Forging connections between lost L.A. murals and muralism in San Francisco

Most good ideas, the ones that last long enough to be executed, are birthed through trial and error. That was what the Exquisite Mural Project was - hard work, laden with questions that needed to be answered, but ultimately a product of love. It was born out of a desire to share the exhibition Murales Rebeldes: L. A. Chicana/o Murals Under Siege (co-produced with LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes), with young people, to help forge connections between lost and disappearing murals in Los Angeles and muralism in San Francisco, and to always emphasizing that each individual could be and is an artist in his/her/their own right.

It began with the surrealist parlor game Exquisite Corpse. Exquisite Corpse is played with a piece of paper folded (portrait style) into thirds. One person draws the top portion, another draws the middle, and the final person completes the bottom portion. The surprise is that no one can see what the prior person drew, so when it is completed, an oftentimes wild and hilarious image is produced. Jessica Hough, CHS's Director of Exhibitions, loved the game and told me about how artists like Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo played it, albeit in a much more tongue in cheek way. Drawing from that concept, I thought it would be really fun to take a large piece of paper, fold it (landscape style) into thirds and have different students, artists, friends, and colleagues join in. The final "exquisite mural" piece would have three different people communicating across it, from different times, different locations, and perhaps without ever meeting each other. It was exciting to think of what connections, disconnections, and continuities might appear. Thus, The Exquisite Mural Project was born! That was the idea.

Mural created as a collaboration by three participants during the Exquisite Mural project

All good ideas face the challenge of execution. Who would do it? How would we do it? What if it didn't work? What if the kids didn't understand the concept? These questions helped us develop the the project and avoid many pitfalls, but not all of them! I began to work with my colleagues at CHS to identify after school and summer programs we might collaborate with. I immediately thought of Mission Beacon, an after-school summer program that we have worked with in the past. Another colleague suggested Jamestown and introduced me to his contact there. We were on our way to the answer of one of our questions: who would do it?

In order to figure out how the project would work, several CHS staff members from different departments came together to share ideas and concepts. Each person presented a few options and we even brought in an outside arts educator who offered great feedback and ideas. Finally, we devised the process: sites and site supervisors would be informed of the project ahead of time and would be sent examples of completed Exquisite Murals, in order to prepare them for the project and a visit to CHS. Groups of students would come to CHS, where they would meet a docent who would engage them in a discussion about muralism, graffiti, and the public art in their own communities. The group would then have a conversation with the docent inside the exhibition galleries about concepts embedded in the murals and stories on display: the Chicano Movement, social activism, art making, and preservation. Finally, they would sit down with snacks, be taught the "exquisite mural" concept, and create their own piece of art.

(L to R) CHS Executive Director Anthea Hartig, Programs & Visitor Experience Manager Patricia Pforte, poet Eileen Torrez, Guest Concierge & Docent Erik Zuniga, and L.A. muralist Ernesto de la Loza.

Once we had the project concepts nailed down, I elicited feedback from staff at Mission Beacon and Jamestown  to ensure that the project would work well with their students. I learned that it was essential to have docents that spoke Spanish as well as English, that the kids receive snacks, and that the trip be several hours long. They also made suggestions as to how to engage the students with the content. I took that feedback and incorporated it into the project.

We decided to do a test-run of the project shortly after the opening of Murales Rebeldes in San Francisco in April. Barbara Carrasco, one of the exhibition’s featured artists, was in town, and was eager to participate. We learned a lot from the trial run, including the importance of language skills, and that every group was unique and required flexibility.

One of the first changes that we made was involving Erik Zuniga, who works at CHS as a Guest Concierge. Erik had expressed interest in the exhibition, is originally from Los Angeles, and is bi-lingual. After Erik confirmed his availability, we discussed the types of questions we might ask the kids and devised strategies to engage them if they strayed from the content or became bored. We continued to re-work the tour and after each one, discussed new strategies and questions to pose. Towards the end, Erik independently devised methods that were successful with the younger kids. So much of the project involved circling back, occasionally abandoning old processes for new ones, and not being too hard on ourselves when things did not go as planned. I reminded myself, Erik, and others that keeping it simple and being flexible would be our constant friends during this process. Those two ideas stayed with us through the project’s four months.

So, what came of all of this? We served 250 individuals from after school and summer camp groups from Mission Beacon and Jamestown between April and July, and brought the project to the Oakland Museum of California to serve another 100 people, bringing our total reach to 350. We also hosted tours from schools across San Francisco, Dewitt Anderson School, and a Mission dance group, among others. With hundreds of kids inspired by the exhibition and now aware of its message, we could step back and be proud of the work.

Exquisite Murals adorning the gallery walls above the ¡Murales Rebeldes! exhibition. 

