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Murals in Baltimore City

Baltimore and Art

In America, Baltimore is popular for two reasons. OneFirstly, it is the largest city in the

state of Maryland. TwoSecondly, it is the largest autonomous metropolis in the United States.

Concerning art, it is not among the most popular names despite its riches. In reality, art is age-old

practice in Baltimore, and the same been growing in both quality and demand (Striner and

Melissa Blair 40). Although not public, the town is awash with diverse and manifold artistic

designs. In particular, one cannot fail to recognize by a single visit the vastness of its murals,

which are unfortunately steadily fading away. It is important to state that murals have been in

this metropolis for centuries, and, as such, locals have accepted them as one of their own. In the

past, they were highly adored by every member of the society. In fact, many residents labored to

have them in their homes. Men and women, including children, cherished them. In brief, it was a

symbol of oneness, creating the sense of community. However, this long cherished artistic work

is near its utter destruction, for reasons not explicitly understood by most residents. Several

forces including politics and the media threaten its ultimate demise.

Public Attractions to Murals

There is enough evidence to authenticate the fact that murals have always captivated the

hearts of the locals. Firstly, most homes have mural paintings – some on the floors while others

on the walls. Besides, the fact that most paintings in various households are still original-like
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reveals the ardent desire of most residents to maintain the artistic work. Secondly, most offices

have maintained the murals, even some governmental offices. Thirdly, there are some public

walls bearing the murals. Lastly, at the seaport, most if not all ships bear the art.

One of the reasons why murals have become so popular and much embraced by the

residents is that they make homes animated (“Baltimore, City of Murals”). To simple-looking

households, they give them heaven-like appearance. They also add color and taste to houses, and,

as such, elevating their general outlook. TwoSecondly, they have been instrumental in

obliterating negative vices, such as racism, in the society. For example, public murals like that of

Martin Luther King have usually encouraged togetherness. ThreeThirdly, Baltimore residents

have forever loved murals because of their richness in communicating to them about their past.

Lastly, murals have always reflected the grievances of the society.

In Baltimore, there are several organizations founded primarily to promote and maintain

the culture of murals. A good example is the Baltimore Mural Program, which continues to

promote the practice by employing experienced youths as well as volunteers. Majority of these

institutions are private. Each year, the city is often awash with celebrations festivals –

communities coming together to celebrate about their history as depicted by the murals. People

flood museums and other sites just to remind themselves about their past. These celebrations and

gathering normally foster peace, cohesion, and unity.

Media Coverage of the Growing Murals

The media has been doing an excellent job in terms of covering the emerging mural

designs. Local dailies and magazines alike have often dedicated some pages for such arts. The

biggest challenge however has been the cost of advertising evolving trends. While some dailies

freely though rarely devote certain sections for these arts, some have relentlessly demanded cash
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prior publication. On the other hand, television channels have really been poor in capturing the

budding trends. In fact, it is quite difficult for one to see murals highlighted on televisions. Radio

stations have done better than both the print media and television networks in airing about the

rising styles. For example, some local stations have been hosting mural artists, devoting their

time on the challenges they face, their contribution in the society, and giving them opportunity to

discuss about issues they would like the government to address concerning their domain.

Social media is the only platform where current mural techniques are fully covered.

Organizations as well as individuals have taken advantage of the power of social media to

disseminate new methodologies. One of the social channels mostly used is Facebook partly

because of its wide housing of most locals. Some have also posted their techniques on YouTube,

Twitter, and Instagram. In brief, from a critical perspective, social media coverage of the

growing murals has largely outperformed other media channels.

Billboards have also been a good source of creating awareness about the emerging

murals. The main drawback of billboards has always been that they are traditionally expensive;

accordingly, rarely used. Like television outlets, they have skimpily represented the rising artistic

techniques.

Political Leaders and Removal of Murals

From the beginning, politicians have been against the proliferation of murals in

Baltimore. One of the reasons they have leveled against them is that they depicted them as

unfitting in office, and so, threatening their grip on power. Accordingly, murals that displayed

issues, such as unemployment, poor leadership, and rising insecurity, became subjects of attack.

While some confrontations to the artistic works were explicit, most of them were implicit. For

example, a politician could entice an organization to eliminate murals on its buildings in

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exchange for government support. The previously mentioned is the most commonly used

methodology in the city today, and is swiftly wiping away murals from the society. Another

reason why politicians hated murals was the fact that they educated the society on their rights,

and in this way, their potential of getting back to office were lean, as many people would now be

familiar with the truth.

Present-day campaigns against murals have become so sophisticated. Politicians are

using several avenues, such as the media, to oppose the proliferation of murals. They are also, in

disguise of face lifting the town, replacing the murals with other paints, such as those of famous

politicians. It is thereforeThat is why it is certain that murals are bound to fade in the society.

Reasons why Locals are Against Eradication of Murals

For decades, murals have been fundamental to the residents of Baltimore. One of the

reasons why locals want them maintained is that they are a great reminder of their past (Williams

10) For example, there are several murals depicting the root of Africans in different parts of the

city. TwoSecondly, locals are passionate about maintaining their culture. It is good to state that

murals have existed in Baltimore for many years. FurthermoreMoreover, residents regard them

as their treasured possession, and as such, they are not willing to part ways with them.

ThreeThirdly, murals have been instrumental in propagating unity. Fourthly, murals have offered

employment opportunities to many residents, for that reason, eradicating them would increase

the rate of unemployment. Lastly, many people regard them as a medium for conveying

knowledge as well as updating the society on the current trends. In summary, Baltimore residents

are utterly against the notion to eliminate murals in their metropolis.

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Works Cited

“"Baltimore, City of Murals.”" The Darkroom Exploring Visual Journalism from the Baltimore

Sun RSS. 2013. Web. 13 Aug. 2015..

Striner, Richard A., and Melissa Blair, Melissa. Washington and Baltimore Art Deco a Design

History of Neighboring Cities. Baltimore (Md.): Johns Hopkins UP, 2014. 84-91. Print.

Williams, Celeste. “"Washington and Baltimore Art Deco.”" Journal of Architectural Education

(2015): 150-51. Print.

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Dear Jack,                                

I checked the completed order and here are the comments:
- The order does not contain major formatting mistakes. Well done!
- The language of this work is simple and, at the same time, academic. Please, continue your
improvement.

However, please, pay more attention to the following issues:

- Please, pay more attention to the alignment and margins in MLA. Double-space the text of your
paper. Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. Please, study
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
- Please, pay more attention to the structure of the sentences and the word order.
- Please, pay more attention to the appropriate words usage.
- Use commas to set off transitional expressions and similar elements that are not essential to the
meaning or the structure of a sentence.
http://www.slideshare.net/DDDavenger/greggreferencemanual Please, study Slide 16.
- Use commas to set off descriptive expressions and similar elements that are not essential to the
meaning or the structure of a sentence.
http://www.slideshare.net/DDDavenger/greggreferencemanual Please, study Slide 1.
- Please, do not use the same words all the time. Try to replace them with the synonyms. You can
use http://www.thesaurus.com/ to find the appropriate ones.
- Please, do not use archaic words or terms. Young native English-speakers do not use these
words. Some are hence, whereby, nevertheless, henceforth, hereunder, therefore, thus.
- MLA citing error. Please refer to Purdue Owl on how to cite books in MLA
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/
- MLA citing error. Please refer to Purdue Owl on how to cite electronic sources in MLA.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
- MLA citing error. Please refer to Purdue Owl on how to cite articles in periodicals in MLA.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/07/

Due to the corrections made and repetition of grammar mistakes, your bid constitutes
75%.                    

Regards,
Maryna