Mural is the painting by the artist Julie Mehretu located in the Goldman Sachs tower. Despite having a beginning structure, parts of the work had not been firmly determined, and Julie was adjusting them during the process, following her vision. The painting’s subject is different from representational ones, as it is not feasible to define painted objects as ones derived from sources observed in the natural world, with the exception that is the architectural drawing enabling to claim the presence of the mixed subject. In contrast, the art corresponds to the requirements, which described abstract works’ subjects. Figures and symbols are nonrepresentational ones, and it is complicated to find explicit correlations between them and existing objects because they depart from reality. The painting’s internal sense is not evident and may require additional refinements for a comprehensive and correct understanding.
Julie Mehretu implemented several methods to put the meaning in her multiplied layered painting through visual elements. Geometric figures, which have various sizes, vibrant colors, and unpredictable forms, are among the most prominent aspects. The other significant part of the work is straight and curved lines of various colors, some of which connect figures. Simultaneously, others do not cross geometric shapes, having different trajectories. The bottom layer of the painting contains architectural drawings of black color, which add to the subject’s understanding. The last element is the calligraphic arranged in formations black marks, which does not vary in sizes or shapes.
The painting’s underlying meaning is supported with more understandable elements, such as architectural drawings, and less clear ones, like geometric figures and lines. It is possible to correlate the content of the work to the contemporary business society, which is multiplied layered, diverse in forms, shapes, and colors, which implies different areas of economics and connected with lines, similar to rails and roads. The architectural painting describes business facilities, while black marks are crowds of employees. Julie Mehretu conveys the message that the contemporary world of money and production means looks chaotically in the routine, as her painting does.