Texas Southern University

        Earl Cleinmann’s Hannah Hall mural was left unfinished by the artist. Cleinmann’s design depicts multiple generations of Black women across three sections. In the left panel, a group of women wearing richly colored robes and headwraps gaze in different directions in a desert setting, with multiple moons lighting the scene. Several of the women’s limbs are left unpainted, along with multiple of their robes and one woman’s entire face. In the middle, a mother holds her baby against her bare chest. A moon-like halo is painted behind her head. The mother’s left hand is unpainted. In the right panel, two more women are pictured in the desert. Details of both women and their dress are left unpainted; particularly, neither woman has any details of their faces painted.

          Mural painting became part of the art curriculum at Texas Southern University thanks to the influence of Dr. John T. Biggers. Biggers taught students an iterative process where they would start with mural studies, then sketch on the wall using a grid technique, and finally paint in the sketch. Typically unfinished murals would be painted over and given to a new student. However, in a couple of rare cases like this, partially completed murals would be allowed to remain to provide viewers insights into the mural creation process. Cleinmann’s mural seems to have been influenced by Dr. Biggers’ teachings. Biggers’ artwork centers the importance of Black women and their contributions to society. The mural also reflects a sense of past, present, and future. The left panel represents the past, showing ancestors and a path in the background, representing their journeys through life. The middle, where the figure looks directly at the viewers, depicts the present. On the right the viewer sees the future, as the women walk side-by-side into life’s next steps.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.