Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Jenna Clark
art that brings attention to the 6th mass extinction, climate change and species equality (Urban
Nation). The 6th mass extinction is a movement bringing attention to animal extinctions rates
resulting from human activities (Live Extinction). Louis Masai was compelled by this movement
to protect our animals and created his own art movement to bring attention to the effect humans
The art piece The Art of Beeing located on the Southside of Roosevelt Street between
Fifth and Sixth streets is a mural of a bee and a jaguar. The bee is painted in the traditional black
and yellow; however, the jaguar is painted with multiple pieces of patterned- fabric looking
textiles. Above the mural the words “ONLY 15,000 JAGUARS REMAIN IN THE WILD!”
which helps viewers to understand the message being portrayed by the piece. The background of
this mural is black which helps the piece pop and look 3-D. The textile designs in the Jaguar
range from color patterns, to cactuses, to bananas. He uses these bright, contrasting patterns to
symbolize less important things that humans care more about than the lives of these animals. For
example, bananas do not have a huge meaning to humans besides for food, but he uses them as a
pattern in his work to construct a bigger meaning on animals becoming extinct seem to also not
have a significance to humans. The bee is sewing together the fabric looking jaguar with a needle
in the bees legs. When first looking at this mural it draws your eyes toward the colorful jaguar,
Louis Masai has painted multiple different murals all over the world that all highlight the
6th Mass Extinction. He has been apart of multiple different urban movements that try to gain
attention of what is going on in the wild. Louis also attentened Falmouth School of Art where he
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gained a prestigious art education. Louis was also apart of a podcast which offered him a
different creative platform other than murals. His podcasts were open discussions with
This particular painting is located on the Southside of Roosevelt Street between Fifth and Sixth
streets; however, this painting is apart of the “The Art of Beeing” movement. “The Art of
Beeing’ is calling for individuals to unite, much like bees, to put nature first. The true ‘Art of
Beeing’ is humanity coming together to restore the planet. The time to end extinction is now”
(LouisMasai). The political purpose of this mural is to grab attention of viewers to take action in
helping the animals. There are many ways everyone can get involved. Donations can be made to
foundations that support animals that are becoming extinct. People can also try to get political
The Rhetorical attributes within the mural starts with the needle. The words painted in the
mural help the viewer to understand the message in the mural. The rhetorical message about the
jaguar is the symbolic message about the jaguar population decreasing toward total distinction.
The main focus on this piece focuses on the human contribution to the extinction based on the
hunting occurring from the commercial hunting of jaguars. The intended audience for this piece
is all humans, with the hope to raise awareness. Most people do not realize that so many animals
are coming close to extinction due to humans. The purpose is to create awareness and spark
interest in the topic of animal extinction. The ethos in this mural stems from the credibility of the
fact that is written on the top of the mural. The audience needs to trust that there is in fact only
15,000 jaguars left in the wild. The emotion that grabs the audience is the pathos. The animals
are dying and that makes most people upset and sad that people are killing these animals. The
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rhetorical goal is grab viewers emotionally with the goal that they can start making a difference
for the animals. The Logos is the evidence that is literally present on the mural. Kairos refers to
the timing of the situation and this is going on everyday around us so the kairos holds a very
Louis Masai used his creative platform to show the world something he is passionate
about. His dedication to the world will hold his legacy in saving the lives of animals everyday.
His art piece that is located in Downtown Phoenix is one of many that support the animals and
create awareness. His use of rhetoric messages are very strong and interpreted easy by the
viewing audience.
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References
https://urban-nation.com/artist/louis-masai/#theartistbio
https://www.livescience.com/47733-humans-destroy-earth-biodiversity.html
http://louismasai.com/projects/the-art-of-beeing/