If you are walking down the street and notice some artwork painted on the walls and go, “Ooh, what is that?” then you, my friend, are in for a surprise. That’s probably a mural…no, not graffiti, a mural. A mural—a piece of artwork or painting executed and exhibited directly on a wall.

I was walking with my mom and grandma along Dekalb Avenue and I saw lining the walls these gorgeous and unique murals. I enjoy looking at murals, for they express the feelings and perspectives of the people creating them. Another thing is that they can endorse several viewpoints depending on who is looking at them; say how that particular area's location makes them feel or how it relates to that unit of community, creating an aura that is relatable and evokes something from within. It allows for a brief insight into that particular artist’s mind. Even if you don’t exactly know who they are, you get the chance to see whether or not you connect with the art. Some murals resonate with people, possibly reminding them of something they’ve read, seen or witnessed, or they promote a sense of completion in the sense that a novel painting is replacing the old, barren, once-empty wall, telling a story that won’t or can’t be told aloud. Murals are representations of any and everything, from feelings to desires.

Schools, colleges, and universities will sometimes have their students add murals to their school walls. I view them as creations made to liven the schools, as well as illustrate what the school's community is like.

Murals can communicate specific messages, or they can be abstract and left to personal interpretation. They are usually created for a cause, and there is a fun and curious aspect to trying to decipher that cause if it isn’t very obvious. Then some murals are done in what seems to be in a form of advertisement like to broadcast a moment in history that is deemed significant, or to pay tribute to locations or people that hold importance. An example is one of the murals near Dekalb Avenue I walked by that shows a series of the native rivers. It is a watershed mural made with the intention of providing the backstory of these rivers and their importance.

One final aspect to consider when looking at murals is that there is a difference between murals and graffiti. Murals are usually wanted and legal, while graffiti, a wondrous art, is not always legal and held in the same positive light as murals are. There is always the possibility that the graffiti could be gang-related and not necessarily an accurate depiction of the community. Graffiti is an art formed with words, whereas a mural can be either a painting or words or both. Since graffiti is in word form, there is not as much interpretation needed as there is with a mural. Graffiti and murals appeal to different groups of people as well; some people find graffiti to be an inspirational or uplifting thing to look at, and others find murals to be more open and sincere regarding a certain issue or topic or just art to share with the world. It’s a spectrum on a plane that will only be leveled once you find how you connect with the art on the walls.