Among the towering concrete facades on the strip lies a new beautifying feature.
In a concrete cave behind the Union now sits the hard labor of the muralist, Megan Lingerfelt.
Amid the large overwhelming pallets of industrial grey, bursts of shades of green and orange. Massive vines climb the wall 25 feet. Leaves sporting shades of lime, emerald, and olive sprout from the runners. It’s all set across a backdrop of bright orange popping against the grey mass.
“It’s about 25 feet tall by 12 wide,” Lingerfelt said.
It took Lingerfelt and an assistant 3 days to complete the composition. Her assistant, Adele Ferguson, is a senior at the University of Tennessee, getting her bachelor’s in fine art in painting and drawing.
“It was a three-day project we started on Wednesday and were gonna finish today (Friday),” Lingerfelt said.
Lingerfelt has already worked on multiple projects around the city of Knoxville. Mostly in the Old City and Market Square area, walls are adorned with her work. She even does some she changes seasonally.
“I’ve done several in the alley. I do a seasonally changing mural in Strong Alley,” Lingerfelt said.
She draws inspiration from the natural world. This includes everything from the towering Smokies down to the smallest plants in her garden. She combines this with the location and culture of the area she paints. This mural is inspired by “ground cover” a plant such as English ivy or Japanese arrowroot.
“I do a lot of botanical work … but I wanted to make it something that really fit the space, so I definitely leaned into the UT orange,” Lingerfelt said. “The plant itself is a ground cover, and I use ground cover a lot.”
She thought of cover plants as an inspiration for this mural due to the nature of the location and those who would see it the most. With it being painted on the Hub, it’s analogous to the nature of being a student in college and the role played in society, according to Lingerfelt.
“So, you know, this is student housing, sort of development,” Lingerfelt said. “They’re here, they’re learning, and they’re in their sleep phase. They’re gathering, they’re growing, and it’s just like getting the tools they need to do the thing whenever they’re ready.”
The mural itself is sponsored and part of a much larger series of posters decorating multiple college campuses. The projects are sponsored by POSCA and Secret Walls. POSCA is a brand of water-based paint often used in murals. Secret Walls is an international organization working to showcase art and artists.
“This project is a collaboration between POSCA and Secret Walls, and it’s a college town communication kind of spree. They’re doing five different campuses this year.” Lingerfelt said. “They did Texas A&M last week.”
They plan to paint at: Texas A&M, University of Tennessee, Arizona State, University of Georgia, and Kent State. Brain Beck
“We try and leave it up to the artist as much as possible.” Brian Beck, the POSCA liaison, said.
The goal of Secret Walls and POSCA’s series of murals is to spread positivity and beautify the campuses. Secret Walls, POSCA and Lingerfelt hope that the murals will brighten the days of everyone who sees them.
“(We) want to encourage people to come and see it, and have little moments of joy when you’re just walking through an alley.” Lingerfelt said.
