MURAL MAVEN\Ventura County wall works exhibited.Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer Art lovers could spend days scouting liquor stores, school auditoriums and other buildings from Fillmore to Ventura to find a defining cross-section of Ventura County's varied murals. Amateur photographer Amateur Photographer is the title of a British photography magazine, published weekly by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary. The magazine provides articles on equipment reviews, photographic technique, and profiles of professional photographers. Charles McCormick, however, has gathered the colorful slices of Americana in one place with a photographic display of 26 of his favorite murals at the Union Oil Museum in Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. through April 21. "When I started, I didn't think there were many murals in the county. Like most of the population, what I do see I'm oblivious to," McCormick explained. "I found that, through photography, I could take the murals to the people and put the photographs in a way that could capture their beauty and their intricacy in·tri·ca·cy n. pl. in·tri·ca·cies 1. The condition or quality of being intricate; complexity. 2. Something intricate: the intricacies of a census form. Noun 1. ." The Ventura environmental engineer began with an idea of organizing young artists into muralists. That changed into one man's effort to document the county's murals. In the spring, McCormick started to photograph walls covered with colorful historical, social and commercial scenes. Amazed by the dozens of murals he discovered on the inside and outside of stores, schools, warehouses and other buildings, McCormick, 44, became obsessed ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. with documenting what he considers a rich cultural resource. "I have thousands of photos. I could have a hundred other murals in the exhibit," he noted. The idea of exhibiting murals through McCormick's snapshots came out of a chance meeting between McCormick and John Nichols People named John Nichols include:
McCormick sought Nichols' help in displaying the photographs. Nichols said the display attempts to bring each mural to life, mounting the many snapshots of that mural on foam padding and arranging them all on a framed panel, in some cases two panels. "It's like a big photo album for Ventura County's mural family," said Nichols, who also is the museum's curator. "We wanted people to sort of stand back and soak them all up." McCormick's favorite murals include the El Concilio Trilogy in Oxnard, the Tortilla Flats panels in Ventura and a mural on a Bard Mushroom Farm building in Camarillo. The El Concilio mural is notable for its colorful and dramatic images symbolizing the Mexican-American experience. It was painted over some three years. Tortilla Flats is a 500-foot-long mural painted on a Figueroa Street Figueroa Street is a street in Los Angeles County, California. It runs in a north/south direction for a length of more than 30 miles (48 km) between the Los Angeles communities of Eagle Rock and Wilmington. wall near the Ventura County Fairgrounds n. pl. 1. same as fairground. in 1995. It depicts the community that was displaced when the Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. was constructed through Ventura in the 1950s. The Bard mural is notable for both its depiction of North and Central American Central America A region of southern North America extending from the southern border of Mexico to the northern border of Colombia. It separates the Caribbean Sea from the Pacific Ocean and is linked to South America by the Isthmus of Panama. Indians and the remoteness of the building it was painted on in 1976. "That's the amazing thing. What we've got is this incredible mixed thing of styles and messages" McCormick said. The oldest mural McCormick found was painted on an interior wall of a downtown Ventura building. Painted in 1929, the mural of an agrarian southwestern scene was uncovered by the owners of an antique store now occupying the retail space. Before beginning his project, McCormick gained guidance from the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . The conservancy was formed in 1987 to protect murals with historical value. "What he's doing, frankly, we've never seen before. He took it upon himself because he's a fan," said Bill Lasarow, director of the mural conservancy. "He's like a folk artist." Murals in Los Angeles have attracted a small but devoted crowd of fans who are working with building owners to preserve some 20 murals. The