What did we learn? We learned to reach out and collaborate, take suggestions and try out new ideas, utilize our strengths, and think positively in challenging moments. Lastly, we learned to expand and contract the project based on our needs as well as those of  the group. Erik also developed new skills, and got to work with muralists from Los Angeles and San Francisco. 

I look back at this project with great fondness and am reminded of what it taught me: that if you have a good idea, remember to think about how to execute it and do that thinking with all the people involved. With collaboration as your shining light and your foundation, you can never go wrong.

Watch a video of our Exquisite Mural celebration and poetry reading:

by Patty Pforte, Programs & Visitor Experience Manager

Celebrating El Día de los Muertos / The Day of the Dead

Diego Rivera, El día de los muertos: La oferta/The Day of the Dead: The Offering, 1923–24 
Secretaría de Educacíon Pública, Mexico City

Candles. Crucifix. Flowers. Incense. Fruit. Calaveras. These and other elements comprise the ofrenda, or offering—an essential component of Day of the Dead celebrations. Originally a traditional family observance in Mexico, the Day of the Dead is widely celebrated in the United States in both public and private places.

Honoring and welcoming the spirits of the dead, the ofrenda, a ritual altar, is a personal expression of love for those who have died, a feast for the spirits that visit. Both children (November 1) and adults (November 2) are honored. The festivities and rituals of El Día de los Muertos also reflect communal forms of honoring the dead, thus making the act of remembering a collective one.

Diego Rivera’s Ofrenda
In the fresco panel above, the renowned painter and muralist Diego Rivera offers both a conventional and suggestive ofrenda. As the art historian David Craven explained in his book Art and Revolution in Latin America, 1910–1990:

The upper register of his fresco contains an unusual, Indo-Christian cross that is similar to the early sixteenth-century Cruz atrial (Atrial cross) at Acolman . . . . This image attests to the persistence of Native American traditions and the imposition of Hispanic institutions. Precisely because this “dialogical” configuration remains a repository of repressed cultural forms, it has become a stimulus for contemporary Latin American artists seeking to reconstruct their regional identities, thus synthesizing new visual forms with fragments from a splintered past.

Yreina Cervántez’ Ofrenda

Yreina D. Cervántez’ 1989 mural La Ofrenda, painted under a bridge in downtown Los Angeles, embraces this concept of honor and identity. In it, Cervántez—an artist and Chicana activist—pays homage to Dolores Huerta, co-founder with César Chávez of the United Farm Workers of America.

Yreina D. Cervántez, La Ofrenda, 1989 

Courtesy Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC)

The Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC), a collaboration between communities and artists, observed:

The offerings come in form of candles, calla lilies, a god’s eye, and images of the workers for whose rights [Huerta] fought for. On the right side of the piece, open hands display a poem by Gloria Alvarez. The mural is an homage to the strength of Latina women. It brings attention to the hardships of war and immigration, while highlighting the life and hope that endures through these struggles.

In a recent interview, Cervántez recalled the mural’s numerous intents:

Everything in this mural is really a kind of a dedication, an ofrenda, an offering to the community. It speaks about spirit as well and Native American practices in terms of spirituality and how we reclaim that as a form of decolonizing ourselves.
This mural was done in 1989 and it was done to create a kind of bridge of solidarity between the Chicana/Chicano community and the Central American/Latin American community in regards to all of the immigration that was happening because of the wars in Latin America and Central America.

It was also meant to be a homage to of course the struggles of working people here and everywhere and in particular the Farmworkers Union which is why Dolores Huerta is prominent in the mural.

Also it was meant to be an homage to the fact that it is women many times that are at the forefront of creating positive change.

Restored for the first time in 2012, La Ofrenda was continually vandalized over time. By 2015, the CityWide Mural Program’s (CWMP) had added it to its list for conservation with the support of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Instead, the mural was completely covered by another mural. Finally, on July 20, 2016, CWMP led a new restoration effort.

Restoration of Yreina Cervántez’ La Ofrenda, Los Angeles, September 2016
Courtesy of Oscar Castillo

Murales Rebeldes / Contested Murals

The neglect, defacement, destruction, and censorship of murals that promote Hispanic/Latino identity and activism have been troubling and ongoing occurrences in the Los Angeles communities for whom these artworks were created and for the artists who created them.

Destruction of the Filling Up on Ancient Energies (1981) mural by East Los Streetscapers

In Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, May 24, 1988
Courtesy East Los Streetscapers

In September 2017, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes and the California Historical Society will address the subject of contested murals with the exhibition and related publication ¡Murales Rebeldes!: Contested Chicana/o Public Art, part of the Getty Foundation’s region-wide Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, opening September 2017.

