Lorraine Lezama Lazard
Electronic Media Review, Volume Seven: 2021-2022
ABSTRACT
Large-scale public murals have emerged as particularly important signifiers of contemporary political culture. Their ephemerality however suggests that their messaging has vanishingly small windows for sustained cultural impact since their physical presence and durability are contingent upon multiple factors: ownership of the property on which the murals are constructed and a web of municipal and state laws which govern sizing, and often, content; and for formally-sanctioned murals, the length of display time as well as location.
This project seeks to identify and excavate politically-themed, recently created murals and explore the socio-historical and political contexts in which they were created. It also seeks to determine and document which of these murals should be slated for cultural heritage designation and protection and to formulate specific legal strategies for achieving this goal.
AUTHOR
Lorraine Lezama Lazard
Managing Partner
Studio Conservancy
Boston, MA, USA