For the 15 students in a new interdisciplinary class this semester, the murals common throughout East Harlem have deeper meanings than passersby might realize.
The students, taught by assistant professors Ananda Cohen Suarez, history of art, and Ella Maria Diaz, English and Latino studies, studied the murals all semester and presented their research at a Dec. 4 event unveiling their exhibition, 鈥淰isualizing El Barrio,鈥 in the Latino Studies Program offices on the fourth floor of Rockefeller Hall.
Cohen Suarez, who lived in New York City during graduate school and admired the murals of East Harlem and the stories behind them, had the initial idea for the course. She and Diaz conceived it as a means of bridging their mutual interests in Latin American, Latino and Chicano art and literature.
Winning fellowships from Cornell鈥檚 Engaged Learning + Research program for 2014 inspired the class鈥檚 community engagement components, Diaz said.
Students in an interdisciplinary class studied murals in New York City's El Barrio, learning about neighborhood aspects such as culture, history and preservation, and organized a new campus exhibit.
鈥淲e facilitated field trips to view new Latino murals in Ithaca for our students, toured the student murals at the Latino Living Center, and learned about the Day Hall takeover and the Johnson Museum exhibit, 鈥楻evelaciones,鈥 curated by Chon Noriega in the 1990s,鈥 she said.
Known as El Barrio, East Harlem is a traditionally Latino neighborhood that is home to one of New York City鈥檚 largest Puerto Rican communities and has experienced gentrification in recent years.
鈥淢urals originated as a way of empowering communities,鈥 Cohen Suarez said. 鈥淭hese original murals exist alongside many new murals that are being produced and others that have been whitewashed. This course has explored the push and pull between permanence and ephemerality in the urban landscape.鈥
To prepare for an Oct. 25 field trip to New York City to view the murals and talk with residents and artists, students studied literature, architecture, history, preservation efforts and the artistry of the culture and the community.
The class attracted students from diverse majors. 鈥淗aving everyone come from a different background and perspective was important to the process,鈥 said Morgan Walsh 鈥16, a history of art major. 鈥淭he artists in our class talked about the mural techniques, architects explained how the buildings were designed, and English majors could talk about the history of Latino poetry.鈥
Walsh focused her final project on artist James de la Vega 鈥94鈥檚 鈥淗omage to Pablo Picasso,鈥 incorporating a scene from Picasso鈥檚 鈥淕uernica,鈥 depicting gruesome suffering after Germans bombed the Spanish town of Guernica during World War II. De la Vega added playful elements to the painting such as Yankees helmets and fire hydrants, and Walsh thinks the work might serve as a reflection on the modern-day violence that takes place throughout low-income communities.
English major Spencer Holm 鈥16 chose a mural of Latino rapper Big Pun, who died in 2000 and is immortalized at the corner of 103rd Street and Lexington Avenue.
Holm researched photos of the mural in advance, but was surprised to find that Pun鈥檚 face had been whitewashed since the photos were taken. He and others spoke with community members, including a local bookstore owner, about the harmful impact of whitewashing.
鈥淭he bookstore owner said, 鈥榰nless you know the undocumented backstory of a whitewashed mural or storefront, history fades,鈥欌 Holm said. And most of these murals aren鈥檛 well documented.
Walsh said the class had made her appreciate all sorts of public art that she might have ignored before. Holm said the interdisciplinary nature of the course made him familiar with 鈥渢he artwork, culture, politics, economy and conflicts of those streets.鈥
Cohen Suarez said the class structure and collaboration allowed students to explore the course material in greater depth than in a traditional class.
鈥淎 typical history of art class focuses on slides and lectures,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o this course inspired us to completely re-conceptualize how and where learning can take place.鈥
This article originally appeared in the .
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