The Changing Meaning of Mural

The Changing Meaning of Mural The Changing Meaning of Mural The Changing Meaning of Mural By Maeve Maddox Because I am used to thinking of a mural as a painting on a wall, I was startled to hear a local radio announcer refer to a contest for artists to submit designs to paint â€Å"murals† on storm drains. Storm drains are on the ground. They are also rather small. I think of murals as being quite large. Here’s the definition from the OED: mural (noun): a painting executed directly on to a wall or ceiling as part of a scheme of decoration. I was surprised to see ceiling included in the definition. Mural derives from the Latin word for wall: murus. The Latin adjective is muralis, â€Å"of or relating to a wall.† According to the OED, mural in the context of painting is an American coinage dating from 1908. In earlier British usage, a mural was â€Å"a fruit tree grown against and fastened to a wall.† In US urban settings, mural is used in its customary sense, but recently it has come to be used of paintings made on sidewalks, on streets, and even on such things as benches. Here are some examples from news stories originating in different parts of the country: Last year, the CARE neighborhood in partnership with Banner Neighborhoods painted a street mural in the intersection at the south side of the market. - Maryland. University Facilities and Services is coordinating a project featuring storm drain murals to encourage pollution awareness. - Illinois. Monroe Municipal Mural on sidewalk - Georgia. This year another ten local artists were chosen to  paint murals  on ten  storm drains  in the Springfield area.  - Missouri. The new FABnyc  sidewalk mural, fashioned by  Ecuadorian artist Raà ºl Ayala is among our favorite public artworks to surface this year. - New York. â€Å"Only rain down the drain,† reads a mural painted on a concrete bench on the west side of Matthews Street halfway between Green Street and Springfield Avenue. - Illinois. This expanded meaning for mural has resulted in the creation of the retronym â€Å"wall mural.† For Drew and me, painting wall murals has been a great source of extra income. Its finally time to put the finishing touches on the Library Wall Mural and seal it. We completed a big full color wall mural in Naga Gallery. Purists may cringe at the idea of â€Å"sidewalk murals,† but if the painting on a ceiling can be called a mural, I suppose that a large painting on the floor or the ground might reasonably share the term. To refer to a painting or design on a small surface such as a bench or a storm drain as a mural, however, seems to be an unnecessary stretch of meaning. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FuturePeople versus Persons30 Words Invented by Shakespeare