New Public Art Installed at Mitchell Middle School

A new piece of public art has been installed above the main entrance of Mitchell Middle School. 

The painting is called, Emergence.  It was designed to mimic a colorful stained glass clerestory window above the main doors to Mitchell Middle School.  It can be seen and experienced by viewers as they leave the school through the main entrance.  The painting is intended to cause the viewer to reflect on emerging from the threshold of school into the world and their place in the family of humanity.

About 20 students from the Racine Unified School District’s After Zones after school program at Mitchell Middle School and the Theater Club from Case High School worked together for a week in January to paint the project.  The colorful acrylic and paint marker mural measures 12' x 3'.  It was designed by the well-known Philadelphia artist and educator, Alan Bell.  Teachers and administrators in the After Zones program arranged to bring Mr. Bell to Racine for this project.

Students began work on the mural in the first week of January 2013 by building the large wooden frame from two 15-foot long planks of Basswood in the Mitchell Technology Education lab with their Engineering Club teacher, Mr. Keith Kohlmann.  Students had to construct the large canvas frame themselves because frames of this size are not commercially available, and professionally made custom frames are extremely expensive.  Students in the Engineering Club learned the basics of how to build the frame by doing online research.  They applied the woodworking skills they learned in Technology Education classes to design and build the finished frame from rough lumber using heavy woodworking machines and power tools. Students stretched the canvas and secured it to the frame with a staple gun.

When Alan Bell arrived in Racine for the weeklong painting workshop, he integrated the kids' and teachers' ideas into a design for the mural.  The painting was inspired by student ideas, the school’s history and the poem, Wild Geese, by the American poet, Mary Oliver. 

The final design contains references to local historic landmarks.  The Wind Point Lighthouse stands as a beacon of hope and guidance through an uncertain journey.  The Electroliner passenger train of the North Shore Railroad, which once ran near the school more than 50 years ago, is depicted in the lower right corner.  It represents a look back to what was once a futuristic vision of engineering.

To the left side of the painting a night sky dominates the scene, and daylight illuminates the right side.  Bell explained, “Totality of human experience is contained by night and day, both physically and through imagination.  This painting is for and about everybody, because everyone was once a child.  The painting sits on the threshold of the school like the ancient Roman god, Janus for whom the month of January is named.  He looks back to the past and forward to the future to guarantee the continuity of our history.  This painting is about the future being born, hence the title, Emergence.”

Mr. Bell sketched the outlines of his design on the canvas to help guide the students with their painting.  The first paint was applied to the canvas at the Dr. Martin Luther King Day of Celebration organized by Youth Empowered in the Struggle (Y.E.S.) at the Racine Labor Center.  Community members and teachers joined with middle and high school students in painting the mural during their day off from school for the King holiday

Students and adults from Racine and Milwaukee, including citizens from eight different countries (both documented and undocumented) were involved.  As Mr. Bell taught the participants how to paint the mural, he also told them about his experiences growing up in South Africa during the age of apartheid and the horrors of racism, segregation and modern day fascism.  The MLK Day event was a meaningful way to bring the mural into the community and allow many people to work on it in a spirit of peace and solidarity.

The enormous canvas was transported back to Mitchell Middle School where students continued to work with Mr. Bell for the rest of the week.  About 20 teenagers completed the mural four days later.  Each student proudly pointed to the area that they contributed whenever visitors stopped by to check on the painting's progress.

Emergence is now permanently installed in Mitchell Middle School, which has a long history of community art projects dating back to the Wisconsin Art Project mural of 1938 when the school was built by the WPA (Works Progress Administration). http://www.wpamurals.com/category/wisconsin/page/2 

Emergence is dedicated to all Mitchell students, past, present and future.  This painting is part of the ongoing revitalization of Mitchell Middle School into a STEAM school, emphasizing Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.  Through the process of creating this work of art, the students and staff incorporated these ideals and our hopes for the future.

Mitchell Middle School is located at 2701 Drexel Avenue in Racine.  Former students, parents and visitors are welcome to come to the school to view the new painting.