I was taking the bus to the mall and saw this mural located on the side of The High School of Arts and Business. The mural caught my eye because it was very colorful and I couldn’t help wondering who made this mural and why it was on the side of the school. I went home and did some research and found that it was called “Yield in the Name of Creativity.” There’s a lot going on in the picture, which was why I was curious as to what the meaning behind this mural was. In the background is the skyline of NYC and a few roads, so I knew this had to involve something with NYC. There were also books, instruments (such as a piano and brass instrument), and objects that looked like they were works of arts. This made sense to me, since this school was focused on arts and business. There is also a girl holding a “Slow” red sign and a boy holding a “Yield” sign. From my research, I found that this mural was to promote the “importance of livable streets and the multiple roads leading to success for New York City youth.” They also wanted to promote safety and make people aware of the reckless driving that had been happening a lot at the intersection near the school. What I found the most interesting was the man with the head of television. The television seems to be showing a graph and I believe he represents business. In his hands is a magnet, which seems to attract all the other objects in the picture. I think what this is trying to convey is that business leads to success, which is represented by all the other objects in the mural.

Words like “liar, hypocrite, fraud, hustler, sinister” and all these negative words will indeed hurt a person emotionally which will affect the person externally as well. This stood me out to me the most from the gallery. I understood what this meant painting meant when I looked at it and made me feel sad. I wonder what the artist was thinking and what inspired him to make this. I wonder what incident the artist had. This really shows, “how bodies of thought and people are often reduced to form.”

I feel that artist are usually portrayed this way and been through this at least once in their life, which was the reason why the artist created this painting. Many people have thoughts like this, all negative towards a starting artist. Of course, the artist will be hurt by those mean comments. I feel that this artist used art to express how people viewed the arts of some artists or the artists themselves. This portrays a delusion of the people who make these comments. Artists aren’t liars, hypocrites, frauds, or any other harsh words. I feel that the people who make those comment are deluded which is the reason why the painting was picked to be displayed in this gallery for the concept of delusions.

I felt really bad and it hurts when I think about the artist. The colors give the atmosphere of a sad and a depressing mood. The fact that the white words are on a black background makes the words stand out even more. The words are drawn like tear drops falling from the cheeks. It looks as if the painting itself is crying too by these words. It shows how much words can hurt a person. I understood the pain an artist had to go through or will through in this industry. The hardships and pain they’ll experience at least once throughout their career.

If I feel this sad and gloomy from looking at this painting, I wonder how the artist felt as he made it? I’m pretty sure everyone of us went through an obstacle of facing hateful words as well.