Visiting these murals and examining them really put everything the Runquist’s looked to accomplish into perspective. The main themes that I would like to discuss that stood out to me in the murals include issues of diversity, place making and how it relates to history, and the civic identity it brings to the university. When I first look at the murals, I noticed the people and the activities they were doing, and with further examination I was able to see the natural progression of the tolerance of race and even gender. The first few pictures at the bottom showed mostly white males but as the mural progressed upwards, more women were included and race was not an issue even though race wasn’t very heavily involved in the mural in general. As issues of diversity are a hot subject today, public art has sometimes had to conform to not being controversial in any way, “Public culture can be contentious, especially in a country that values individualism, freedom of expression, and First Amendment rights, and yet also prizes communal experiences and relationships” (Doss 10). In the United States we do not like to talk about diversity and our past with gender roles or racial identity but these murals did a good job of incorporating how we have been able to progress into an accepting culture, and that is something that we should model at this university. With scandals like just recently at the University of Oklahoma regarding race and Ferguson as well as the way women are treated in today’s culture, it is important for us to acknowledge our tendencies and address them to see where we would like to be eventually. These murals show how far we have come and where we hope to be one day with issues of diversity.
When you walk up and see the murals, it is hard to disregard their presence and recognize how the art can challenge you and take you to different places. In “Public art controversy: Cultural expression and civic debate” by Erika Doss, she mentions “Public art is seen as a solution to the problem of placelessness, especially in its ability to remedy social alienation and generate a sense of civic and community identity” (Doss 5). With the location of the library, it provides a useful piece to make it stand out and provide a place for people to not be stuck in one place as the mural can take someone through different time periods and discover what today was supposed to look like. While this may not be the best distraction from studying, it does provide a learning experience and challenge previous thinking. These murals also provide a civic identity to the university by representing what the university wants to express while recognizing what we have learned from in the past. These murals include a few fun things that are still related to the university like the Mighty Oregon fight song in the Development of the Arts mural but also is a strong representation of how the university pushes students academically but also provides a unique experience by discovering and recognizing what we have done. Doss mentions what public art means and its representation, “Usually located in visible public spaces, organized by public committees, frequently funded by public dollars, and intended for multiple audiences, public art is, by definition, the product of public feedback. It centers on dialogue—on the expressed interests and issues of particular groups” (Doss 6). If these murals are based on public feedback, than the identity of the university at the time of this art and today is still a natural progression between how we have been able to learn from art and science and the importance that plays now and forever.
I never had to examine public art before this and it has really made me appreciate the effort and responsibility it takes to make the art. Furthermore, I recognize the importance of this art as it challenges everyone and helps us form opinions on important matters. Public art has become more encouraged and is something that should be more recognized by people today.
