Martin Luther King, Jr. Mural Competition: Final Post!

This post will wrap up an ongoing blog series that showcases the murals that have been on display in our hostel this February in celebration of the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. Student artists were selected to create individual murals on the 2nd floor windows of Hostelling International Chicago. The artists intalled their work throughout the first two weeks of January. Here are the final two!

April Son, Zebadiah Arrington & Suhyung Go
School of the Art Institute of Chicago

"We've been kept inside of walls from fears that came when communication failed. Looking through the windows, we've missed a lot of chances. We've made enough mistakes every time we've tried to reach out further.

However, the time to go out always comes back just like the hands on clocks circle around. It's time to step back from the window and walk toward the doors again. We believe this is the message through the history of struggling for humanity, which Martin Luther King, Jr. also believed in.

Three individuals stand together in front of Window to put this together spontaneously for dreaming a perfection of communication. This piece is inviting and welcoming the viewers not only to appreciate it, but also to step back and look outside of the window. Black and White means a fairness of the difference. Every individual is as important as the next one. And everything has existed by sharing things, not dividing in mathematics. The unify and connectivity of biological geometry that is within all of us is a key symbol of understanding the equality for all."

James Teague & Cheryl Thomas
Hostelling International Chicago staff

"At some point in life we decide what's next for us! For some, it's not always a conscious choice. For others, it's not a choice that we make as much as it is made for us. Yet still, for some it is written in the stars for us and we simply do our best to live up to that.

For Dr. King, his path was, we believe, both focused and incidental. You see the picture of him during what I feel is in contemplation early in his life. Possibly a moment when fate intervened and his destiny was revealed to him? The yellow foot prints represent his fear of this dark path, and that of those who knew and supported him. The process of not knowing what is ahead of him, but knowing he must journey onward.

The red foot prints represent his commitment and resolve to make this world a better place for all and the price of his pursuit - his life. With many threats to his life and that of his family and his friends being murdered around him - he did not stop. Even in death.

Finally, his journey culminates at his final and lasting resting place - hoping that in death he can still impact life. And he has!

Many people that we know can attest to the ideology of the title of the window...the poor kid who makes it out of "the 'hood" to play pro-ball; the driven student who makes it to Harvard to receive his new law degree; the lost child who finds her fame and focus in front of an audience that she connects with. Life is about our commitment to being more, doing more, having more - it is about the journey. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s journey was to follow the path on which he believed that GOD had placed him.

What is your journey? Where will it lead you? Will it end at your death? Focus, drive, commitment is what gets that one foot in front of the other. Will it lead you to your destiny?"

We hope you've enjoyed this series of posts about the murals, and that you got a chance to come check out the murals in person for yourselves! For more information about this competition, and if you'd be interested in participating next year, please check out our website.