Running head: TAKE CARE OF MOTHER NATURE

Taking Care of Mother Nature

Jacky Walldez

Arizona State University

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A mother, right in the middle of the 2,500 square-foot wall catches my attention as I walk

outside. I remember seeing this mural when I moved in back in August however I never sat down

and really put some thought into it. I pass this mural multiple times, each time staring and

admiring, then quickly getting to class. The amount of detail and design created by local artists

Jeff Slim, Angel Diaz, and Averian Chee could honestly take pages and pages to talk about,

however I will only stick to what stood out to me the most as I finally sat down to analyze this

mural for the first time.

Right away I see a Native American mother with two babies in her womb. The babies

seem to be a baby blue shade, definitely a deeper meaning than simply children in her womb.

There are plants and vegetation all around her along with little animals. The bright colors in the

front moving from left to right cause a nice flow while looking at the mural. My first impression

was that this mural was definitely about nature and life. The size of this mural is in fact quite

large measuring 2,500 square-feet. The large scale mural was meant for the sole purpose that it

will catch peoples attention and their message will travel through the community of downtown

Phoenix. There is so much going on in this large scale mural. Thankfully the colors used helps

the viewer break down the large image into smaller portions. We can notice very bright colors

that stand out in the very front going off each side of the mother. The back is all a shade of

brown and not much attention is drawn to it. However in the far left side of the background we

see a few shades of dark black and gray. Like the bright red, gree, and orange colors in the front,

these contrasting dark colors stand out. Lighting is also used to draw the viewer into specific
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areas of the mural. For example, the left side is grey and dark and as you move towards the

center things brighten up. The mother in the middle is lit up pretty bright due to her light blue

babies that attract a lot of brightness. Finally as you keep moving left things seem to still be

getting brighter, then finally it almost seems to dim back down. The lines of the mountains that

separate the ground from the sky, serve the viewer as guidance and helps the movement of the

mural from left and right. The lines of the clouds also crate some movement and flow allowing

the viewer to also move away from the center. Clearly the center is the most attractive scene

however the visuals around it are very important and in order for the viewer to see left and right

of the mother and cover all 2,500 square feet, the clouds and mountains help create a flow of

movement to these areas.

The mural is presented in a way to attract viewers to the importance of nature and water

and that factories are the death or nature. It is presented in a very large scale to attract the

viewers attention. Once broken down, there is a lot of pathos connecting the viewer to the mural.

Kairos is also applied as well as ethos and logos. The authors of this artwork would be local

artists Jeff Slim, Angel Diaz, and Averian Chee. Right off the bat I did not know who these

people were and therefore do not give much credentials and a sense of credibility. However by

looking at the mural we can see that clearly it was someone who knew facts about the

environment. This is where ethos comes it and we try to figure out why should we trust these

people. As we take a closer look we can see that it was made by people who knew about the

history of America due to the Native American mother. We can also see that it was someone who

knows about how we get our electricity today and some bad effect that it has on the world. We

can somewhat conclude that these people are probably very credible. Anyone who loves animals
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or nature will have an immediate connection and agree with the theme of global warming and

therefore find these artist credible. The audience would be the community of downtown phoenix,

in particular college students who pass by every day. The assumption about the audience would

be that they are young college students studying how to make the world a better place. By

placing this mural here and attracting college students, hopes of some awareness and change to

the environment is placed on these young individuals. The purpose of the mural serves to create

a sense of awareness, by bringing in aw in beauty and anger at the black smoke that will soon

destroy the beauty of nature. That is how pathos was used. Kairos was used in the scene that

global warming is becoming more of a problem now a days and something needs to get done,

hence targeting college students to help educate them and promote them to act. The rhetorical

analysis used in this mural are very effective. I would say pathos was the most evident in making

the viewer feel a need to act.

The artists of the mural are part of the Estria Foundation who are partnered up with Black

Mesa Water Coalition, Tonatierra, PUENTE, The Phoenix Revitalization Corporation, and many

more. This plays a role in the mural because it helps add a lot of credibility knowing these artist

are partners with corporations. This murla is placed on Valley Youth Theater beside Taylor Place

on First Street and Filmore Avenue. Here every month on the first, large crowds of people from

all over phoenix come to celebrate First Friday. All these people pass by the location. The

purpose was to bring about awareness to the people of downtown to try and keep our waters safe

because it is essential for all forms of life. It inspires people to keep the beauty of nature by

promoting them not to pollute. This mural was made Sunday April 28, 2013. The south west

water crisis was occuring in 2013 and therefore this mural had a huge and slightly different
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meaning than what can be interpreted today. Saving water and being more cautious about it

would be the message you would get from it back in 2013, slightly different than what we would

today in 2019.

The mural place behind Taylor place brings about awareness for our water. It has brought

about a lot of confusion and overwhelming feeling at first since it is such a large piece with so

much going on, however the colors, lines, and lighting help the viewer breakdown the mural and

get different emotions from different sections. This piece is worth viewing for every college

student and every member of the community heading to First Friday because global warming and

water shortages are a real threat to our community. This mural can be a fun way to get informed

if someone doesn't want to sit down and read a book on water and the damages global warming

and water shortage has on a community. By getting informed individuals can work towards

making the world a better place for themselves and for future generations.
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References

(n.d.). Retrieved from

https://downtowndevil.com/2013/05/06/45057/valley-youth-theatre-mural-water-writes-th

e-space-between-dpp/

Dpj. (2013, April 25). Wire | Valley Youth Theatre Hosts Water Mural Series. Retrieved from

http://downtownphoenixjournal.com/2013/04/25/wire-valley-youth-theatre-hosts-water-m

ural-series/

Loomis, B. (2018, March 22). As the River Runs Dry: The Southwest's water crisis. Retrieved

from

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/investigations/2015/02/27/southwest-water-

crisis-part-one/24011053/

Phoenix Mural Reminds of Water's Value. (2013, May 09). Retrieved from

https://azatty.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/phoenix-mural-reminds-of-waters-value/