RUNNING HEAD: THE BEAUTY OF THE URBAN CANVAS​ ​1

The Beauty of the Urban Canvas

Makenna Tavis

Arizona State University

THE BEAUTY OF THE URBAN CANVAS

Abstract

This paper provides insight to demonstrate the significance of a mural located in Downtown

Phoenix. It serves to describe the visual elements, rhetorical situation, and context involved in

the mural. This paper also explains the importance of community murals in urban areas. It

provides an understanding as to what the murals message is and how the artist demonstrated it.

Keywords:​ Human pollution, Phoenix, Native American

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The Beauty of the Urban Canvas

Upon walking along North First Street, one would find an exquisite and detailed mural

located in Downtown Phoenix. Immediately, one's eyes would move directly towards the

colorful and detailed images upon the mural. The mural showcases the contrast between

industrialization and nature. There are several images of the effect that human pollution has on

earth. It features the unpleasant sight of factories, and smog while showing the beauty in earth's

landscape. In an overwhelming scale towards the center of the mural is a Native American

woman who appears to be pregnant with two infants. The mural serves to provide the message

that humans are not respecting earth and instead taking advantage of it. Murals are significant

due to the fact that they bring the community together, it serves to remind people to stop amidst

the busy hustle of city life and to appreciate the true beauty in life.

The artist of the beautiful mural is Roy Frank Sproule III. Roy worked for the U.S. Air

Force as an avionics technician and decided to volunteer over 2,000 hours of his time to the

blank concrete wall by painting the beautiful art piece (“Big Mural at Valley Youth Theatre”).

While admiring the stunning 69 x 11 foot masterpiece, the first element that one would perhaps

notice is the geniusly crafted color coordination. The factories and buildings are of a grey and

black color. This develops the idea that man-made things are otherwise grotesque and harmful

towards the earth. Natural figures such as plants, animals, and rock formations have a light

appearance and contain colors such as blue, green, and red. This contributes to the theme that

earth-like things are natural and serene. The colors show an extreme contrast to one another

which evolve the murals true message. The beauty in the mural is also due to the formation of
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the lines and scale of the mural. Upon viewing the mural, one would see the extensive scale of

the woman in the center. The scale of the Native American woman to buildings are unnatural but

prove that the woman is superior to the buildings. In Native American culture, women are

appreciated and acknowledged to the true extent of their powers. Native American women are

honored and respected, “..like mother earth, who provides everything we need to live and to

thrive, the woman is able to give everything a human child needs. She nourishes, she loves, and

she protects”(“Native Hope”). In this mural, the mother represents mother earth; mother earth is

in control and in charge and the people in the community are her children. The shapes and lines

in this mural suggest constant movement and restlessness. The shapes and figures in the art piece

are wavy and contorted. This suggests that earth is constantly evolving and changing over time.

The earth is always growing, moving, and changing and with new movements in urban areas and

industrialization, nature is being disrespected and mistreated.

While looking at the mural it is obvious to see that factories and human pollutants are

destroying the earth. The artist provides pathos by the image of the dramatic and enormous size

of cracks and ridges in the earth's surface that was caused by these pollutants. The artist was

trying to persuade the community that they are abusing earth, and he was right to do so, in fact,

“Humans have destroyed a tenth of Earth's wilderness in 25 years” (Vaughan, 2016). The rapid

abuse of humans is eliminating the beauty in earth. Downtown Phoenix, home to skyscrapers,

traffic, and smog, is actual living proof that the earth is being dishonored and treated with a lack

of respect. The artists supplies logos due to the location of the mural. The mural is set in the most

urban of areas which provides logic that what the mural is suggesting is more than true. In fact,

the location of the mural is quite ironic. Shadowing the art piece is a monstrous and intimidating
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skyscraper. This dedicates to the theme that nature is being overpowered by the advancement of

skyscraper, and pollution. This element makes the mural's message accurate and truthful. The

artist develops his ethos by his confidence in his art piece. The shapes and images he chose to

paint are dramatic and exaggerated which shows that the artist knew what he was doing, and was

confident enough to show his message. The purpose of this mural is to respect and care for the

earth, not sabotage earth to its extinction.

The location of the mural is significant to the idea it's trying to persuade. Maricopa is the

“..second largest county with the largest number of American Indians” (“History”). The center of

the mural showcases the cultural belief of Native American mothers. It features the belief that

Native American mothers are the warriors in the world, “..​women are revered as beautiful and

powerful because they are the givers of sacred life” (“Native Hope”). ​ This mural fits perfectly in

the Downtown Phoenix community. The mural is facing the driver’s side of the road, making it

impossible to miss; this mural was meant to be seen, as it should. This mural is also set in a dirt

lot so the contrast to the bright colors of the mural make the murals presence obvious. The

artist's purpose of this mural is to inspire the community of Downtown Phoenix to take care of

the earth, not destroy it.

This mural is worth viewing, it encompasses historical content while providing a lesson

to its community. Murals are important to the community. They bring its members together and

reminds people that the world isn't just artificial and manufactured. The world can be beautiful

and creative, people just need to put in the work and truly appreciate what the world has to offer.

The mural contained several elements that made the mural as successful as it was. The artists

used rhetoric to develop his argument and message. The mural was painted for the main purpose
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to remind the community that earth takes care of the community, so the community must take

care of the earth. It is important to know that at the rate humans are at of destroying the earth, the

possibility of the earth going extinct from its members are more than a possibility.
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References

Big Mural at Valley Youth Theatre (2010) Retrieved from

http://dtphx.org/2010/10/25/big-mural-at-valley-youth-theatre/

History. (n.d). Retrieved from

phxindcenter.com/about/history/.

Native Hope. (n.d.) Retrieved from

Blog,​ blog.nativehope.org/celebrating-the-power-of-native-women-and-native-mothers.

Vaughn, A. (2016) Humans Have Destroyed a Tenth of Earth's Wilderness in 25 Years – Study

Retrieved from

www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/08/humans-have-destroyed-a-tenth-of-eart

hs-wilderness-in-25-years-study.