Mural Planning

As I research, I am planning the mural I will create. I plan to paint at Austin's only legal graffiti wall, Castle Hill (HOPE Outdoor Gallery.) I have heard rumors from local graffiti writers that the site is being torn down and developed into expensive apartments in January, but I sincerely hope this is not true. Despite its reputation as a city that fosters creativity, Austin is surprisingly lacking in public art spaces such as this.

Due to Emme Tenayuca's affiliation with the communist party, I began my research by looking at Soviet propaganda posters. The powerful visuals and colors of Soviet posters have always fascinated me, and I wanted to create a mural in a similar style, emulating the movement and action suggested in them. In focusing on older posters, I also hope to reflect Emma Tenayuca's period of activism, particularly the 30's Pecan Sheller's Strike.

From here, I explored other posters from Emma Tenayuca's activism period. Both of these are from around the time of WWII.

I feel that I have pretty poor results so far. Coming up with a mural design in the middle of exams and final papers is tough.

studies of poster line work and composition

I am debating between a very simple image that focuses on the figure of Tenayuca herself or an image that attempts to incorporate some of her work and vision into the piece. Either way, I want to suggest the prominence of the jail cell in her early work, since I feel that her bravery and sense of humor about her imprisonment is a key piece of her character. 

Emma Tenayuca in front of her jail cell in San Antonio. Image credit: Briscoe Center for American History, UT Austin.