Three Charlotte Murals

An art critic and his 5-year-old daughter offer their thoughts on public artworks found around the city

- ANDY SMITH AND ELLIOT SMITH

MOST OF THE COLUMNS IN THIS SERIES highlight a single exhibition at a museum or gallery. This month, we visit the exploding mural scene in Charlotte and check out a few of the recent additions to the city. Much of our recent public art comes from the Talking Walls festival, an annual celebration of mural art that invites local, national, and international artists to tackle a wall somewhere in the region. It’s vital to not just think of murals as Instagram backdrops, but singular works of art. Often, in my family, it’s both.

In our “Getting the Picture” column, my 5-year-old daughter joins me on a critical adventure into Charlotte’s art venues. Each visit is an opportunity for us to hone her visual literacy, or the ability to make meaning from images. Below, Elliot and I have chosen a few murals, along with short transcripts of our conversations about each one. For the purposes of clarity, I’m identifying myself as “Dad” below, and I’ve offered no context to Elliot before she offers her insights.