That Mural, Yet Again

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Page 11

SNIPPETS (Column)

That Mural, Yet Again

By MARC HAEFELE

In a way, the great Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros’ “America Tropical” was doomed from the start. It appeared on a second-story exterior wall of the Italian Hall on Olvera Street 80 years ago. Its creator was assisted by some 20 local artists, and the resulting portrayal of a crucified Indio turned out to be exactly the message that Herbert Hoover’s America and Los Angeles in particular didn’t want to see about the realities of America’s doings in Latin America.

So the expansive painting was first partially, then entirely covered over in whitewash. And largely forgotten for a generation or two. This was the fate of much of the work of the great Mexican muralists in the U.S.—about the same time, the Rockefellers decided to do away with Diego Rivera’s big mural in New York. (Henry Ford’s son Edsel managed to save Rivera’s great Detroit Art Institute murals from his father’s wrath. For this alone, he deserved to have a better car named after him). But Siqueiros’ work was luckier; it wasn’t eradicated. Quite.

Its rediscovery was gradual—initiated in part by the `60s-`70s rising of Chicano art, and partly by that great sparkplug of the Plaza de la Raza Siqueiros show of 1985 (under the aegis of no local museum, but rather then-City Councilman Art Snyder). Not too suddenly, the local art establishment realized that one of the most significant outdoor murals in the nation was hiding right there over Main and Olvera streets in what was then downtown L.A.’s major tourist attraction.

Last week, the Getty Conservation Institute, which has been deeply involved in the recovery of the mural, announced they were putting a sheltering canopy over the picture. I thought this was fine in its way, but so much of the official news about the mural has been about the peripherals—the interpretive study center, the canopy, the rooftop platform and so on—that I decided it was time to find out what was with the painting itself. Is it going to ever be restored to its original glory? Last month I spent a little time in Vienna’s Gemalde Gallerie where I saw the way serious restorers can take a de Hooch still life that looks like old bloodstains on a piece of faded black velvet and turn it into a vivid floral masterpiece. But that’s not what’s going to happen here, I was assured by Getty spokesperson Melissa Abraham.

The difference lies somewhere between the idea of restoration and the idea of conservation. Getty’s work with “America Tropical” is about conservation, Abraham said. “So you can see the work of the artists’s hands.” She insists that the mural’s basics will be visible, even from the nearby street. “But replacing the [original]colors would be guesswork,” she noted.

It’s been a long time coming, I said. We’ve been promised a complete mural for decades now. When is that really going to happen?

The Siqueiros project’s opening date is currently forecast for fall of this year. But the conservers will be working right through the summer, and they might encounter considerations that could delay that estimate, one guesses. It’s a $10 million project, with Getty kicking in $4 million. The rest comes from the city, whose reported $240 million budget shortfall makes you a little anxious about a possible funding cutback of the project. But then, most cities can’t claim to own a $10 million master painting. Even if it is what you’d have to call an unasked-for boon.

But this is the only Siqueiros mural on public display in the United States. The city—and we its residents— ought to take deep pride in it.

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Law Day is coming up Monday May 7. In a very practical observance of this worthy celebration, the Beverly Hills Bar Association is offering a free MCLE session featuring Presiding Judge Hon. Lee Edmon of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Judge Edmon will discuss the hazardous contraction of the state’s courts and the 300-member reduction of court staff due to budgetary shortfalls. It’s open to attorneys and non attorneys alike. The event registration is at 5:30 P.M. at the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s facilities at 9420 Wilshire Boulevard, 2nd Floor. The event runs to 7 P.M.

More information is available at (310) 601-2422.