Photo by Dexter Bercero

Campus mural promotes unity in our diversity
By Carmen O.Orosco, Forty-Niner Online
April 18, 1996.

The long awaited mural, "Face Values," was finally unveiled in the stairwell of the Cal state Long Beach University Student Union Wednesday.

Artist Devin Tani and Associated Students Inc. President Carl Kemp pulled off the black plastic cover in front of a campus crowd that included CSULB President Robert Maxson and Student Service Vice President Douglas Robinson.

The multi-colored mural is a circle with eight faces representing ethnicity from around the world. In the center, the faces are united by the three unifying celestial bodies and the peace symbol: the sun, the moon and the Earth.

The faces belong to Tani's friends; one representing the Japanese influence on the upper right belongs to his sister, Blythe.

Tani's father, Karl, a graphic designer, stood proudly by his son, "I always thought of him as a great painter," he said.

The mural's faces are encircled by a quote: "Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned - That until there are no longer first and second class citizens of any nation - Unt il the color of our skins is of no more significance than the color of our eyes - Until that day the dream of lasting peace, world citizenship will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued." H.I.M. Devin Tani.

"This whole thing started when Carl Kemp called and shared his vision of a mural with a cross-cultural diversity theme," Tani said. "Each face on the mural has a continent to show its origin. The peace sign is something I feel we should all pay attention I want people to see color and patterns in harmony."

He hopes that people find something new in his art every time they see it.

Kemp praised and thanked Tani for his 175 hours of work that Kemp commissioned to teach students they can appreciate and better understand other cultures through art.

"This mural was a little idea from me and a lot from him," Kemp said. "I respect his work and his insight."

President Maxson explained he felt that art is a vision of reality.

"We are not here to give speeches. This mural is another example of student government at its best and another example of the Student Union to serve students," Maxson said.

Kemp met Tani in an art class several semesters ago. "I always admired and respected his work so I knew he was the artist for the job," Kemp said.

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