C•A•Re

Community Arts Research

AIDS Mural

Spring 2006
Location: Saginaw Valley State University (Saginaw, MI).
Medium: Airbrush on canvas.

SVSU Art Students Involved: Howard McLean.

Howard McLean was a participant in the 2006 Saginaw High School digital mural project, and that same Winter semester he executed a plywood panel for the Together with Friends house.  Yet McLean has also executed mural projects on campus on his own initiative—something faculty always favorably notice, students who create artwork out of joy, not merely for getting class credit.

When the AIDS quilt came to SVSU in 2006, many students said they were going to create artwork to display their solidarity, but Howard McLean was one of the few who actually did. His 8’ x 15’ airbrushed mural on canvas was powerful and memorable.

He also produced a small, temporary work in the Student Center during Cinco de Mayo 2006 that made use of popular Mexican art and cultural motifs.  Howard McLean also the was editorial cartoonist for the SVSU Valley Vanguard from 2007 through 2010.  He graduated in December, 2008 with a degree in secondary art education, with plans to become a high school art teacher.