Texas Southern University

          Johnny Jones’ 1968 mural was created during a peak of interest in science-fiction media. The release of films like Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and novels like Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange & Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, scenes of aliens, space, and far-away planets captivated Americans’ imaginations.  Correspondingly, several Hannah Hall murals contain images of alien and mythical figures, scientific tools, and outer space, as these artists explored worlds beyond their own experiences. Dr. John Biggers, the founder of TSU’s art department and the creator of the mural program, did not censor the work of students, and as long as the work was done with sufficient care and craftsmanship ,the students' murals would remain on the walls.

          Jones used his opportunity to create a mural with alien/cyclops figures. Each figure has one, centered eye centered and is engaged in a different activity. The leftmost cyclops holds a scale in a bare hand, and is pulling a heavy weight with a gloved hand. Towards the middle, the next figure is wearing headphones and operating a television camera. At the time of the mural’s painting, the grayish/beige panel in the middle, where the camera lens would be, was a transom window, looking into the office on the other side of the wall. This is a prime example of Dr. Biggers’ instruction to students to “relate the painting to the wall and not cut a hole in the wall with the painting.” In the lower right corner, two more one-eyed figures look on solemnly and one holds a torch, which gives off a red smoke. The leftmost figure’s missing glove lingers behind them. In the lower portion of the mural, Jones embodies the style of Aaron Douglas, with the use of intertwined geometric shapes and bold color transitions overlapping one another.

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