A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco , mosaic , graffiti and marouflage .
92-417: Marine Parade Community Building ( Chinese : 马林百列社区综合大厦 ; pinyin : Mǎlín Bǎiliè shèqū zhōnghé dàshà ) was a community centre located at 278 Marine Parade Road, Singapore . Opened on 6 March 2000, it houses the formerly separate Marine Parade Community Centre and Marine Parade Public Library , as well as a performing arts group, The Necessary Stage . Designed by William Lim Associates , one of
184-443: A component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example, the ⼓ ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏ ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of
276-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst
368-653: A dialogue and hence solving the cleavage in the long run. The Indian state Kerala has exclusive murals . These Kerala mural painting are on walls of Hindu temples . They can be dated from 9th century AD. The San Bartolo murals of the Maya civilization in Guatemala , are the oldest example of this art in Mesoamerica and are dated at 300 BC. Many rural towns have begun using murals to create tourist attractions in order to boost economic income. Colquitt, Georgia
460-664: A famous series of twenty-seven fresco panels entitled Detroit Industry on the walls of an inner court at the Detroit Institute of Arts . During the McCarthyism of the 1950s, a large sign was placed in the courtyard defending the artistic merit of the murals while attacking his politics as "detestable". In 1948, the Colombian government hosted the IX Pan-American Conference to establish
552-407: A few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure, a practice which has always been present as
644-623: A huge human eye plastered on a wall, made up of tiny mosaic tiles arranged by computer-aided design . Surachai's abstract piece was the winner in the "Art on Wall" design competition, organised by the Marine Parade Community Club Management Committee in 1998. A panel of international judges picked the winning design from a total of 66 entries submitted by artists, architects and designers from all over Southeast Asia, including 40 entries from Singapore. Led by local art historian T. K. Sabapathy,
736-702: A key role in contemporary wall painting. Such graffiti/street artists as Keith Haring , Shepard Fairey , Above , Mint&Serf, Futura 2000 , Os Gemeos , and Faile among others have successfully transcended their street art aesthetic beyond the walls of urban landscape and onto walls of private and corporate clients. As graffiti/street art became more mainstream in the late 1990s, youth-oriented brands such as Nike and Red Bull, with Wieden Kennedy, have turned to graffiti/street artists to decorate walls of their respective offices. This trend continued through 2000's with graffiti/street art gaining more recognition from art institutions worldwide. Many homeowners choose to display
828-416: A mural in their home. This is not an activity exclusively for owners of large houses. A mural artist is only limited by the fee and therefore the time spent on the painting; dictating the level of detail; a simple mural can be added to the smallest of walls. Private commissions can be for dining rooms, bathrooms, living rooms or, as is often the case- children's bedrooms. A child's room can be transformed into
920-610: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as
1012-573: A part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui , the broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ),
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#17327941036301104-410: A particular style and the artist may adjust to the appropriate technique. A consultation usually leads to detailed design and layout of the proposed mural with a price quote that the client approves before the muralist starts on the work. The area to be painted can be gridded to match the design allowing the image to be scaled accurately step by step. In some cases, the design is projected straight onto
1196-496: A proper theatre space for productions. The arts group's facility at the community building features a "Black Box", a stage-less theatre with flexible seating. The NAC spent S$ 2.1 million on construction costs for the unit at Marine Parade, which includes a foyer and the 120-seat Black Box. Overall, the architectural form of the Marine Parade Community Building has been described as a " dragon ", with
1288-426: A relatively effective tool of social emancipation or achieving a political goal. Murals have sometimes been created against the law, or have been commissioned by local bars and coffee shops. Often, the visual effects are an enticement to attract public attention to social issues. State-sponsored public art expressions, particularly murals, are often used by totalitarian regimes as a tool of propaganda. However, despite
1380-550: A series of communities, mainly located in New York, that have walls dedicated to the people who died. These memorials, both written word and mural style, provide the deceased to be present in the communities in which they lived. Bragg states that the "murals have woven themselves in the fabric of the neighborhoods, and the city". These memorials remind people of the deaths caused by inner city violence. Many people like to express their individuality by commissioning an artist to paint
1472-456: A technique whereby a painting or photographic image is transferred to poster paper or canvas which is then pasted to a wall surface (see wallpaper , Frescography ) to give the effect of either a hand-painted mural or realistic scene. A special type of mural painting is Lüftlmalerei , still practised today in the villages of the Alpine valleys. Well-known examples of such façade designs from
1564-404: A thin layer of wet, fresh, lime mortar or plaster . The pigment is then absorbed by the wet plaster; after a number of hours, the plaster dries and reacts with the air: it is this chemical reaction which fixes the pigment particles in the plaster. After this, the painting stays for a long time up to centuries in fresh and brilliant colors. Fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster ( secco