The project features murals by Barbara Carrasco, Yreina Cervántez, Roberto Chávez, Ernesto de la Loza, East Los Streetscapers, Willie Herrón, and Sergio O’Cadiz; photographs by Oscar Castillo; and essays by journalist Gustavo Aurello.

Shelly Kale
Publications and Strategic Projects Manager
skale@calhist.org

Sources

• David Craven, Art and Revolution in Latin America, 1910–1990 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002 and 2006).
• Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC), Iconic LA mural SAVED: “La Ofrenda” by Yreina Cervantez Returns, Sept. 2, 2016; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQxggxE_7mU

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Read more about ¡Murales Rebeldes!: Contested Chicana/o Public Art on the CHS Blog:

• http://californiahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2016/03/murales-rebeldes-contested-chicanao.htm
• http://californiahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2016/10/murales-rebeldes-contested-chicanao.html
• http://californiahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2016/10/giving-voice-through-art-national.html

Giving Voice through Art: National Hispanic Heritage Month

Various Artists, Siqueiros: La Voz de la Gente!, Los Angeles, 2012

Courtesy of the Siqueiros Foundation of the Arts

Today, as this year’s annual National Hispanic Heritage Month ends, we pay tribute to the artistic contributions of Hispanic muralists whose work celebrates not only their artistic vision but also public art, community, history and cultural tradition, story-telling, and political and social equality.

Four years ago in Los Angeles, in recognition of the 2012 Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month, a group of muralists decided to create an homage to the iconic Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. With a focus on community, the team—Juan Carlos Munoz Hernandez, Raul Gonzalez, Anna Siqueiros, Willie Herrón, and Ernesto de la Loza—assembled over 30 artists to collaborate on the mural’s production.

The mural, La Voz de la Gente! La Resurreción de Cuauhtémoc en las Americas: Homenaje a David Alfaro Siqueiros, honors one of Mexico’s great muralists, David Alfaro Siqueiros. His call to create street art “on the most visible sides of high modern buildings, in the most strategic places in ‘callejones’ in working-class districts, in Union Halls, in public squares, in sports stadia, in open-air theaters,” is lettered in to the 16 x 50-foot mural located in an alley behind 2631½ Cullen Street in Culver City.

La Voz de la Gente! was also reaction to Los Angeles’s Mural Moratorium (2002–2013), which, with its bureaucratic regulations, effectively prohibited the production of new murals and graffiti. Yet, the moratorium was and is not the only source of muting, disrespecting, and rejecting the voices of Los Angeles’ Hispanic muralists and graffiti artists.

Remains of the 1981 East Los Streetscapers’ mural Filling Up on Ancient Energies in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, May 24, 1988. The mural was destroyed without notifying the artists.

Ushering in the 2017 National Hispanic Heritage Month on September 4 and continuing until January 2018, the California Historical Society and LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes will launch an exhibition devoted to this topic. ¡Murales Rebeldes!: Contested Chicana/o Public Art will look at the way in which Chicana/o murals in the greater Los Angeles area have been contested, challenged, censored, and even destroyed.

This exhibition and its companion publication of the same name are part of the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA. ¡Murales Rebeldes! will examine the iconography, content, and artistic strategies of key Los Angeles-area Chicana/o murals that have made others uncomfortable to the point of provoking a contrary response, delving into the murals’ complicated creation and subsequent disturbing history of denial. Artists Willie Herrón and Ernesto de la Loza—among the co-muralists of La Voz de la Gente!—are featured with muralists Barbara Carrasco, Yriena Cervántez, Roberto Chávez, Sergio O’Cadiz, and East Los Streetscapers in this compelling, critical examination.

Read more about ¡Murales Rebeldes!: Contested Chicana/o Public Art.

Shelly Kale

Publications and Strategic Projects Manager

skale@calhist.org

Sources

• Holly Barnet-Sanchez, Tim Drescher, Give Me Life: Iconography and Identity in East LA Murals (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2016)
• Carlyn Aguilar, New Mural in Culver City for Siqueiros, March 5, 2012 
• http://notesonlooking.com/2012/03/new-mural-in-culver-city-for-siqueiros-papel-y-madera-fabian-debora-at-homeboy-frida-kahlo-esta-en-wonderland-carolyn-castanos-narco-venus-mi-familia/

This Day in History August 29: National Chicano Moratorium

Willie Herron and Gronk, Moratorium—The Black and White Mural, 1973

Courtesy of Nancy Tovar Murals of East Los Angeles Slide Collection

Chicano Studies Research Center, UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles

Forty-six years ago today, a rally to protest the Vietnam War turned deadly. Sponsored by the National Chicano Moratorium Committee, an antiwar activist group, the Chicano Moratorium march in Los Angeles drew up to 30,000 people eager to give their voice to the war’s injustices. Community members, families, artists, and students marched through East Los Angeles from Belvedere Park to what was then called Laguna Park.

