The Art of Limitless Scale ran August 24 to November 20, 2023, and was guest curated by Isabel Castro.

THE ART OF LIMITLESS SCALE

The Art of Limitless Scale features the creative minds behind murals you see throughout Milwaukee neighborhoods. This exhibition is both a look at process and completion. While we all enjoy their final products, the work that goes into building-scale art is largely unseen. 

This exhibit is not of murals but a mixture of archives and “trapped art” - a style that emerged from street artists through a wave of new canvas styles that pull on mural culture motifs, but are more comprehensive and finished. 

Murals are a part of the urban fabric and are embedded into the daily lives of their communities. The works of art develop a deeper purpose by serving as a platform to deliver a message and an experience. It builds communities, tells a story, and inspires pride. 

An essential component to mural work is the often hyper-geographic nature of their imagery. They can reflect the unique identity of a place at a neighborhood level and be culturally specific to a few block radius at times. They can announce: you are here, this is us. 

A street can operate in a myriad of ways beyond a means of transportation. They can be the extensions of our homes and places of meaning in their own right, when given the opportunity. With social isolation recently being declared a public health crisis by the US Attorney General, our relationship to public space is more important than ever. Murals, and other creative place-making endeavors, inspire connection in the places we call home. 

Murals invite us to ask questions and imagine new possibilities in a way that no road sign, bike lane or business improvement district ever can. While so many things in our cities tell us “what”, murals ask “what if?”