International Community School Mural

By Libbie Toler

You know what makes a child so extraordinary? Everything. Every face has a worldview. The same holds true for art in any form. The bold wisdom found in graphic street art is a sublime method in which to bring this beauty into the public domain. Atlanta artist Corey Barksdale presents his craft, while breathing confidence into the pure, raw essentials of youthful visions. There is a striking silence and rich drumbeat found in this dynamic creative expression. The smallest details show the supreme skill and style through the core of the mural. Filled with strokes and spheres fusing the imagination and the cooperation of possibilities. The symbiotic passage of light through the visage illuminates a beam effect that seems to gild the center of a soul. Humanity in a symbolic gathering filled with a confident color wheel cast upon brick and mortar. This palette’s design is redolent. It presents a central cast upon a borderless canvas depicting a scene of important aspects of existence and invites every child to join together in the crusade to safeguard growth through their hearts and minds. Change begins with their stories.

Barksdale applies a detailed multi-dimensional technique filled with soulful steps. It is aesthetic, as well as communal. The background is an inherent quality of the work. The intricately arranged patterns form an honorable freedom within an appealing blend. There is a social commentary in terms of placement, which enhances the school’s vision of advancing the assurance of common understanding. The proportions imply varied stories that we can imagine from one’s journey. At its center, the faces are filled with the wholesome essentials of an authentic investment in the community’s future. We are invited in with colorful originality, as the atmosphere eternally links us.  

I believe the visual impact commands a presence projecting the school’s vision by defining an unbiased path for all children who walk through the doors. The placement of images endorses the sentiment that as long as we hold our heads up, we can see a better future. A unique opportunity to expand our own register of ideas. The images come to life on Barksdale’s mural because there is still so much to learn. A great reminder presented, in that art should be a totally normal extension of our lives. An authentic investment in the community symbolizes stability and invokes the creative minds for all generations. The brilliant strokes center upon persistence and endurance. This welcome sign lets the children know that we see them, we hear them and we honor their presence.

There is a curious, inspirational imagination bigger than us. Bright-eyed faces engaging with the merits found inside the fabric of the school reflecting a one to one relationship between the artist and the observer. The gallant piece encapsulates the belief in allowing everyone to be more essential, more personal, and more unique because it only takes one spark to make a difference within a village of people. The artist’s execution celebrates understanding and projects the courageous, vibrant call found within our spirits. Mural art is an open-ended interpretation of authenticity. Convergence is key, in art and in people. Social truth continues to unfold through the gentle care, love and strength of Mother Earth and her inhabitants.

Atlanta Art Gallery