During the rally, stores burned, over 100 people were arrested, many were injured, and four people were killed, including the prominent Chicano Los Angeles Times columnist Ruben Salazar.

The moratorium has been considered the largest anti-Vietnam War demonstration by a minority group and the largest demonstration of the Chicano Movement of the late 1960s and 1970s. And while the moratorium resulted in loss of life, it also gave birth to continued expression of Latino political power, including a murals movement that still resonates today.

Below we look at images of the Chicano Moratorium and examples of Chicano murals that were created in its wake.

Sal Castro (Photographer), Chicano Moratorium March, 1970

Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library, Security Pacific National Bank Collection

Sal Castro (Photographer), National Chicano Moratorium, 1970

Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library, Security Pacific National Bank Collection

Rioting Following Chicano Moratorium Committee Antiwar Protest, 1970

Courtesy of Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive, Department of Special Collections,

Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA

Guy Goodenow (Photographer), Harbor College Mural, 1973

Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library, Herald-Examiner Collection

 David Botello’s Dreams of Flight at Estrada Courts, East Los Angeles, 1973–78

Courtesy of UCLA Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicana/o Studies http://publicartla.blogspot.com/2014/07/week-4-estrada-courts_6248.html

El Congresso de Artists Cosmicos de las Americas de San Diego’s We Are Not a Minority at Estrada Courts, East Los Angeles, 1978

Courtesy of Los Angeles Conservancy; photo by Adrian Scott Fine

Shelly Kale

Publications and Strategic Initiatives Manager

skale@calhist.org

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Together with LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Los Angeles, the California Historical Society is developing an exhibition and related publication about contested Chicano Murals, part of the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA project sponsored by the Getty and Bank of America.

September 4, 2017 - January 29, 2018

¡Murales Rebeldes!: Contested Chicana/o Public Art

LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
501 North Main Street
Los Angeles, California

¡Murales Rebeldes!: Contested Chicana/o Public Art

Barbara Carrasco, L.A. History: A Mexican Perspective (1981)

Today the J. Paul Getty Foundation announced that 43 museums and cultural institutions from Santa Barbara to San Diego will be creating exhibitions focused on Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles. The program—Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA—will take place in the fall of next year, and we are very pleased to announce that we are participating in this collaboration of arts institutions in Southern California!

In partnership with LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, a cultural center focused on the Mexican-American experience in Los Angeles and Southern California, CHS will present ¡Murales Rebeldes!: Contested Chicana/o Public Art. The exhibition will look at the way in which Chicana/o murals in the greater Los Angeles area have been contested, challenged, censored, and even destroyed.

Murals became an essential form of artist response and public voice during el movimiento/the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and particularly after the Chicano Moratorium’s formation in 1968 and the powerful march in East Los Angeles in 1970. .Murals were a means of expressing both pride and frustration at a time when other channels of communication were limited for the Mexican-American community.

The exhibition will explore murals by Barbara Carrasco, Roberto Chavez, Sergio O’Cadiz, among others. Through photography of the murals, sketches, related art works, and ephemera, the exhibition will tell the story of the mural from its genesis to its end.

Mexican-American artists developed imagery to communicate their struggles, assert their rights as citizens, and as author and co-curator Guisela Latorre writes in Walls of Empowerment, “aid in the formation of a Chicana/o nationalist identity.” While asserting cultural identity via this evolving visual vocabulary, artists also used murals as public platforms to protest against the injustices of institutionalized racism, including police brutality, educational inequality, inferior working conditions, and persisting colonial legacies.

It is difficult to underestimate the personal, political, and artistic significance of the creation of murals in the vast Los Angeles region, as LA has proven fertile ground for thousands of murals. Chicana/o murals have often been sites of controversy. The ways in which their creators provoke the dominant cultural norm and challenge the assumed historic narrative have often resulted in the desecration, whitewashing, or destruction of these works of art. Outright neglect and mistreatment of murals, as well as dismissal of their artistic and historical value, also threaten the survival of these works.

In this exhibition in the historic heart of Los Angeles, LA Plaza and CHS will examine the iconography, content, and artistic strategies of key Los Angeles area Chicana/o murals that have made others uncomfortable to the point of provoking a contrary response, delving into the murals’ complicated creation and subsequent disturbing history of censorship.

¡Murales Rebeldes!: Contested Chicana/o Public Art will open on September 4, 2017  and will be on view through January 29, 2018 at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes.

Stay tuned for updates on this exciting project!

Jessica Hough
Director of Exhibitions
jhough@calhist.org