1656-476: A variety of ways, using oil or water-based media. The styles can vary from abstract to trompe-l'œil (a French term for "fool" or "trick the eye"). Initiated by the works of mural artists like Graham Rust or Rainer Maria Latzke in the 1980s, trompe-l'œil painting has experienced a renaissance in private and public buildings in Europe. Today, the beauty of a wall mural has become much more widely available with
1748-698: A wall in an old building, once a prison, at the top of a cliff in Bardiyah, in Libya. It was painted and signed by the artist in April 1942, weeks before his death on the first day of the First Battle of El Alamein . Known as the Bardia Mural , it was created by English artist, private John Frederick Brill . In 1961 East Germany began to erect a wall between East and West Berlin , which became famous as
1840-438: Is clad in a huge wall mural, a commissioned work of art by Thai architect Surachai Yeamsiri. The mural is Singapore's largest piece of installation art , measuring 63 metres by 12 metres (207 feet by 39 feet), and covers the curved north- and east-facing façade of the community building. Called the "Texturefulness of Life", the artwork made use of a variety of materials such as glass and wood. The artwork's centrepiece resembles
1932-480: Is "dry" in Italian). The pigments thus require a binding medium, such as egg ( tempera ), glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall. Mezzo-fresco is painted on nearly-dry plaster, and was defined by the sixteenth-century author Ignazio Pozzo as "firm enough not to take a thumb-print" so that the pigment only penetrates slightly into the plaster. By the end of the sixteenth century, this had largely displaced
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#17327941036302024-406: Is a café on the ground floor, and the library is fitted with numerous couches and benches for the public's use. Other facilities include multimedia stations, do-it-yourself service stations, and music posts equipped with headphones. The Necessary Stage was the first arts group to be housed in a community building with a community club by Singapore's National Arts Council (NAC). The move was part of
2116-494: Is a large advertisement on or attached to the outside wall of a building. Wallscapes can be painted directly on the wall as a mural, or printed on vinyl and securely attached to the wall in the manner of a billboard . Although not strictly classed as murals, large scale printed media are often referred to as such. Advertising murals were traditionally painted onto buildings and shops by sign-writers, later as large scale poster billboards . Murals are important as they bring art into
2208-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌 'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊ 'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,
2300-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with
2392-609: Is equipped with a glass-walled gymnasium overlooking part of the East Coast Parkway , a covered basketball court on the rooftop and an air-conditioned sports hall. There are also a 263-seat theatrette , a roof terrace for gatherings, and music, study and activity rooms. Opened on 10 November 1978, the Marine Parade Community Library was originally located at the town centre of Marine Parade Housing Estate before it shifted to its new premises at
2484-466: Is later set aside to let the clay dry. Once dried, the canvas and the shape can be painted with your choice of colors and later coated with varnish. As an alternative to a hand-painted or airbrushed mural, digitally printed murals can also be applied to surfaces. Already existing murals can be photographed and then be reproduced in near-to-original quality. The disadvantages of pre-fabricated murals and decals are that they are often mass-produced and lack
2576-813: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at
2668-405: Is often a unique experience for an individual not usually involved in the arts. In the 1980s, illusionary wall painting experienced a renaissance in private homes. The reason for this revival in interior design could, in some cases be attributed to the reduction in living space for the individual. Faux architectural features, as well as natural scenery and views, can have the effect of 'opening out'
2760-623: Is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c. 100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However, the body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to
2852-547: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,
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2944-630: The Berlin Wall . While on the East Berlin side painting was not allowed, artists painted on the Western side of the Wall from the 80s until the fall of the Wall in 1989. Many unknown and known artists such as Thierry Noir and Keith Haring painted on the Wall, the "World's longest canvas ". The sometimes detailed artwork were often painted over within hours or days. On the Western side the Wall
3036-670: The Chinese language , with the other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of
3128-654: The Marshall plan for the Americas. The director of the OEA and the Colombian government commissioned master Santiago Martinez Delgado , to paint a mural in the Colombian congress building to commemorate the event. Martinez decided to make it about the Cúcuta Congress , and painted Bolívar in front of Santander , making liberals upset; so, due to the murder of Jorge Elieser Gaitan the mobs of el bogotazo tried to burn
3220-422: The People's Association (PA) announced plans to spend S$ 9.56 million to upgrade 54 community centres and clubs that were over ten years old, adding facilities such as lifts, dance studios, karaoke rooms and multi-purpose air-conditioned activities rooms, to make community centres more user-friendly, with open concept offices and reception areas. In June 1995, then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong asked PA to study
