Portrait of the Americas Through Time Siqueiros and the Tradition of Muralism The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, in collaboration with the University of California, Santa Barbara's History of Art & Architecture Department, presents a series of six lectures by internationally renowned artists, conservators, and scholars of Latin American and Chicano/a art. Inspired by the recent acquisition of Siqueiros' only intact mural in the United States - Portrait of Mexico Today, 1932 - the series will trace the development of the mural tradition from pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica to modern-day Southern California and beyond. Taking place in Fall 2002 - Winter 2003, on the occasion of the mural's public unveiling, this special program aims to offer audiences an historical perspective of muralism. While Mexican muralism is a milestone in twentieth-century art, its roots lie much earlier, in pre-Columbian art and culture. In analyzing the material production, as well as the social, political and artistic contexts of Portrait of Mexico Today, the program of community talks explores this pivotal artwork as a nexus for understanding mural painting in the Americas. From the Maya murals of Bonampak, through the monastic murals of New Spain, to the works by Orozco, Rivera and Siqueiros in the United States, the series is dedicated to highlighting critical aspects of this important medium as it developed over centuries. This public forum provides an opportunity for audiences not only to learn about the historical context of murals but also to become aware of the challenges of conserving and preserving these landmark works for future generations. To be held evenings from 7:30-8:30 pm, these slide-illustrated lectures will take place in the Santa Barbara Museum of Art's Mary Craig Auditorium. They will be preceded by wine and cheese reception in front of mural at 6:30 pm and followed by question and answer session in the auditorium. Thursday, October 24 "Decorating Walls: The Mural Tradition in Mesoamerican" Dr. Teresa Uriarte, Professor of Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, UNAM The peoples who inhabited the territory we now call Mexico have a millenary tradition: decorating the walls of their abodes. This lecture will provide a look at the different versions this tradition undertook through times and places. Wednesday, November 6 "New and Old Worlds in the Painted Walls of Sixteenth-century Mexico" Dr. Jeanette Favrot Peterson, Professor of History of Art, University of California, Santa Barbara Large-scale murals enlivened the walls of hundreds of fortress monasteries in New Spain. Like the better-known twentieth-century mural movement in Mexico, these wall paintings proclaimed a new ideology, one based on Christian values and behaviors essential to the civilizing mission of the Spanish friars. Close analysis, however, reveals the imprint of skilled native artists who adapted European iconography to indigenous traditions and thereby produced dual, often ambivalent, visual messages. Thursday, November 14 "Los Angeles to Buenos Aires: Siqueiros' Ejercicio Plástico, 1933" Dr. Mari Carmen Ramírez, Wortham Curator of Latin American Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, examines Portrait of Mexico Today as an important precursor to his next mural, Ejercicio plástico, painted in 1933 inside the Buenos Aires home of newspaper editor Natalio Botana, where he fully articulates his invention of "polyangular perspective." Thursday, November 21 "Destroyed, Whitewashed, Secluded: Three Siqueiros Murals in Los Angeles, Their National Influence and Preservation." Dr. Shifra M. Goldman, Art Historian and Critic, Research Associate with the Latin American Center, and Adjunct Professor in the Art History Department, University of California, Los Angeles The impetus for the widespread renaissance of interest in the mural tradition which began in major cities across the United States in the 1970s, subsequently spreading to other parts of the world, was related to the need of younger generations to publicly express their criticisms of the existing political/social scenario. Turning to outdoor murals (pioneered by Siqueiros in Los Angeles in 1932), and employing the new materials, tools, and aesthetic methods pioneered by the "Tres Grandes" (the Big Three of Mexican Social Realists of the 1920s-Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros-the new generation also adapted the ideology of social purpose to their own time. This presentation will track the role and influence of Siqueiros in particular throughout the United States, remembering that all three had a great influence on murals throughout Latin America. Thursday, February 13, 2003 "Siqueiros' Living Legacy: The Life and Work of Judy Baca, Contemporary L.A. Muralist" -Judy Baca, world-renowned contemporary muralist and founder of SPARC (Social and Public Resource Center), Los Angeles, will speak about her early student days in Mexico, her mural work in Los Angeles, as well as contemporary muralism in the city. Thursday, February 27, 2003 "For All to See: Conserving Siqueiros' Mural "Portrait of Mexico Today," 1932 -Head Conservator for the Siqueiros Mural Project, Perry Huston of Perry Huston Associates Center for the Conservation of Art, Dallas, TX; Senior Project Conservators Andrea Rothe of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA; and Scott Haskins of Fine Art Conservation Laboratories (FACL), Santa Barbara, CA will discuss the challenges and the state-of-the art conservation processes used to conserve this masterpiece. Moderated by Diana du Pont, Curator for the Project.