L.A.'s NEWEST MURALS COLUMN

compiled by Robin Dunitz

The following new murals were completed through December, 1999. If you want your public to know about your newest mural, please send the information, along with a picture if possible, to Robin Dunitz, PO Box 5483, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413. Or you can call (818) 487-0416

Artist unknown, Untitled, c. 1870s. De la Osa Adobe, interior, Los Encinos State Historic Park, Encino. Sponsored by the Garnier family. Exposed after the building was damaged during the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, it took another five years before the murals were discovered in August under a layer of overpainting. Much work remains to be done before the murals will be completely visible. Paul Doolin, Monrovia Airport 1928-1953, 1997. Lucky/Sav-on, 725 East Huntington Dr., Monrovia. Ceramic tile. The subject is the old local airport, which was located across the street. Mark Stock, Enrapture: Scene 1, 1999. 4th Street and Boylston, downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles Center Studios. Two images, 35 x 61’ each, photo-enlargements on vinyl of paintings. Open-end narrative realist images of a woman evesdropping (right image) and a broken vase of flowers (left image). Two more murals will follow in 2000 and 2001. Eric Ernest Johnson, Pleasures of the Harbor, 1999. 1424 Second Street, Santa Monica. Three stories high. The mural depicts southern Californians' love for water, sun and sea. "A body of water, with its currents and waves, is central to the theme of the mural and to much of my work. After all, I am a Pisces." Eric Johnson.

Elliott Pinkney, Getting to Know You, 1999. Sativa County Water District Office, 2015 East Hatchway St., Compton. Acrylic. Replaces another Pinkney mural, Community Heroes, painted in 1990. The themes are similar, images from African American and Mexican American cultures. Raul Baltazar and students, A Life is a Terrible Thing to Waste, 1999. Community Youth Sports and Arts Foundation, 4828 Crenshaw Blvd., South Los Angeles. 13' x 47', sponsored by the L.A. Theatre Works' Arts & Children Project

Elliott Pinkney, Getting to Know You, 1999. Sativa County Water District Office, 2015 East Hatchway St., Compton.

Richard Wyatt, Sunrise on Central Avenue, 1999, Broadway Federal Bank, interior lobby, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. at Figueroa St., South L.A.

Alan Clancy, A Healing Wall, 1999. Sunset Blvd and Elysian Park, Echo Park. Three stories tall. Spiritual painting featuring a portrait of Aimee Semple McPherson Richard Wyatt, Sunrise on Central Avenue, 1999, Broadway Federal Bank, interior lobby, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. at Figueroa St., South L.A. Sponsored by the bank. Among the portraits are gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, jazz musician Buddy Collette, Duke Ellington, Cesar Chavez and architect Paul Williams. The central figure, wearing a green jacket, is the bank's founder.

Also recently completed near L.A. County: Synthia St. James, Diversity, 1998. Ontario International Airport, Terminal 2 Baggage Area, Ontario. Ceramic tile. A vibrantly colored, faceless crowd of people. The artist also designed the Kwanzaa postage stamp. Ricardo Duffy, Past Vista, 1998. Ontario International Airport, Terminal 2 Concourse, Ontario. Ceramic A citrus grove stretching toward Mt. San Antonio. Richard Wyatt, Pioneers in American Aviation History, 1998. Ontario International Airport, Terminal 4 Concourse, Ontario. Ceramic tile. Among the significant aviation pioneers depicted are Tuskegee Airman Buddy Archer; Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic astronaut; the Wright brothers; Amelia Earhart; and Maggie Gee, one of the first Chinese American female service pilots. Raúl Anguiano, The Multicultural Mural, 1999. Bowers Museum of Cultural Art (main entrance), 2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana. The first of two to be painted by this renowned 84-year-old Mexican muralist. The second is due to be completed in early 2000.