Untitled (44UN-7803-002), Tanganyika (Tanzania), 1958
Todd Webb
Archival pigment print
Courtesy of the Todd Webb Archive L2020.85.56
Not on View
Murals painted on the exterior walls of homes, schools, and shops in rural Tanzania display advertising images and sometimes educational messages. In this painting of a clinic, a nun prepares medicine while a doctor or nurse with a stethoscope vaccinates a patient.
While possibly spotlighting the work happening inside the building on which it is painted, the mural also advocates for vaccines and medical care “At the Hospital,” as marked on the file or book on the table. Capturing the vents at the top of the wall and grass at ground level, Webb frames the mural to position the viewer as someone walking by.
Image: In Copyright. Courtesy of the Todd Webb Archive