Decolonial Arts Pedagogy and the Visual Metaphor: 'The Great Wall of Los Angeles' Mural Project

This thesis examines the methodology used to create the subject matter and pedagogy of The Great Wall of Los Angeles mural created by Chicana artist, Judy Baca. The analysis explores the visual metaphors present in the half-mile public art project through decolonial theory and visual metaphor analysis, and examines the artwork's aesthetic characteristics using cultural analytics techniques. The mural's social justice outcomes are considered for its ability to achieve youth empowerment through community cultural development. I further the concept of decolonial arts pedagogy to encapsulate a framework for producing and evaluating social justice artwork. I analyze the design and production aspects of the Prehistoric segment painted in 1976, and 1950s segment produced in 1983. The analysis considers youth recidivism programs and the concreting of the Los Angeles River through the program's artistic vision. The findings suggest that decolonial metaphors integrate the subject matter and youth pedagogy in the design and production phase of the mural. The findings have implications for the study of Chicano and Chicana mural arts movements, creative placemaking initiatives, urban environmental revitalization efforts, social practice training, and arts education.