Untitled

Untitled
60 × 48 inches
Latex paint on canvas
2017

This painting was donated to the DeSales Art Center in Brooklyn, Michigan.

Description

This mural represents the first half of a collaborative work celebrating Deaf history, culture, and artistic legacy. It begins with the impact of the 1880 Milan Conference, when oralism spread throughout Deaf education. A group of Deaf people is shown hand waving as they push away the forces of oralism in a rowboat without a rudder, symbolizing resistance and the determination to reclaim Deaf identity.

The mural also honors George Veditz, who appears after leaving the National Association of the Deaf. His landmark 1913 film, The Preservation of the Sign Language, represents his enduring commitment to protecting sign language for future generations.

A hand-shaped tree symbolizes the founding of the De’VIA (Deaf View/Image Art) movement in 1989, standing firmly as a reminder of Deaf artistic expression and cultural resilience. Beneath it, a school of fish swims with the current of the Sign Union flag, while bees move forward, carrying the story into the present and future.

The mural concludes with half of the triangular Spectrum hand motif, which connects seamlessly to the second mural created by Laurie Rose Monahan. Together, the two triangles symbolize continuity between generations, honoring the tradition established by the Spectrum Deaf artists in the early 1970s and its lasting influence on today’s Deaf artists.