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Muralist

Creates large-scale paintings on walls and public surfaces — transforming neighborhoods with art.

Did you know?

Mexico's government declared Diego Rivera's works historical monuments, and his huge murals still cover the walls of the National Palace in Mexico City.

How subjects help

Art & Design: Scale up a small sketch into a huge wall painting that looks right from across the street.
History: Research a neighbourhood's past so a mural tells the story of the people who live there.
Communication: Talk with local residents and turn their ideas into a design everyone can share.

A famous name

Diego Rivera: Mexican artist who painted huge public murals, like the Detroit Industry murals (1932–33).

Try it yourself: Hunt for textures and make a rubbing picture

Put paper over something textured and rub the side of a crayon gently across it until the texture appears.
Collect at least five different textures on separate bits of paper, using different colours.
Tear your rubbings into pieces with your fingers and arrange them into a picture, like a tree made of bark and leaf textures.
Show someone and see if they can guess what made each texture.

Printmakers and scenic painters build surfaces from texture, pressing or painting them so a flat sheet or a stage flat looks like wood, stone or brick.

Adapted from Frye Art Museum: Tracking Down Texture activity.

Also try: Photograph one object three ways.

Known for it in

Mexico, USA, Brazil, Italy, UK