This is my first time seeing these Runquist Murals in the Knight Library even though I have been to the library so many times. It was a shame that I never seen these murals. They are very different from the online version and the real ones. It took me quite a while to scan all the details on the murals where some I have to come back and look them up online because they are a lot of details that I don’t want to miss out.
The first I observed was the Development of Arts Mural. It was very fascinating on how the mural was developed from the bottom to the top. The colors and the light are in the perfect combination where it remind me of Artifact 7: Spirituality. The light mixing with the color make it more spiritual and I would say that the artists had some spirituality influenced.
“public art is as diverse as the people who view it”, a statement said by Doss in her article Public Art Controversy. I would say that diversity is clearly shown in the murals where I can find people in different ages, occupations, genders and races. Moreover, the audiences would be a large number as the murals have a wide range of diversity.
What really interest me most in this mural is the bottom part as they are the beginning of arts where I as a foreigner have a little information about. It is very thought-provoking on how each era develop into another era and how much we have changed. Also, the man in the middle at the bottom looks like he is the roots of everything and looking at how we have changed.
Then, I moved to the Development of Sciences Mural where I can feel the different right away. I feeling is exactly opposite to another mural. The mural was painted in darker tones and presented in a darker lighting which it gives more seriousness. Also, the man in the middle at the bottom is also facing down with his hair covered his head. It looks really scary to me. I noticed that there are very few females in this mural where she appears to be holding a baby and the rest of the men are working. This really shows something that men are the only sex that works since the beginning and women are they to support the men. I really having a hard time figuring out what they are doing in some panel such as the bottom right. Some of these are very educational and can show a lot of our history.
I really pleased that finally I once seen these murals and as a foreigner, I might have a different opinions on some aspects but I believe that we all are getting more clear about public arts after viewing these murals whether in real life or online.