Running head: THE ART OF BEEING EXTINCT

The Art of Beeing Extinct

Jenna Clark

Arizona State University

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The ​Art of Being​ mural located in Downtown Phoenix focuses on the issue of the 6th

mass extinction. The painter of this mural is named Louis Masai. He created a movement with

his murals that is all over the world. The mural has a deeper rhetorical message that focuses on

the cause that humans have on the animal extinction.

Keywords:​ The Art of Beeing, Mural, Painting, Arizona State University

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Can you imagine a world without animals? Louis Masai is a gifted artist that focuses on

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

are negatively having on this extinction of animals.

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 are 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,

but after looking further you notice the needle. The needle is a symbolic way to symbolize the

threading back together of the animals.

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
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attention of what is going on in the wild. Louis also attentened Falmouth School of Art where he

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

professionals on topics involving extinction pertaining to the professionals in different fields.

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

members to take action and join the movement.

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
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are dying and that makes most people upset and sad that people are killing these animals. The

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. This is important because the extinction is going on now and if action

is not taken now, over half of the species on earth could be extinct by 2050(Globalcitizen).

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

Half of the Species on Earth Could Go Extinct by 2050, Scientists Say. (n.d.). Retrieved

February 3, 2019, from

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/half-earths-species-extinct-2050/

Louis Masai. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2019, from

https://urban-nation.com/artist/louis-masai/#theartistbio

Pappas, S. (2014, September 08). 6th Mass Extinction? Humans Kill Species Faster Than

They're Created. Retrieved February 3, 2019, from

https://www.livescience.com/47733-humans-destroy-earth-biodiversity.html

The Art of Beeing. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2019, from

http://louismasai.com/projects/the-art-of-beeing/