3312-558: The buon fresco method, and was used by painters such as Gianbattista Tiepolo or Michelangelo . This technique had, in reduced form, the advantages of a secco work. In Greco-Roman times, mostly encaustic colors applied in a cold state were used. Tempera painting is one of the oldest known methods in mural painting. In tempera, the pigments are bound in an albuminous medium such as egg yolk or egg white diluted in water. In 16th-century Europe, oil painting on canvas arose as an easier method for mural painting. The advantage
3404-915: The cave paintings in the Lubang Jeriji Saléh cave in Borneo (40,000–52,000 BP), Chauvet Cave in Ardèche department of southern France (around 32,000 BP). Many ancient murals have been found within ancient Egyptian tombs (around 3150 BC), the Minoan palaces (Middle period III of the Neopalatial period, 1700–1600 BC), the Oxtotitlán cave and Juxtlahuaca in Mexico (around 1200–900 BC) and in Pompeii (around 100 BC – AD 79). During
3496-406: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : Mural The word mural is a Spanish adjective that is used to refer to what is attached to a wall. The term mural later became a noun. In art, the word mural began to be used at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1906, Dr. Atl issued a manifesto calling for
3588-459: The "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following the founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across
3680-454: The 'fantasy world' of a forest or racing track , encouraging imaginative play and an awareness of art. The current trend for feature walls has increased commissions for muralists in the UK. A large hand-painted mural can be designed on a specific theme, incorporate personal images and elements and may be altered during the course of painting it. The personal interaction between client and muralist
3772-556: The 18th and 19th centuries can be found in Mittenwald , Garmisch , Unter- and Oberammergau . In the history of murals, several methods have been used: A fresco painting, from the Italian word affresco which derives from the adjective fresco ("fresh"), describes a method in which the paint is applied on plaster on walls or ceilings. The buon fresco technique consists of painting in pigment mixed with water on
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3864-482: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3
3956-520: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of
4048-456: The 20th century, was “El árbol de la vida”, by Roberto Montenegro . There are many different styles and techniques. The best-known is probably fresco , which uses pigments dispersed in water with a damp lime wash , rapid use of the resulting mixture over a large surface, and often in parts (but with a sense of the whole). The colors lighten as they dry. The marouflage method has also been used for millennia. Murals today are painted in
4140-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components
4232-624: The Middle Ages murals were usually executed on dry plaster (secco). The huge collection of Kerala mural painting dating from the 14th century are examples of fresco secco . In Italy, c. 1300 , the technique of painting of frescos on wet plaster was reintroduced and led to a significant increase in the quality of mural painting. The term mural became better known with the Mexican muralism art movement ( Diego Rivera , David Siqueiros and José Orozco ). The first mural painted in
4324-457: The NAC's Arts Housing Scheme that offered alternative locations to arts groups besides old vacant buildings, in line with PA's plan to repackage its community clubs as fashionable multi-purpose spaces. The Necessary Stage's 672-square metre (7,467 square feet) premises at the basement of the community building was about three times the size of its old premises at Cairnhill Arts Centre, which did not have
4416-434: The allure and exclusivity of original artwork. They are often not fitted to the individual wall sizes of the client and their personal ideas or wishes cannot be added to the mural as it progresses. The Frescography technique, a digital manufacturing method ( CAM ) invented by Rainer Maria Latzke addresses some of the personalisation and size restrictions. Digital techniques are commonly used in advertisements. A "wallscape"
4508-729: The capitol, but the Colombian Army stopped them. Years later, in the 1980s, with liberals in charge of the Congress, they passed a resolution to turn the whole chamber in the Elliptic Room 90 degrees to put the main mural on the side and commissioned Alejandro Obregon to paint a non-partisan mural in the surrealist style. In Chile, the Romana Parra Brigade painted political murals in support of workers rights and Communism. Northern Ireland contains some of
4600-428: The character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to a single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between
4692-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant
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#17327941036304784-422: The community building resembles the leaves of a palm tree , and covers the community club's rooftop basketball court. The court's location on the roof level was a departure from the norm, as in other community centres then, the basketball court occupies space on the ground floor. Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write
4876-453: The community building were planned to overlap and to coalesce, as a one-stop destination for the entire family. The rich congruence of the multiple programmes for the building is expressed architecturally as a collage of diverse elements. The building was designed by a local architectural firm, William Lim Associates , which adopted a postmodern pluralist approach, expressed through a multiplicity of materials and forms. The community building
