Description: Chemistry themed mural commemorating the Class of 2020, featuring an artistic depiction of the COVID-19 virus within the ____ and _____ tunnel system at _____.
Supplemental Information: This mural is a permanent piece of artwork located inside the underground tunnel connecting ____ Hall and ____ Hall at _____. The tunnel contains numerous chemistry themed murals created by students and classes over the years. The submitted mural specifically commemorates the Class of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. The supporting photos show a progression from outside _____ (a location visible on Google Street View) into the tunnel system where the mural is located, allowing reviewers to verify the location despite the artwork being indoors and not directly visible from satellite imagery.
Niantic Note
Thanks for the appeal, Wayfinder! The nomination in question does not fall under Wayfarer mural criteria. If this assessment is not accurate, please resubmit the nomination with additional context.
We recommend you review the Wayspot Criteria and Forum Criteria Discussions Library sections before submitting your next Wayspot contribution:
I wish they had pointed you directly to the “Wayfarer mural criteria” because I don’t know where that is. Is this just a fragment of a larger mural? Could they have not considered it distinct enough on its own merits?
(Welcome to the forum, btw!)
Oh, I bet they were referring to this clarification:
Although I can’t see how the reviewers picked this rejection, I do see an immediate problem.
I cannot find the POI from the main photo in your supporting photo. For almost all wayspots, you should have the POI in the supporting photo so that reviewers can confirm the supporting photo does support the POI.
You can sometimes get away with forgetting to do this when there is streetview, although it will always be a red flag for many reviewers.
For something that isn’t on streetview, it’s even worse not to do this.
Edit: I just realised you only showed the last supporting photo. Can you please share all of them.
When the community has rejected the nomination, this rejection reason seems to mean they picked “Generic Business.” When Niantic has rejected the nomination, this rejection seems to mean they think it is “generic.”
I might try again with a new nomination submitting this whole wall as a mural. You may be able to set your camera to .6 to make it look like you are standing further back to get the whole thing in.
I would have thought that each piece of art is its own separate mural that sit along side one another? They each tell a unique story, but if you think that will work I’ll give it a try.
By using multiple supporting photos to link from streetview to this POI, you have done exactly what is required to help reviewers confirm the location. Therefore, I do not think (prior to what I said before) that the location is an issue in that regard.
I agree with @cyndiepooh that a photo of the entire wall would be better. In this case, you have to use an angled photo because it is unavoidable.
(Each piece of the mural is not separately eligible. This is one POI.)
It is very subjective as to what constitutes a unique piece of art. If you are unable to get a decent photo of the entire work, I think any of the other sections besides this one would be more likely to be considered as a defined separate piece. But the mural as a whole makes a better statement.
Interesting ok! That’s good to know. When I first got the message from Niantic I reread the library like they suggested and saw the info:
" Murals and Street Art
Murals are great works of art and therefore eligible along with street art. Each mural should be a single Wayspot unless it has sections that tell a distinct enough story or are physically separate. Works that are considered vandalism would not qualify."
source:
I would have thought that it would be distinct enough for them to each be different POIs, but if they should be all the same, so be it.
I just feel these are too close together to be eligible as separate POs. Just 2 or 3 metres is not enough.
The criteria clarification seems to be thinking more about large exterior murals spreading around a building or along a wall. When a mural is 100m long, there is potential to see it as being eligible for multiple wayspots.
If each tells a different story, each could be considered separately. I don’t see how the virus piece tells a separate story. Here is a great example of connected murals that are each eligible separately:
So it seems more of a subjective call? Maybe I’ll try resubmitting it one last time as it’s own unique POI, and if it doesn’t get approved I’ll do the combined tactic.
I personally think that the COVID-19 mural is one of the best candidates for an ongoing mural to be considered unique that there can possibly be. The story of lockdown disrupting the flow of campus, not showing the class year underneath like all the others. Showing a foreboding virus floating amongst all the other class murals with their human touches like hand prints. It definitely stands out. Thats not to say that the murals on the same wall aren’t unique in their own right. The 2022 mural has elements of COVID-19 lingering on in a painting of a Hazard Diamond. COVID-19 is located under the blue diamond in “health”, I can definitely see what that artist was trying to convey. I know that it’s our job to provide context as a submitter, but it can be hard for a submitter to really leave all that detail in a single post on something that is so large, and because I’m not the artist, I’m sure there is plenty of subtext to the story that they are trying to tell that I’m not seeing here.
Edit: I also wanted to say that the Great Wall of Los Angeles is more connected and intertwined than the art I’m showcasing. Sure the art is chronological and close by but I don’t think that should inherently mean it’s all one piece of the same mural. The chronology of it makes it easy to showcase the attributes of that specific class and their accomplishments in artistic packages.
Thank you for your help. I will keep your suggestions in mind in case it gets denied again : )
I was actually unable to submit a wayspot a few years ago with the term ‘COVID’ in it because it was flagged as inappropriate, and had to give the submission a different name. The rejection reason you received doesn’t sound related to this, but perhaps it’s plausible that it’s causing issues for you as well? Just a thought.
maybe put something about how it is part of history and by such a part of everyone who was alive during that time and should be remembered as such and the mural celebrates that? also u could try having another person with an account old enough try to nominate it with a fresh “about” section? thats all i got off the top of my noggin. good luck and imo it deserves to be a wayspot
Personally i think you will still have issue with location. The mural seems located deep enough that there are some gap between foto. With foto alone its hard to know for sure where exactly the mural located. You might want to use gps tagged photo on all those supporting foto so reviewer can tell better
