Our hallways are looking a bit brighter these days, thanks to Luiza Vieira ’17 and Jay Barnes. Here’s the artist’s story behind the beautification efforts.
Ben Salomon ’17: Who or what inspired you to create the murals?
Luiza Vieira ’17: It wasn’t my idea. Jay Barnes came to me and asked if I would be interested in this idea that Student Council had of putting murals up around the school.
BS: What were you trying to accomplish or convey?
LV: In the first one I did, the one with a bunch of flowers, I was trying to convey the message of students growing; that’s why the word “growing” is spelled in the painting. After that one, I just wanted to make something that looks pretty and takes the students away from the school and their environment.
BS: Did you paint them alone? Who helped you?
LV: Jay Barnes and I painted five of the murals with the help of a couple of students who came in once or twice to help finalize them. It took anywhere between five hours to two months to paint them. The first one took us around two months, and the other ones took us up to about three days, but some took only a few hours. We met once a week for a few months, so it wasn’t every day.
BS: How many are there?
LV: There are seven, two of them made by seniors who graduated last year, spread all around the school.
BS: Which is your favorite?
LV: Carnival, the one by the ramp in G. I like it because it has bright colors and I like the idea of silhouettes in front of the sunset. Also, I like the fireworks. I’m very proud of them because I wasn’t sure if I could paint fireworks, but they came out really nice.
BS: How did you decide where to hang them? Were specific paintings placed in specific hallways for a reason?
LV: Not really, we were just looking for open spaces where we could add more color to the building. We didn’t like the plain white walls so we spread them throughout the hallways.
BS: Is there anything else you’d like us to know about them?
LV: The most fun thing about doing the murals was that me and Jay would get to eat pizza each time we met to paint. It didn’t really feel like a community service; it was more fun. I would do it again.