding. “I attribute the entire success of the program to the mayor,” she said. The BYFMC has not become one of many arts programs tragically struggling in an era of budget cuts, perhaps because of its public utility—in addition to adding color and vibrancy to neighborhoods and employing city youth, the BYFMC contributes to the development of the next generation of artists and arts patrons. “After all, the museums can’t just depend on a homogeneous population of guys in bow ties,” Schork remarked.
For the student artists, the program’s most immediate usefulness is developing a sharper means of expression. Ariana Barr, an aspiring musician, credits her time on the mural crew for an expanded knowledge of all arts. Deborah Browder says that painting makes her a better writer. And Devon Guillery hopes that painting will help him in the field of graphic design. “I used to only draw in black and white,” he says. “This got me into color.”
“Futures Begin.”
Through May 5, 2002
Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont St., South End, Boston
visual arts
Futures Begin
Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont St., South End
Through May 5