4968-480: The community building. The library is Singapore's second-oldest public library and the only one built on reclaimed land . It started moving in stages to the community building in April 2000, and was officially opened by Goh Chok Tong on 28 May that year. The Marine Parade Community Library is the first public library in Singapore to be housed together with a community club and an arts group. The library's old premises
5060-401: The community club and three for the library. In June 1996, Wong Kan Seng , PA's deputy chairman, announced that due to the scarcity of land in Singapore, eight of the redeveloped community centres, including Marine Parade Community Club, would be located with other civil users. As 30% of the upgrading cost had to be paid by the community club, several fundraising activities were carried out for
5152-473: The country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in the history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from
5244-544: The design or image. Mosaic murals are made by combining small 1/4" to 2" size pieces of colorful stone, ceramic, or glass tiles which are then laid out to create a picture. Modern day technology has allowed commercial mosaic mural makers to use computer programs to separate photographs into colors that are automatically cut and glued onto sheets of mesh creating precise murals fast and in large quantities. The azulejo ( Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐzuˈleʒu] , Spanish pronunciation: [aθuˈlexo] ) refers to
5336-532: The development of a monumental public art movement in Mexico; he named it in Spanish pintura mural (English: wall painting ). In ancient Roman times, a mural crown was given to the fighter who was first to scale the wall of a besieged town. "Mural" comes from the Latin muralis , meaning "wall painting". This word is related to murus , meaning "wall". Murals of sorts date to Upper Paleolithic times such as
5428-498: The distinguishing features of the postmodern building is the mural cladding called the "Texturefulness of Life", the largest piece of installation art in Singapore. It was demolished in 2022 and is being rebuilt. The building sat on reclaimed land first occupied by the Marine Parade Community Centre, which was built in the early 1980s and later renamed to Marine Parade Community Club. In March 1995,
5520-476: The early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into the 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see
5612-634: The first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over
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#17327941036305704-463: The first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and the confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including
5796-475: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility
5888-511: The founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during
5980-642: The idea of having community centres share their premises with other civil users such as libraries, government offices and commercial developments. Goh, who is also a Member of Parliament for Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency , suggested combining the Marine Parade Community Club, which was slated for upgrading, with the National Library branch in Marine Parade, in a six-storey building with three floors for
6072-466: The increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d. 782 BC ) to unify character forms across the states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what
6164-465: The left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d. 208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for the first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However,
6256-493: The most famous political murals in the world. Almost 2,000 murals have been documented in Northern Ireland since the 1970s. In recent times, many murals are non-sectarian, concerning political and social issues such as racism and environmentalism, and many are completely apolitical, depicting children at play and scenes from everyday life. (See Northern Irish murals .) A not political, but social related mural covers
6348-402: The most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅,中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout the country. In 1935,
6440-774: The norm for advertisements in cities across America, before the introduction of vinyl and digital posters. It was an expensive form of advertising with strict signage laws but gained attention and improved local aesthetics. Other world-famous murals can be found in Mexico , New York City , Philadelphia , Belfast , Derry , Los Angeles , Nicaragua , Cuba , the Philippines , and in India . They have functioned as an important means of communication for members of socially, ethnically and racially divided communities in times of conflict. They also proved to be an effective tool in establishing
6532-426: The panel felt that the winning entry best reflected the contest's themes of dynamism, interaction, fusion and harmony. The mural was installed on the curved facade of the community building at a cost of S$ 50,000. The library block is predominantly clad in glass, fitted with horizontal fins, on its frontage with the main road. The alfresco café had a street frontage and was spread into the shared forecourt . The roof of
6624-455: The propagandist character of that works, some of them still have an artistic value. Murals can have a dramatic impact whether consciously or subconsciously on the attitudes of passers-by, when they are added to areas where people live and work. It can also be argued that the presence of large, public murals can add aesthetic improvement to the daily lives of residents or that of employees at a corporate venue. Large-format hand-painted murals were
6716-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted
