For more information, videos of the challenges, and the proposals led by LAUSD students, visit:
Sparcinla.org
Digitalmurallab.com
Judybaca.com
www.aspeninstitute.org
SPARC was contracted by the Venice Arts Council (VAC), as part of their Endangered Art Fund, chaired by Suzanne Thompson to restore the Venice Beach Poets Monument, one of the most notable public art works on the Venice Boardwalk. The monument was created as part of the City of Los Angeles 2000 renovation of the Ocean Front Walk at Venice Beach. Curated by Fred Dewey, Director (1996-2010) of Beyond Baroque Literary / Arts Center, based in Venice, and built by the City under the leadership of Councilmember Ruth Galanter’s Chief of Staff at the time, Mike Bonin (now CD 11 Councilman). The monument features the poetry fragments by historic Venice Beat Poets: Frank T. Rios, Tony Scibella and Charles Bukowski, as well as Jim Morrison of the “Doors”, Exene Cervenka of the punk-rock band “X”, and actor Viggo Mortensen. The words from 18 poets is located on four Venice Beach locations: Windward Plaza – Recreation and Parks/LAPD Substation building, 17th Street, Horizon Avenue and Brooks Avenue public restrooms along the Ocean Front Walk.
Maybe you mean: 'home-agency' or 'home-business' or 'home-creative3' or 'home-minimalist' or 'home-shop' or 'home-solution'
JUDY BACA among 10 artists honored by ArtTable at their 30th Anniversary Gala Event-April 16, 2011 in New York.
The Gala event will profile women’s leadership by recognizing 10 artists whose contributions to the field have impact beyond traditional studio practice. ArtTable’s Artist Honors will celebrate the ways that many leaders in the arts draw inspiration from their studio practice to transform the field, its institutions and its structures.
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was tied for #4 in the nation among fine arts master programs by US News and World Report, and its Graphic Design Master of Fine Arts program tied for #6 among graduate schools for Graphic Design. MICA is also a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium of thirty-six leading art schools in the United States, as well as the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
April 2011
Cesar Chavez Mosaics Complete in San Jose Monument
March 2010
Mosaic construction has begun! Come take a look.
The exterior niches that now stand at San Jose University are now being created into mosaics in the SPARC gallery. A ton of glass (500 lbs) has been specially ordered from Cuernavaca, Mexico, the original factory that produced Siqueiros’s mosaic tile. Each exterior niche stands 4ft X 9ft tall and is a representation of Dolores Huerta, Gandhi, and a female and male farm worker from Salinas Valley. The mosaics will be completed this year. For more information on visiting the SPARC gallery as the mosaic production progresses please contact us a info@sparcmurals.org.
IMAGE EXPLANATIONS
The arch’s main mural depicts a contemplative Chavez over the fields of California, where the great boycotts took place. In the sky, Chavez’s meeting with Robert Kennedy during his great fast (accompanied by his wife and his mother) is highlighted, as fasting was a cornerstone to his philosophy of non-violence. Also in the sky, the virgin Guadalupe is also blessing his actions. Finally, a calaca (skeleton-skull) is depicted to represent the deaths resulting from the pesticide clouds being sprayed in the fields.
“A word as to the education of the heart. We don’t believe that this can be imparted through books, it can only be imparted through the loving touch of the teacher.” -César E. Chávez
The concept of the Monument is to commemorate Chavez through his ideals rather than to create a traditional European approach to a fallen soldier or important personage through a bust or bronze statute. It is not his personality that is to be remembered but his ideals and beliefs carried out in his actions to improve the conditions of the campesino, which inspired so many to join his efforts to achieve social justice. A key element to the monument is to teach the next generation how to choose to live a life in the center of your values and beliefs as Cesar Chavez did. Modeled on a Mayan corbelled arch with rounded mission arches, this site pays tribute to Chavez’s respective Spanish and indigenous roots. This arch is placed at the opposite site of the small plaza to necessitate pedestrian passage through its opening which will encompass the viewer with images of Chavez’s life inside the arch.
The Cesar Chavez Mosaic Production has begun at SPARC. These pieces will be installed at San Jose University, CA. The mosaic team is composed by Francois Bardol and Martha Ramirez, and is supported by the UCLA/SPARC Cesar Chavez Digital Mural Lab.
The main demands of the UC strike are the following:
1. We demand that the Regents vote no on the proposed fee increases.
2. We demand that the UC stop cuts and layoffs, and end its aggressive union-busting tactics.
3. We demand transparency of the UC budget, including complete figures on how much of the additional revenue from fees will be diverted for construction and used as bond collateral.
4. We demand that the Regents expand enrollment of underrepresented groups and ensure equal access to education for all by maintaining all educational institutions as sanctuary spaces for undocumented students and workers and by providing adequate financial aid for undocumented and underrepresented students.
5. We demand an explanation for the failure of the UC leadership to make an effective case for public higher education. As both students and taxpayers, we demand leaders who can make that case, and an administration whose transparency can once again inspire the confidence of the state and its citizens.
