Guest commentary: Menifee, Murrieta lack colorful artwork
Peter Thorwarth stands next to a blank wall that was intended for a mural in Murrieta. By Peter Thorwarth Imagine living in a world where ...
By Peter Thorwarth
Imagine living in a world where everything is the same color. Tan, for example.
If you live in Menifee or Murrieta, you don't need to use your imagination. Virtually every building - residential and commercial - is a shade of tan.
Some color and visual relief would come from having colorful public art. This past year, my wife and I traveled to over 175 places in the U.S. and Canada. Menifee and Murrieta are the ONLY places that don't have at least one large outdoor mural. Those two cities each has over 100,000 people. We've been in towns with as few as 8,000 people that have nice murals. I have the photos to prove it.
There are additional ways to add color that are used almost everywhere EXCEPT FOR these two cities. For example, helping to arrange for local artists to paint utility boxes. Outdoor statues can also be a nice colorful addition.
Many scientific studies through the years have concluded that public color is good for a community. One states, "Colorful environments can be visually stimulating and uplifting. Vibrant colors have the power to evoke positive emotions, enhance mood, and create a sense of beauty and harmony. Surrounding ourselves with a variety of colors can make our living spaces, cities, and natural landscapes more appealing and enjoyable." In addition, colorful public artwork can be inspiring for children.
I put the blame for the Menifee and Murrieta community blandness on the local governments. They need to show initiative in this regard. In Murrieta, the library has a large space that was MEANT to have a mural when the library was built over 20 years ago. Go take a look at it. It is a large (blank) wall space facing the parking lot. Three lights there that have been shining every night for DECADES on a wall where the library's fundraisers and designers wanted a mural to be painted. Even though the City owns the library, it has taken no steps to fulfill that expectation.
There are good people at the City Halls, but some hold off on supporting murals and other public art because of these excuses:
a. "The paint will fade in this sun." Visit San Diego or even Temecula or Elsinore. Mural painters in all of those places know the right non-fading paints to use.
b. "What about cost and maintenance?" Thousands of dollars are available as grants. Set up an escrow account for future maintenance if you like. Graffiti is unlikely to be a problem - I could show you hundreds of photos of murals that have never needed retouching. It's generally understood that people who do graffiti respect artwork and leave it alone.
c. "It might offend someone." Naturally the designs would get approval first. And if 10 people out of 100,000 complain, they should be reminded that is the nature of Art - it won't appeal equally to every person.
The Murrieta and Menifee Arts Councils can help, if given support, cooperation, and indications the City will help push these things along. But there's also no reason the City Halls cannot be the prime movers to get this underway.
Contact YOUR City Hall and say,"I want more color in my city!"
Here are some examples of colorful artwork in cities across the country:
Carlsbad, California
Santa Cruz, California
Winnemucca, Nevada
Idyllwild, California