6808-415: The public on 6 March that year. It was officially opened by Goh Chok Tong on 28 May that year. The Marine Parade Community Building currently houses the Marine Parade Community Club, the Marine Parade Community Library and a professional theatre company, The Necessary Stage . It also originally had an al fresco Starbucks café on the ground floor. Opened on 6 March 2000, the Marine Parade Community Club
6900-404: The public sphere. Due to the size, cost, and work involved in creating a mural, muralists must often be commissioned by a sponsor. Often it is the local government or a business, but many murals have been paid for with grants of patronage . For artists, their work gets a wide audience who otherwise might not set foot in an art gallery. A city benefits by the beauty of a work of art. Murals can be
6992-465: The recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on
7084-460: The redevelopment. These activities, which included music concerts, golf tournaments and cyclethons, raised a total of S$ 6 million. The old club building was demolished in 1997 and construction of the Marine Parade Community Building began the same year. SAL Construction was the project's main contractor . Built at a cost of S$ 30 million, the new building was completed in January 2000, and was open to
7176-493: The roof as a crest and the artwork as the eye of the dragon. The horizontal louvres on the library block was seen as the tail fins of the dragon, an auspicious beast in Chinese culture . Sited adjacent to Housing and Development Board apartment blocks of the Marine Parade Housing Estate, the Marine Parade Community Building could be seen as an attempt to engage the wider community. The activities of
7268-481: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted
7360-467: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊
7452-431: The surface of an existing wall. They are also inlaid into floors. Mural tiles are painted, glazed, sublimation printed (as described below) or more traditionally cut out of stone, ceramic, mosaic glass(opaque) and stained glass. Some artists use pottery and plates broken into pieces. Unlike the traditional painted murals described above, tile murals are always made by fitting pieces of the selected materials together to create
7544-497: The traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of the Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to
7636-573: The traditional art and culture of their society or events from their history in their homes. Ethnic murals have become an important form of interior decoration. Warli painting murals are becoming a preferred mode of wall decor in India. Warli painting is an ancient Indian art form in which the tribal people used to depict different phases of their life on the walls of their mud houses. Tile murals are murals made out of stone, ceramic, porcelain, glass and or metal tiles that are installed within, or added onto
7728-833: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes
7820-522: The use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of
7912-444: The wall and traced with pencil before painting begins. Some muralists will paint directly without any prior sketching, preferring the spontaneous technique. Once completed the mural can be given coats of varnish or protective acrylic glaze to protect the work from UV rays and surface damage. In modern, quick form of muralling, young enthusiasts also use POP clay mixed with glue or bond to give desired models on canvas board. The canvas
8004-507: The walls. Densely built-up areas of housing may also contribute to people's feelings of being cut off from nature in its free form. A mural commission of this sort may be an attempt by some people to re-establish a balance with nature. Commissions of murals in schools, hospitals, and retirement homes can achieve a pleasing and welcoming atmosphere in these caring institutions. Murals in other public buildings, such as public houses are also common. Recently, graffiti and street art have played
8096-464: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by
8188-632: Was chosen to host the 2010 Global Mural Conference. The town had more than twelve murals completed, and hosted the Conference along with Dothan, Alabama , and Blakely, Georgia . The Mexican mural movement in the 1930s brought new prominence to murals as a social and political tool. Diego Rivera , José Orozco and David Siqueiros were the most famous artists of the movement. Between 1932 and 1940, Rivera also painted murals in San Francisco , Detroit , and New York City . In 1933, he completed
8280-572: Was not protected, so everybody could paint on the Wall. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Eastern side of the Wall became also a popular "canvas" for many mural and graffiti artists. Orgosolo , in Sardinia , is a most important center of murals politics . It is also common for mural graffiti to be used as a memoir. In the 2001 book Somebody Told Me , Rick Bragg writes about
8372-438: Was renovated for an NTUC FairPrice supermarket. The library is spread over four floors of the Marine Parade Community Building, with a floor area of 3,500 square metres (37,675 square feet). As one of the first neighbourhood libraries, the library's entire second floor is its children's book section, featuring murals , trivia and multimedia tools. The library has more than 150,000 books and 2,500 videos available for loan. There
8464-566: Was that the artwork could be completed in the artist's studio and later transported to its destination and there attached to the wall or ceiling. Oil paint may be a less satisfactory medium for murals because of its lack of brilliance in colour. Also, the pigments are yellowed by the binder or are more easily affected by atmospheric conditions. Different muralists tend to become experts in their preferred medium and application, whether that be oil paints, emulsion or acrylic paints applied by brush, roller or airbrush/aerosols. Clients will often ask for
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