Judy Baca's Murals
An Inspiration Across Cultures
Public art conquers so much more than the simple task of making the street a little easier to look at. It involves those who created it, those who supplied the means to create it, and those whose lives it continues to impact. Wall paintings in particular take an important role in working for a greater good. Judith F. Baca, a Hispanic-American woman and artist- activist has contributed an unaccountable amount to the mural movement in Los Angeles. She has accomplished this by giving individuals the chance to create art and develop a sense of pride, she has taught younger generations a respect for their ethnic identity, and from the many walks of life that continue to view her work in everyday places she has encouraged social change. Judy Baca graduated from California State University, Northridge in 1969. This was a time when very few artists openly supported the Civil Rights Movement in their work and Mexican muralists were not considered to be of any importance to the fomalists that dominated the art world (Barlow 1999, 125). The mural scene began to grow in 1967 when Allan D 'Arcangelo painted the first decorative mural on the side of an East Ninth street tenement in New York City. In 1968, the first photo-realist mural were painted in Venice, California. The collective youth murals done in Latin areas of Chicago and New York City in 1968 also had an impact on the moving forward of the mural movement (Cockcroft et al. 1977, 31). The city began to take mural painting seriously and in 1974 the Inner City Mural Program was brought about by the efforts of the Cultural Arts Section of Los Angeles county Department of Parks and Recreation. The Department set out to accomplish six specific goals. The first was to fulfill the inherent need of those with low-income backgrounds to develop a sense of identity through public artistic expression. This goal became specifically important to enhancing the lives of the youth in
Public art conquers so much more than the simple task of making the street a little easier to look at. It involves those who created it, those who supplied the means to create it, and those whose lives it continues to impact. Wall paintings in particular take an important role in working for a greater good. Judith F. Baca, a Hispanic-American woman and artist- activist has contributed an unaccountable amount to the mural movement in Los Angeles. She has accomplished this by giving individuals the chance to create art and develop a sense of pride, she has taught younger generations a respect for their ethnic identity, and from the many walks of life that continue to view her work in everyday places she has encouraged social change. Judy Baca graduated from California State University, Northridge in 1969. This was a time when very few artists openly supported the Civil Rights Movement in their work and Mexican muralists were not considered to be of any importance to the fomalists that dominated the art world (Barlow 1999, 125). The mural scene began to grow in 1967 when Allan D 'Arcangelo painted the first decorative mural on the side of an East Ninth street tenement in New York City. In 1968, the first photo-realist mural were painted in Venice, California. The collective youth murals done in Latin areas of Chicago and New York City in 1968 also had an impact on the moving forward of the mural movement (Cockcroft et al. 1977, 31). The city began to take mural painting seriously and in 1974 the Inner City Mural Program was brought about by the efforts of the Cultural Arts Section of Los Angeles county Department of Parks and Recreation. The Department set out to accomplish six specific goals. The first was to fulfill the inherent need of those with low-income backgrounds to develop a sense of identity through public artistic expression. This goal became specifically important to enhancing the lives of the youth in
Bibliography: Barlow, Margaret. 1999. Women Artists. New York: Hugh Lauter Levin Assoscites. Barnett, Alan. 1984. Community Murals: The People 's Art. New York: Cornwall Books. Brown, Betty Ann. 1996. Expanding Circles: Women, Art and Community. New York: Midmarch Arts Press. Cockcroft, E., Cockcroft J., Pitman J. W. 1977. Toward a People.s Art: The Contemporary Mural Movement. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. Hooks, bell. 1981. Ain 't I a woman: Black women and feminism. Boston, Ma: South End Press. Merken, Stefan.1987. Wall Art: Megamurals & Supergraphics. Philadelphia, Pa.:Running Press. Piland, Sherry. 1994. Women artists: an historical, contemporary, and feminist bibliography. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press.