conservancy also is in the process of identifying and documenting more than 1,500 murals. Lasarow said McCormick might spark a similar effort in Ventura County. "He's done a very decent job of documentary photography Documentary photography usually refers to a type of professional photojournalism, but it may also be an amateur or student pursuit. The photographer attempts to produce truthful, objective, and usually candid photography of a particular subject, most often pictures of people. . Easily the most impressive thing he has done is the uncovering and documenting. The sheer volume is just incredible," Lasarow said. "A consciousness has been raised by his work." McCormick contends that appreciation should lead to preservation. THE FACTS WHAT: "Ventura County Mural Project," an exhibit of photographs of the county's mural, along with "Animals in Art from the Santa Paula Collection." WHERE: Santa Paula Union Oil Museum, 1001 E. Main St., Santa Paula. WHEN: Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. The exhibit will be on display through April 21. COST: Free. INFORMATION: (805) 933-0076. WHERE THE MURALS ARE Here is a listing of the murals depicted in the Union Oil Museum exhibit, including the name of the artist and the year each was painted, when available. Ventura Tortilla Flats (two panels): On Figueroa Street across from the Ventura County Fairgrounds. M.B. Hanrahan and Michael Moses Mora MORA, In civil law. This term, in mora, is used to denote that a party to a contract, who is obliged to do anything, has neglected to perform it, and is in default. Story on Bailm. Sec. 123, 259; Jones on Bailm. 70; Poth. Pret a Usage, c. 2, Sec. 2, art. 2, n. - 1995. U.S. Post Office U.S. Post Office can refer to the United States Postal Service system. There are many interesting and historic buildings among the large number of facilities. : 675 E. Santa Clara Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. . Gordon Kenneth Grant - 1938. Twelve Disciples: Community Presbyterian Church, 1555 Poli Street. Albert H. King - 1929. Livery: North Palm Street. M.B. Hanrahan and Michelle Chapin - 1992. Sheridan Way Elementary School: 573 Sheridan Way. M.B. Hanrahan - 1994. Avenue Liquor: 580 N. Ventura Ave. M.B. Hanrahan and avenue youths - 1994. E.P. Foster Elementary School (murals No. 1 and 2): 20 Pleasant Place. M.B. Hanrahan and students - 1994. Westpark Community Center: 450 W. Harrison Ave. Leeann Lidz and local youths. Ted Mayr Funeral Home: 3150 Loma Vista Road. Cornelis Botke - 1950. Oxnard El Concilio Trilogy: Between Fourth and Fifth streets and A and B streets. Jaime Estrada and Michael Moses Mora - 1991. Oxnard Public Library: 214 C St. Jesse Arms Botke - 1950. Arco Iris No. 2 (two panels): 3127 Saviors Road. 4 Way Meat Market: 508 E. Date St. Erasmo Espinosa. Hollywood Beach School Auditorium: 4000 Sunset Lane. Perrault. Bard Mushroom Farm: Arnold Road, Frank Jesus and Jacob Gutierrez - 1976. Naturipe murals: 924 E. Third St. Frank Hyder - 1994. Silver Strand Beach Silverstrand Beach is an isolated beach neighborhood located in the city of Oxnard, California. It is bounded on the south/southwest by the Pacific Ocean and the waters of the Channel Islands Harbor; on the east by the United States Navy Base at Port Hueneme and on the north by murals (two panels): Ocean Drive and Sawtelle Avenue. Terresa Escarino and others. Santa Paula Gonzales Furniture: 1008 E. Main. Richard and Linda Nava. Santa Paula Union High School: 404 N. Sixth St. Cornelis Botke - 1940. Santa Paula Union High School (auditorium screen): 404 N. Sixth St. Furniture store: Main and 12th streets. Jaime Estrada, Michael Moses Mora and Bruce Valde. Skillen-Carrol Mortuary: 738 E. Santa Paula St. Cornelis Botke - 1932. Chino's Market: 147 S. 12th St. Xavier Montes mon·tes n. Plural of mons. . Camarillo Ottavio's Restaurant: 1620 Ventura Blvd. Stefano Angelo Falk. Camarillo State Hospital: Lewis Road. Judy Suzuki. Fillmore Fillmore High School Coordinates: Fillmore High School is a secondary school that is located in the Santa Clara River Valley in Fillmore, California. It can be found by the middle of California State Route 126 between Ventura and Valencia, California. : 555 Central Ave. Hector Trujillo and Ricay Barajas. CAPTION(S): PHOTO[ordinal indicator, masculine]CHART Box WHERE THE MURALS ARE (See text) Photo (1-2) The El Concilio Trilogymural in Oxnard, which dramatically depicts the Mexican-American experience, took about three years to complete. Dusty Locke/Special to the Daily News |
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