On Halloween, a group of us went on a two hour tour of the public art around Ithaca downtown. We were shown murals in parking lots, on electrical boxes, on random building walls, and underneath a highway. Each mural was uniquely composed, some with messages attached and others simply a design or picture left to interpretation. One mural across from a Marriott in downtown depicted five male Native American leaders each representing a different area from this region. Each figure holds an object representing unity and peace among them and the new settlers of that time. Among the murals located in downtown Ithaca, our tour guide specifically mentioned this one to have been the most controversial. When first painted, there were and still are five main males. However, criticisms occurred due to the fact that these specific Native American groups were matriarchal, meaning they were led by females. To appease those who didn’t like the patriarchal depiction in the mural, the artist went back later and painted strawberries both on the main image as well as along the sides and borders of the mural to represent their actual female leadership. I found it interesting and odd that the artist didn’t learn about their matriarchy beforehand while conducting background research. However, I’m glad the artist went back later and added those much needed changes in order to make the mural more accurate.

Another piece on the side of a building facing a main road depicts a young boy and woman working on an agricultural field. This piece was chosen out of many submissions to represent a part of the Latino culture. I particularly enjoyed this mural because of how it was made, which was by using little tiles to create a mosaic. The colors of the sky and the reflection of the sky on the body of water are also beautiful as they give off a relaxing and aesthetic appeal of agricultural work. Although the work itself is very difficult and physical, the piece manages to successfully balance the back-breaking work feel with a peaceful, picturesque feel. This piece also makes me very grateful for the many hours dedicated farm workers all around the world spend to grow food for their communities. It also makes me wish that there was a greater abundance of extremely convenient local food shops or farmers markets in major cities instead of huge chains such as Whole Foods, Publix, Safeway, Costco, etc. Hopefully, this mural will also awaken these and other thoughts in people who walk by it. In general, I think art helps instead of harms those who keep open minds to interesting ideas and perspectives, so I’m very glad that Ithaca is so accepting of public art with thought-raising messages and wish more cities would follow their lead.