When you think of revamping a space, the words construction and renovation probably come to mind. However, the Mural Movement Club at Los Altos High School is taking a slightly different approach: revamping through artwork.
Founded in January by Los Altos High junior Olivia Moon, the club seeks to brighten up local communities using art.
Los Altos High freshman and club vice president Lily Moon said that for her, art is a way to get creativity down on paper. Everyone’s art has a unique quality about it, based on their identity and personality, Lily said.
Olivia said she has been drawing and painting for longer than she can remember, now focusing more on fine arts. Murals are a way she could share her art with a wider audience, she said.
Composed of 20 members, the club primarily focuses on nonprofit work for businesses in need of a visual makeover.
“The goal of the club is to just uplift places that need uplifting,” Olivia said. “[It] brings attention to good causes or people or animals in need through artwork.”
Its most recent project was to paint a mural at the San Jose Valley Korean Church, which took around 10 hours to complete across two weeks, said secretary and Los Altos High junior Lila Neugebauer.
Los Altos High art teacher Yoonsun Chai, a member of the church, said that the building looked run-down and old prior to the mural. She met with Olivia and shared how she wanted to make the church more beautiful and inviting to the community through the mural.
“Art can bring people together, send a good message to the community, and make the environment more welcoming to everyone,” Chai said.
Chai and the club worked together to formulate a design that would uplift the exterior of the church by using modern and geometric shapes to connect to religious themes.
The final mural uses the church’s signature colors, blue, gray and yellow, to create a triangular geometric design that spans across the length of the building. The main part of the mural is two hands reaching towards each other.
“Each geometric shape is different, like how all people are different,” Chai said. “Those different shapes spread out toward the community. That was the inspiration.”
Before the club communicates with a business about a specific design, they choose color palettes and brainstorm possible design elements at their bi-weekly meetings, Neugebauer said. After that, they’ll collaborate with the business to finalize the design and start on the mural itself.
For the church mural, the club worked with Los Altos High’s National Art Honor Society, and students from both organizations came out to paint together.
“It was just crazy,” Olivia said. “I was so happy seeing people talking to people they’d never met before or helping each other on ladders and carrying paint. It was a really gratifying and wonderful experience.”
Currently, the club is communicating with a local animal shelter, Pets in Need, to paint a mural there, as well as with Los Altos High’s ASB to paint a mural at the school’s new College and Community Center. The mural at Los Altos High would be open to the public, Olivia said, and students can contribute to different parts of it.
“I think there’s something wonderful about how art can let someone be the truest version of themselves without having to filter for other people,” Olivia said.
Lily said she believes the club serves as a way for her to express herself through artwork. It allows the club to convey its goals and hopes through a creative medium.
“Art is a lot easier to interpret than words for some people,” Lily said. “Art is a very loud medium. I believe that it is much easier and a lot more expressive than words can be sometimes.”
Echoing her sister, Olivia said that art, especially muralism, can be powerful. Just one eye-catching piece of art can change a person’s entire perspective on that place, she said.
“I think there’s something wonderful about how art can let someone be the truest version of themselves without having to filter for other people,” Olivia said.
