For so many times that I passed the entrance of the library or stood at the stairwells, I never paid much attention on the Runquist Murals, just quickly looked through and left. This week’s reading and assignment actually provide a fantastic opportunity for me to truly see those murals and receive a better understanding for the two murals as well as the development process of arts and sciences.
When I first carefully look at both murals, the first thing came into my mind was the basic frame of the painting, the tree. For both paintings, the huge tree acted as the main structures which divided people into different stages. The different stages show the development process of arts and sciences in different period of time. For both paintings, the bottom of the tree shows early beginning of human societies and the top of the tree shows the flourish development after several stages in the middle. For “Development of the Arts”, the bottom stages use cave and stone to show that in the earliest period, people create paintings on cave and stone to express the aesthetics value of arts. On the middle stages, those music instruments and Egyptian architecture shows the expansion of the forms of arts. On the top stages, those books and presentations shows arts expand to education and modern areas. Although the painting did not have space to show every single development of arts, I still can clearly feel the expansion and improvement of arts in different period. For “Development of the Sciences”, the wood and stone on the bottom show that how human use wood and stone as their primary resources to create fire and weapons. The wheels and clock on the middle stages show the development of science technology which push human society to move forward. The microscope and modern buildings on the top stages show the development of science in current world. When I look at both of the paintings, I can clearly see the changes from different time period from early stone age to modern period. I think Runquist brothers want to show the audience of view of development history of how the world of arts and science had been developed until today.
The reading from this week “Public Art Controversy: Cultural Expression and Civic Debate” enhance my understand about public art and I can relate this reading to Runquist Murals. In the reading, Doss pointed out that public art can shape and enhance the development and identity of human society. Doss stated “As an instrument of public conversation, public art can become a catalyst for civic and national revitalization. Often because it is controversial, public art can play a central role in shaping and directing community identity. ” (Doss, 10) Public arts can express the development of human society just as Runquist Murals show the development of arts and sciences. As an audience, I can feel and experience the whole development process of our society from viewing those public arts.
Also, when I look at Runquist Murals, I was thinking about why those paintings as public art can be put in a library or other public areas such as shopping malls. From the reading, Doss actually discuss the placemaking of public arts. Doss stated that “Miwon Kwon explains, public art has been charged with generating place-bound identity and lending a sense of distinction and authenticity to the nation’s ever more homogenous public spaces.” (Doss, 5) Doss also stated the critics and historians argue that “a spectre of placelessness characterizes many of today’s built environments; shopping malls, airports, office parks, and housing developments are so similar that is hard to distinguish one from the other.”(Doss, 5) I agree with Doss’ solution on this problem that public art can be a useful way to distinguish those places. Just like Runquist Murals, every university has library, but only the Knight library has the original Runquist Murals.
In addition, the reading also answer a question for me that why is public art so controversial. Doss stated that “In general public art controversy relates to the essentially conversational nature of the art itself…It centers on dialogue on the expressed interests and issues of particular groups and that dialogue can be contentious.” (Doss, 6) Doss pointed out the a natural reason that why public art is controversial that the dialogue in the public art can be contentious. As an example of public art, Runquist Murals might also experienced controversy such as displaying places. Public art will show to the public which means the number of audiences can be huge and the feedbacks from audiences is hard to predict.
After reading Doss’s article and viewing Runquist Murals, I believe that public art is a very good form to express the unique identities of different places and in the mean of time when the audience are viewing those public arts, they are actually experiencing the inner characteristics of the public arts as well as the places.