Joplin Community Mural

When I looked upon the Joplin Mural, I was surprised on how massive it was and how much it towered over me. It gave me a sense of interest and awe when I tried to describe what I thought the mural meant to me. I think this would be in a regionalism classification. The mural reminds me of a strong local community, which some might consider to be a family. I feel that the mural represents a warm and family oriented community.

This massive mural is currently in the process of being painted and is to be dedicated on September 25^th 2011. It is located in Joplin, Missouri on the corner of 15^th and Main Street. As I was gazing upon the mural I had the pleasure of speaking to the lead artist behind this piece. His name is Dave Loewensein. However he was not the only one doing the work. There were others helping him out working on certain sections of the wall. He then mentioned to me that they also had the help of over 300 volunteers in the beginning. So it has definitely incorporated the community as well.

The Mural is dedicated to the citizens of Joplin. It is part of a tour put together by the Mid-America Arts Alliance, whose goal is to establish community-based murals in several parts of the country. Although the mural was planned before the May 22nd tornado, there are some elements from the tornado represented. “Our project has always been centered around the opportunity for community driven art to inspire, remember, and envision. As Joplin begins its long process of recovery, our project and how it can engage the community, may be more relevant and useful, pertinent and powerful than we could have imagined.” –Dave Loewenstein

"What is the first thing that you notice about the mural in Joplin? It’s big and it’s colorful, but does this really do anything for the overall piece or is it a bit much? When I ventured out on the public painting days, the mural was more or less a blank canvas, excluding the outline. I believe, upon first seeing the work, my initial response was, “Eh… it’s a mural.” The people around me, contributing to a valiant community art project, gave me a wonderful feeling… the lines on the sizable wall of Dixie Printing, did not. I felt that it was bland and lacking (reasonably and unreasonably so, since it was far from completion).


Fast forward a couple weeks, and this is my first time seeing the mural since then. Standing in front of this laudable piece, I realize that in my naivety I had made a hasty judgment. I feel as if I didn’t realize how big it actually was during our last encounter, but now that it has considerably more paint on it, it looks larger than life. The colors are loud and vivid and demand attention from every passerby. The size ties in well with the colors of the piece as well, giving the vibrant forms enough surface area to play while also chiming in to demand attention. The composition is playful and organic, but also brave in the sense that they didn’t play it safe with the forms; it seems as if the artists involved went all out and held nothing back. Which works because, after the recent disaster, that’s what the people of Joplin need: freedom, courage, play and to be able to walk into a kaleidoscopic scene while being embraced by color every step of the way." -Jordan Malcolm

The Butterfly Effect (which is considered a working title as of now and may change in the future) is a fitting name for the mural in Joplin because of how one event leads to another, whether that event is a pleasant one or not so pleasant. The imagery of the butterfly is used throughout the mural to help guide the view through the story being told, or drawn, by the children of Joplin. The events that have happened to Joplin through history have only made the town stronger and the effect of the most recent event is left in the hands of the children of Joplin.