The unsung heroes of the american workforce

“The unsung Heroes of the American Workforce”

After multiple meetings and emails, I started the design process by writing down the key goals of this mural project. The main and most important goal was to celebrate the American workforce, and to show specific services, Geiler the company, provides. The second standout goal came after reading the long history of the company. Since the beginning of the Geiler Company, there is a reoccurring theme of patriotism, and it seemed like a necessary concept to include. Lastly, I wanted to reference in some way, the long history of Geiler in the Cincinnati area. 

When you first see the design, you notice all the different figures working on all different projects, intertwined with all the different piping configurations. There is a variety of different sizes as well as genders and ethnicities to portray the diverse workforce of our country. It was decided to leave the workers faceless to ascent the main concept of this unsung workforce. These men and women make up a very broad sector of the workforce, and rarely get the credit they deserve. They are rarely noticed or recognized, yet they accomplish some of the largest, most important tasks, which helps keep modern life running smoothly for all of us. Leaving the figures faceless also allows there to be far more focus on the tasks they are working on, as opposed to what they look like. 

All the tasks portrayed highlights all the main services Geiler offers: Plumbing, HVAC, heating, air, process piping, welding, and pipe fabrication. A great deal of attention was given to the positions of the workers to help keep a movement throughout the composition. It was also a conscious decision to have the majority of the action to take place in the upper half, which allows a passerby to still make out the meaning of the design, even when the lot is full of vehicles.

The entire background is an American flag. It is faintly colored to help push the workers forward and help highlight their activity. Including the flag celebrates these men and women of the workforce on a national level, as well as giving the entire composition a theme of patriotism. 

To reference the city in which Geiler has called home for over 100 years, I have embedded the Cincinnati Skyline into the center, or at the heart of, the entire composition. I didn’t want the skyline to be overtly visible, but rather an engrained part of the entire composition. This helps to tie in the idea that this city was built by men and women that were behind the scenes. Now with this mural celebrating them, they are more prominent than the skyline itself. (See Skyline overlay example image below )

-Mural is located at 6561 Glenway Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45211

-Acrylic on brick

-83’ x 20’

2018