Art Building Annex Mural | Portland State University

Untitled (Art Building Annex mural)

Ben Miller

A colorful mural on the exterior wall of a building, an abstract composition of plant life and leaves, in bright greens, pinks and blues.

Photo courtesy of the artist

The brick wall is shown before the mural was painted. It is colored mostly red but with patches of white. There are dumpsters in front of the wall.

The Art Building Annex's east exterior wall prior to the painting of Ben Miller's mural. Photo courtesy of the artist

A conceptual rendering of the mural, with digitally added colorful imagery added over a photo of the brick wall.

A preliminary conceptual mockup by Ben Miller. Image courtesy of the artist

The mural is about halfway finished. The upper half of the wall is white, and the lower half is painted with colorful abstract plant life.

The early stages of creating the mural. Photo courtesy of the artist

About the artwork

Ben Miller

Untitled, 2015

Located on the east exterior wall of the Art Building Annex

Artist Ben Miller described the concept behind the mural's imagery as "trees meet stained glass," adding that "the Art Building needs to say what it is (an Art Building) in ways more than words. The greatest expression of learning and discovery that comes to mind—at least where school is concerned—is artwork that students have created and can show the rest of the world. This installation may be a first step towards integrating more external and quality artwork on campus in places where it makes sense to do so. PSU faculty have trained us to make art. That's what we want to do!"

About the artist

Ben Miller is a PSU alumnus who completed this mural in 2015 as an undergraduate student. It was funded by the School of Art + Design and Planning, Construction & Real Estate. The Art Building Annex is home to graphic design classrooms and the BFA program's art studio spaces.

Banner image: Photo courtesy of the artist.