Mural artists take their inspiration to the streets.
By
David Hale
The Fresno Bee
(Published Tuesday, August, 7, 2001)
Has anybody seen Jeff Henry lately? Once, Henry symbolized the vision of a rejuvenated downtown Fresno, as the central figure in a new mural heralding the Cultural Arts District.
That was the early 1990s, and the mural was the biggest, most colorful thing of its kind in Fresno.
Its only rivals as a spectacular public artwork were "The Planting of the Cultures," the monumental artwork that F. John Sierra had built a dozen years earlier on the wall of the state employment office on O Street, and the bucolic barnyard panorama that long ago established the Farmer John Meat Company as a landmark down on Elm Avenue.
Jamie Ortega, a 26-year-old house painter, created the Cultural Arts District mural at Tuolumne Street and Broadway. With its bold colors, the dancing ballerina, the twin masks of drama and Henry, standing tall with his bass violin and a perpetual smile over a 60-foot keyboard, the artwork possessed an impact that suggested the district was an accomplished fact.
When and if the bustling neighborhood becomes reality, Ortega's handiwork won't be part of it. The years, the elements and an imperfect installation are eroding the mural, laying bare the brick wall underneath. A graffiti tagger has staked his claim with a scribble of red to the diaphanous frock of the ballerina, piano keys are missing, and there is a jagged gap in Henry's middle, though his smile and bass violin remain intact.
The sight brings bittersweet memories to Ortega. The project had represented a new direction for him, just as he hoped it might be a harbinger of a fresh start for the neighborhood.
"John's work [Planting of the Cultures] inspired me," Ortega recalls. "It was my first mural ever. Half of it was my idea and half was Rose Caglia's [then the director of nearby Warnors Theater]. I was real excited. We had a lot of ideas then. Downtown was where it all started in Fresno. I grew up there and around Roeding Park.
"I was glad to be able to do that kind of work. People seemed to appreciate it and everybody was talking about revitalizing the downtown area. We were thinking about bright lights, but people who came in were just blowing smoke. Nothing much happened."
True, progress has been halting, but positive signs for the future of the Cultural Arts District may be seen in the developing Latino arts center, Arte Americas, the African American Museum, the pending expansion of the Fresno Metropolitan Museum and plans for a new regional history museum in the area.
Meanwhile, a new mural signaling a new approach to a downtown renaissance, the baseball stadium rising a few parking lots away, appears destined to replace the Cultural Arts District mural at Tuolumne and Broadway.
The artist is Ramiero Martinez, an established local artist who heads "Artists on Guard," a subgroup of the Royal Chicano Navy organized specifically to give public art murals a greater presence in Fresno.
"One of our precepts is that the artists have to do positive work for the community," says Martinez, who is known for large-scale paintings on canvas with socio-political themes. "We particularly want to change the [dubious] perception people have of downtown. We believe art can help with that . . ."
Cornerstone Church, new owners of the old warehouse on Broadway, has granted Martinez use of the wall facing Tuolumne Street for a new mural. The subject: a children's baseball game.
"I got the idea after going to a few games with my son, who is 9 and pitches for the Cooper Middle School White Sox," Martinez says. "A mural would be an excellent bridge for showing how a child develops and the community spirit you can feel at the games. The players don't have developed skills, but they're as professional in spirit as any professional you can find. They learn community spirit through the teamwork."
Martinez, who says the mural will reflect the multicultural diversity of downtown habitues, hopes to begin working on the installation in the spring. The biggest challenge will be the financing. He estimates the cost at about $20,000. So far, his strongest backer is the Fresno Arts Council, which delivered a $4,280 grant.
Like Martinez, Francisco Vargas believes art, mainstream or otherwise, can wield special power in the cause of improving the environment. He says he saw the influence of public art during a recent tour he made as a contributing writer for a trade magazine, visiting cities including Seattle, Boise, Tucson, New Orleans, Miami, and Havana, Cuba. He says he's also amazed by Exeter's development as a tourist destination on the strength of the community's concentration of historical murals.
"Fresno needs that kind of exposure," says Vargas who has paid his dues as a public art entrepreneur for 15 years in Fresno. "People don't think of murals as important -- just like art. People have got to loosen up a bit."
The latest of Vargas's infrequent public art successes is a large-scale (20 by 50 feet) mural on the facade of Mecca Billiards, a pool table outlet and service center at 732 Fulton St. The distinction of the work is the brilliance of its colors and simplicity, based upon a game of nine-ball.
"It has a lot of elements," Vargas says. "It's larger than life, as if somebody was sitting at the rail watching the break-out. He'd be focusing on the hand and the stick [cue] and seeing the balls explode around the table.
"Doing a mural is always labor-intensive, especially on stucco. It's not like working on canvas, but the surface has to be as smooth as canvas. You have to have certain brushes, and you feather out the edges, to give the shadow effect. The paint is lettering enamel."
Rick Stockle, owner/manager of Mecca Billiards, was sold on the new "sign" by Vargas' approach to design: "He took about 10 pictures, just throwing balls on the table to get different angles," Stockle says. "It took him a few weeks, off and on, but we've got a lot of compliments on it [and he figures some extra sales]."
Stockle also likes the location Vargas chose for the artwork. High on the wall, it is safe from marauding graffiti artists.
The potential for graffiti damage has led many local business owners to call professional painters for assistance, among them John Sorensen of Weco Supply Co., a welding and paint supply business on Ventura Avenue. The artist he called was Jamie Ortega.
"I could have done the job myself but I thought, let him do it," says Sorensen, a portrait painter of some note. "He painted our whole staff out there on the fence, and I liked his style."
For Ortega, the project was a snap. As before, he worked from photographs taken by Sorensen. This time the subject was a member of the Fresno City Police motorcycle patrol.
"He's a regular customer," Sorensen said of the patrolman. "He paints cars on the side; this is his patrol area. He's a good guy; if he happened to stop somebody on the street near us, we'd all go out and boo him."
Sorensen and Ortega knew just where they wanted to install the image of patrolman Bill, half-hidden under a tree on the wall just around the corner from the store entrance, as if poised to intercept a passing speeder.
"It isn't a big job, but it was kind of fun," says Ortega, of the 5-foot-high image. "I've had people tell me they slowed down [passing Weco Supply] because they thought it was a real cop hiding behind that tree."