Murals And Tourism

Around the world, tourists are drawn to visit murals painted on walls. Whether heritage asset, legacy leftover, or contested art space, the mural is more than a simple tourist attraction or accidental aspect of tourism material culture. They express something about the politics, heritage and identity of the locations being visited, whether a medieval fresco in an Italian church, or modern political art found in Belfast or Tehran. This interdisciplinary and highly international book explores tourism around murals that are either evolving or have transitioned as instruments of politics, heritage and identity. It explores the diverse messaging of these murals: their production, interpretation, marketing and – in some cases – destruction. It argues that the mural is more than a simple tourist attraction or accidental aspect of tourism material culture. Murals and Tourism will be valuable reading for those interested in cultural geography, tourism, heritage studies and the visual arts.

Around the world, tourists are drawn to visit murals painted on walls. Whether heritage asset, legacy leftover, or contested art space, the mural is more than a simple tourist attraction or accidental aspect of tourism material culture. They express something about the politics, heritage and identity of the locations being visited, whether a medieval fresco in an Italian church, or modern political art found in Belfast or Tehran. This interdisciplinary and highly international book explores tourism around murals that are either evolving or have transitioned as instruments of politics, heritage and identity. It explores the diverse messaging of these murals: their production, interpretation, marketing and – in some cases – destruction. It argues that the mural is more than a simple tourist attraction or accidental aspect of tourism material culture. Murals and Tourism will be valuable reading for those interested in cultural geography, tourism, heritage studies and the visual arts.

Art, in its many forms, has long played an important role in people’s imagination, experience and remembrance of places, cultures and travels as well as in their motivation to travel. Travel and tourism, on the other hand, have also inspired numerous artists and featured in many artworks. The fascinating relationships between travel, tourism and art encompass a wide range of phenomena from historical ’Grand Tours’ during which a number of travellers experienced or produced artwork, to present-day travel inspired by art, artworks produced by contemporary travellers or artworks produced by locals for tourist consumption. Focusing on the representations of ’touristic’ places, locals, travellers and tourists in artworks; the role of travel and tourism in inspiring artists; as well as the role of art and artwork in imagining, experiencing and remembering places and motivating travel and tourism; this edited volume provides a space for an exploration of both historical and contemporary relationships between travel, tourism and art. Bringing together scholars from a wide range of disciplines and fields of study including geography, anthropology, history, philosophy, and urban, cultural, tourism, art and leisure studies, this volume discusses a range of case studies across different art forms and locales.

This book examines the relationship between art and tourism through the study of the material culture of tourism: tourist art and souvenirs. It thoroughly examines how to categorise the material culture of tourism within the discourses of contemporary art and cultural anthropology, and demonstrates that tourist art is a unique expression of place and genuine artistic style. The first investigation to consider the activity of souvenirs from both indigenous and settler tourist sites, it brings a unique addition to the existing, dated, research in the area. Working initially from Graburn’s definition of tourist art, as the art of one culture made specifically for the consumption of another, Tourism Art and Souvenirs sheds light on important aspects of the souvenir that have not been widely discussed. The most recent research is used to consider how the souvenir is designed and consumed, consumer expectations and influence on the character of the souvenir, how the souvenir maker is consumed by the tradition of heritage and how products become successful as souvenirs. The title also investigates the language involved in the representation of place and the recording of experience through the souvenir, developing a method that expresses the descriptive data of individual souvenir artefacts graphically so the patterns of language may be analysed. Enhancing the understanding of material culture in tourism and therefore adding to future tourism development this volume will be of interest to upper level students, researchers and academics in tourism, culture, heritage and sustainability.

This book puts into context the evolution of mural art in recent years, particularly the case of the contemporary muralism in Uruguay. While the focus of this volume, revolves around Uruguay, the editors demonstrate that circumstances found in Uruguay are also reflected widely in a large number of cases worldwide. Mural art has evolved from an elite audience to a more popular objective. At the same time, it does not lose the necessity of high value artists that, not only technically but also conceptually, will be able to connect to the audience and provide a sense of identity and necessity of preservation of this art. This leads to a down-top approach, where different actors take part in the process, from the conceptualization to the conservation. Moreover, mural art has been studied as a driver of local economic development, attracting visitors and tourists can access these open-air museums easily. This book is of interest to students and researchers working in fine art, heritage and museum studies.

This unique volume aims to promote new models of sustainable management in the field of contemporary mural art. Cultural heritage has become an essential tool for society, stressing the necessity to properly conserve cultural resources in order to maintain a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable development. In this book, the mural "Allegory to Work" by the artist Felipe Seade, located in Uruguay, is used as a case study. The work of Felipe Seade, a prominent political mural artist of the twentieth century, reflects the influence of Mexican heritage and the socio-political themes of that time, which were commonly used by the Social Realism art movement. The authors look at the mural—and its restoration—through the lens of tourism, globalization, and new interest in cultural heritage. The book demonstrates that the restoration should be aware that the perspective of the protagonists must be incorporated in the intervention process. This first-of-its-kind volume brings together historical, ethnographic, tourism, and scientific research that leads to a sustainable project, from the point of view of identity, economy, politics, and society. This volume, with over 50 color illustrations and many black and white photos, will be valuable for college and research libraries, undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and professors in the field of cultural heritage and art as well as those involved in community-based research.

This book puts into context the evolution of mural art in recent years, particularly the case of the contemporary muralism in Uruguay. While the focus of this volume, revolves around Uruguay, the editors demonstrate that circumstances found in Uruguay are also reflected widely in a large number of cases worldwide. Mural art has evolved from an elite audience to a more popular objective. At the same time, it does not lose the necessity of high value artists that, not only technically but also conceptually, will be able to connect to the audience and provide a sense of identity and necessity of preservation of this art. This leads to a down-top approach, where different actors take part in the process, from the conceptualization to the conservation. Moreover, mural art has been studied as a driver of local economic development, attracting visitors and tourists can access these open-air museums easily. This book is of interest to students and researchers working in fine art, heritage and museum studies.

In the 1930s, the artistic and cultural patronage of celebrated Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas transformed a small Michoacán city, Pátzcuaro, into a popular center for national tourism. Cárdenas commissioned public monuments and archeological excavations; supported new schools, libraries, and a public theater; developed tourism sites and infrastructure, including the Museo de Artes e Industrias Populares; and hired artists to paint murals celebrating regional history, traditions, and culture. The creation of Pátzcuaro was formative for Mexico; not only did it provide an early model for regional economic and cultural development, but it also helped establish some of Mexico's most enduring national myths, rituals, and institutions. In Creating Pátzcuaro, Creating Mexico, Jennifer Jolly argues that Pátzcuaro became a microcosm of cultural power during the 1930s and that we find the foundations of modern Mexico in its creation. Her extensive historical and archival research reveals how Cárdenas and the artists and intellectuals who worked with him used cultural patronage as a guise for radical modernization in the region. Jolly demonstrates that the Pátzcuaro project helped define a new modern body politic for Mexico, in which the population was asked to emulate Cárdenas by touring the country and seeing and embracing its land, history, and people. Ultimately, by offering Mexicans a means to identify and engage with power and privilege, the creation of Pátzcuaro placed art and tourism at the center of Mexico's postrevolutionary nation building project.