Mountain View’s Mural
Mountain View’s mural creation was part of a project in collaboration with the Center for Documentary Expression and Art titled Sacred Images.
There is something new and beautiful in the main hallway of Mountain View High School. This colorful art piece tells a story of culture, challenging heartache, and glorious triumph. The mural is inspired by the words and life of Dovie Thompson, who shared her story with the entire student body. She taught the students to be bold in their resilience and response to life and to always take time to tell your story. Mountain View’s new mural is the high school’s strong, ongoing story.
On March 31th, 2021, the mural was unveiled, but the work and sweat began long before. Teachers, administrators, and artists all came together to bring to life their vision. Dimitrios Macheras, an artist in residence on the project, stated “I felt like everybody’s ideas came together visually and thematically. It’s truly a product of teamwork.” Each student and teacher had ideas and contributions. One of the school’s art students, Dana Gonzalez, said “My favorite part was coming up with ideas for the mural. It was a long and sometimes difficult process, but I’m really proud of our end result.” These artists, both students and teachers, created something very special for the entire school. The mural began with ideas and sketching, and its impact will stand for years to come.
Symbolism runs very deep throughout this art piece. There are portions of the painting with focused meaning to different aspects of Mountain View and the community. For example, on both sides there are blue sections. The right side tells the old tale of Mount Timpanogos. (You can read more about that HERE) Then, the left side represents the outline of Utah Lake which was painted in with each of the artist’s thumbprints. Gonzalez said, “As an art class, we really wanted this piece to show our collective resilience that we’ve shown throughout the past year. We also wanted to highlight the surrounding cultures (school culture, Native American culture, etc.) which you can see in various parts of the mural.” The art piece does just that! It highlights and involves the school, community, and unique cultures. It also unites them all seamlessly together. Mr. Macheras said, “It represents the complexity of this past year’s struggles, but also shines an optimistic light for the years to come.” Some of the many beautiful things this mural illustrates is the culture and resilience of Mountain View and support of the close community.
It is a great blessing to have such talented students and staff and to hear Dovie’s empowering story and invitation. Mountain View students, artists and all others, are very grateful for the time and effort of Dimitrios Macheras, Larry Cesspoosh, Kent Miles, Dovie Thompson, and everyone else who contributed to this piece. This mural will stand to tell Mountain View’s story to all who pass by.
Asher • Apr 27, 2021 at 9:01 AM
The mural is beautiful.