Winston-Salem, City of the Arts, Packages and Trails, Wineries, Golf

These two murals represent an integration of knowledge from many academic disciplines. African mythology and folklore has been fused with mathematical concepts, scientific theories, literary extracts, American history events, sociological pattern and religious beliefs. View the murals from each level of the staircase and find these abstract or symbolic images to uncover some of the many stories the murals contain. As you ascend the stairs, you will notice that both murals rise from the earth plane toward the heavenly/spatial realm.

"Origins" - Mural on West Wall
This mural addresses man's continuous quest to understand the forces behind the beginning of life. Presented are legends about the great mother goddesses, the Egyptian gods and goddesses, sacred animals, the dualities in nature, and planetary forces.

Can you discern that the mural is divided in two halves? One side represents night with the moonlight, while the other side represents day with sunlight. Which side is which? How can you tell?
Find the great water pot of life which both animal and plant life flows. Look closely and you will see fish and turtles swimming within the pot. The pot is sitting on an African ceremonial stool.
Can you find the sacred elephant, the bearer of the life giving waters?
The story of Osiris, life and death, African god of fertility, forms the foundation of this mural. Find his image near the bottom of the mural. He is lying on his back, floating on the back of a double-headed crocodile. Look hard. The artist used a layering technique whereby images are painted on top of, underneath and within other images. Hint: Osiris' eye is near the elephant. His eye is also the eye of one of the crocodiles.
Find Isis. African mother goddess of fertile water and associated with the sun. She is the wife of Osiris, who, with the help of her sister, Nephthys, the mother of the goddess of the dead and associated with the moon, resurrected the murdered Osiris. Hint: These women are opposite each other and relate to first bullet (above).
In the natural, there are opposites and pairs such as night and day, life and death, man and woman.
Find the male companions of Isis and Nephthys. Then find the couple's children. The children symbolize the states of active and passive. One child is awake and the other is asleep.
Notice that the two men have rocket-shaped heads. Find the gun beneath the foot of one man (symbolic of man's weapons and ability to destroy the universe) and the fish and plant beneath the foot of the other man (symbolic of man's ability to live in harmony with nature, thus preserving the universe).
Find "Jacob's Ladder" that each man is climbing.
Many ancient cultures have stories about a great mother goddess who brings forth life. Find the great mother goddess who has twins on her knees and the new life (families) coming forth.
Find the two celestial choirs (14 pots on a gourd barge, with combs ascending from them). The 14 pots represent the 14 phases of the moon when it waxes and the 14 phases of the moon when it wanes. The combs are symbolic of the multi-cultural and ethnic nature of humanity.

"Ascension" - Mural on East Wall

This mural interprets the experiences, hopes, suffering and joy of living in America. The messages within the mural are: 1) that family members must support each other and maintain unity with the older generation to successfully conquer life's barriers; 2) that achievement comes from a supportive neighborhood and community; and 3) that individuals must acquire depth and breadth of knowledge about many subjects, so that knowledge becomes the foundation of growth and the acquisition of greater self-worth, self-esteem and clarity of one's place in the universe.

Find the three railroad tracks which symbolize the barriers in life. Hint: There is one at the bottom, middle and near the top of the mural.
In African American history, the railroad track was a barrier that divided the "black" side of town from the "white" side of town. The railroad was, however, the route to freedom. During the "great migration" of blacks from the south to the north during the 1920s and 30s, the railroad was the principal mode of transportation. What was the name of the railroad that took black from slavery to freedom?
Find the family unit-mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, boy and girl. How can you tell which adults are the grandparents? Where is the child that symbolizes the future?
Find the seven pots, which are symbolic of the seven fires lit during the West African ceremony of the new harvest. These pots remind us that the African slaves brought with them a rich heritage of knowledge, customs, traditions and ceremonies. Many have gone unrecognized or unaccredited, such as rice cultivation and banjo making.
Find the neighborhood, characterized by shotgun houses and architectural design commonly used in the construction of housing for African Americans.
Within the neighborhood, find the women whose heads are touching the roof of their houses. These women symbolize the mother's enduring support of the family life. Also, find the men with the lantern. These men are bringing forth the new seed.
Find the city, where, within its institutions, many of life's most difficult barriers exist.
As an individual grows in knowledge and from life experiences he/she is transformed intellectually and spiritually. Find the transformed human spirits who have overcome the barriers of community and city and now soar in a higher dimension. Hint: These are abstract depictions involving anvils, washboards and combs.
Find the cellular structure of nature, the biological cells that make up all life. The images are also symbols of those invisible forces (cosmic energy) that replenish the earth. Hint: Gray and blue bubbles.