IN THIS ISSUE:

CAC, Caltrans Doing the Right Thing, by Bill Lasarow

Siquieros' Only SoCal Mural, by Orville O. Clarke, Jr.
He did three murals during his year in L.A., but only the “Portrait of Present-Day Mexico” remained untouched.

Restoration of “Brig” Mural a First
Art Mortimer outlines the restoration of his “Brandelli’s Brig”, with new methodology promising to add at least 100 years.

Torrance Looking to Keep Its Twitchell
The City of Torrance has taken positive steps to retain Kent Twitchell's "Six Los Angeles Artists" mural located on formerly State property.

CAC, CALTRANS BACKING EFFORT
TO SAVE FREEWAY MURALS

by Bill Lasarow

Contracts and new policies coming from two state agencies add up to a hoped for new lease on life for the many freeway murals hit by graffiti since late last year.

The California Arts Council (CAC) decision to provide a $30,000 contract and to begin to include ongoing maintenance as a portion of State public art funding, and not exclusively commission fees, affirms MCLA’s proposal that the State’s policy should be to maintain the public art that it commissions in order to protect public assets that in some cases prove to be of significant material and historical value. CAC Director Barry Hessenius has signaled his interest in establishing this precedent. Until now all such money went towards new commissions, with the responsibility and cost of maintenance contractually placed on the shoulders of the artists--with ownership retained by the public. The Council unanimously elected to contract the Mural Conservancy with the task of cleaning up and protecting as many of the freeway murals as possible.

The CAC decision to is just the first dollar commitment to what may become a statewide effort to revisit earlier commissioned public art. While the timing and extent of this is too early specify, the freeway mural project is regarded as a pilot that will point the way for similar projects elsewhere in the state.

Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation, or CalTrans has signaled important policy changes that will respect and protect murals’ integrity in the course of meeting the important priority of graffiti abatement. The mural paint-outs that occured earlier in the year technically resulted from CalTrans maintenance staff treating freeway wall space containing a mural as though it were empty: it was the graffiti that was being treated. According to their district maintenance supervisor the distinction between empty wall space and a mural is now, in essence, understood, and the agency is commiting funds towards the removal of graffiti as well as CalTrans’ institutional gray paint from murals. MCLA is working with them to put in place a regimen of graffiti abatement as it will apply to the murals.

The first stage of this new regimen is to clean each mural that has been affected by the recent rash of graffiti, and give each a protective coating. Conservators are evaluating each mural individually for the amount of damage and deterioration each has sustained. Some of them are in sufficiently good condition that they will be quickly cleaned and then given a fresh permanent and sacrificial coating, which at present is the best ongoing protection against graffiti.

Other murals will require a more rigorous application of conservation treatment in order to guarantee their preservation beyond a short time. This is where cost can begin to spiral, and the murals that fall into this group will be treated on a case-by-case basis. To speculate, some of these murals will be treatable within the current budget, but others will surely require special sponsorship due to the costs involved. Some may have to be classified as irretrivable. It is hoped at this point that at least half of the current number of freeway murals, which total close to forty, will be retrieved and protected in the short term.

Initiatives to attract sponsorship support to make it possible to restore even significantly damaged murals have been discussed with both CalTrans and the CAC, though it is too early to report that a specific program is in place. In some cases sponsors have stepped forward on their own initiative, as was the case when the L.A. Amateur Athletic Foundation elected to commission Frank Romero to repaint “Going to the Olympics.” Perhaps more significantly, however, the future possibilities for quality murals to be created in high traffic freeway locations will be greatly enhanced by policies that commit public dollars to protect valuable assets that are, after all, owned by the public.

David Alfaro Siqueiros, “Portrait of Present-
Day Mexico”, shown here at its longtime site,
a private residence in Pacific Palisades, will
soon be on permanent view at the Santa Bar-
bara Museum of Art. Photo: Scott McClaine.

These murals represent a radical departure from his earlier paintings in Mexico, as he began to use murals to address political oppression. Another key aspect of the murals that he produced in our region was his interest in new technology. This would end up being a significant departure from the techniques used by traditional Mexican muralists.

The first of his murals was his most experimental. “Workers' Meeting,” long since destroyed, was painted at the Chouinard School of Art with a group of students called the Bloc of Mural Painters. The painting was quickly completed in two weeks by using a spray gun. This new technique allowed the artist to create a mural with a tremendously fresh and spontaneous feeling missed when using the traditional wet fresco technique, which is slow, ponderous, and limiting the artist's ability to improvise. This work led to his next commission at the Plaza Art Center.

The resulting mural, “Tropical America,” immediately became the most infamous in the Southland. The artist attacked American Imperialism in South and Central America by depicting a Mexican peasant crucified on a cross above which sits an Imperial Eagle representing the United States. The subject matter infuriated many local officials, and the mural was soon whitewashed and lost. Today, after a great deal of restoration under the auspices of the Getty Conservation Institute, a ghostly image rises from the wall that gives a tantalizing hint of the beauty that must have been.

The artist's papers had expired, and needing a place to hide from immigration officials Siqueiros was offered sanctuary by film director Dudley Murphy, who wanted a fresco on the wall overlooking his garden. Working with Fletcher Martin, Luis Arenal, and Rubin Kadish, he took almost three months to complete the seldom seen masterpiece. His painting is a bitter condemnation of the political realities of Mexico. The then President of Mexico, Plutarco Elias Calles, is depicted on the left as a bandit with a mask sitting on a pile of money. Also included is a representation of J. P. Morgan, representing U. S. Imperialism and American support for a corrupt government. The emotion of the work no doubt reflects his own bitter experiences with the Calles administration along with his ideological condemnation of the evils of Capitalism.

In the center of the mural are a monumental grouping of two women and a child, which represents the oppressed. On the right, adding further fire to this mural, is the portrait of a Red Guard armed with a rifle, looking menacingly out from the wall and offering protection to the people from tyrants. This soldier, with his red star on his hat, offers hope for a new day and contrasts sharply with the tired and broken image of the old regime helplessly guarding its bags of money. It was an optimistic image of a world to be set right by revolution. However, this was to be the last work he completed in Los Angeles. Siqueiros' attacks on United States policy in his public murals together with his leftist political pedigree led to his deportation in November, 1932.

The mural in its original setting is a stunning mix of the colors of Mexico, blended with monumental and heroic figures. Emerging dramatically out of a lush garden, “Portrait of Present-Day Mexico” produced an overwhelming impression. The garden setting created a tranquil environment that is shattered by Siqueiros' brutal imagery. It is a reality check set in one of the most exclusive residential areas of Los Angeles. Siqueiros must have loved the irony.

Now thanks to the generosity of the mural’s owners, you will be able to view one of this region’s masterpieces long hidden from public view. Start planning your trip to Santa Barbara in the Spring.