Student Toolbox:
What can you tell us about the mural you selected? Using your eyes, your previous knowledge, and the questions below. The toolbox below is loaded with questions to focus your analysis. You will need to use everything in the toolbox in order to do a complete analysis.


Context
What is the Context of the mural?

  • Social context- Who are the people who made it? How does it fit into the community?
  • Physical context-Where is it?
  • Political context- What is it's purpose? Does it sell, promote, inform, insprire?
  • Historical context- When was it made? What difference does that make?

Visual Elements
What do you see? How do the light, color, form, and size together create an impression?
  • Color-How is color used?
  • Scale-What is the scale? How does it compare to other media?
  • Light-How did the artist use light? Is one area brighter?
  • Lines and Forms- Where do the lines lead your eyes? Do you see solid, stable shapes or lots of curves and diagonal lines suggesting unrest and movement?



Presentation Tips
The suggestions below will help you with your presentation.

  • Try pointing to different parts of the mural to illustrate your point.
  • Juxtapose two murals or your mural and other image to make comparisons
  • Don't get caught up in what you think the artist was thinking when they created the mural. Talk about what you know from your eyes and from your background in mural analyzing.
  • Learn more about murals through sources on the internet.
  • Before you jump to conclusions about what the mural is about- describe to your class what you see step by step. Then describe how these elements together (color, line, context, etc.) create a visual impression.