When we think about the artist’s studio, images of a lone wolf toiling away at a canvas far away from civilization often fill our minds, but this does not accurately reflect the diversity of rich histories of art making that take place publicly in Chicano/a/x communities. In the case of murals in public spaces, from those painted onto the brick walls of well-established businesses lining the Santa Fe Art District in Denver, to those commissioned by the city of Denver on the inside of recreation centers, the artist is not alone. In fact, they are often painting for an audience, they are often painting in great company with other artists as well.
If we consider the historical origins of the term “artist studio,” it reveals an interesting character to these spaces that I argue is reflected even better in the public spaces where murals are often created. The term “studio” more popularly concerns spaces set aside for creative work, not necessarily referring to their private or public status, but more or less a drive to engage with artistic creation. The Latin origins of the term, studium, translated as “to study,” refers to the inherently educational and observational quality of these spaces. It also encompasses collaborative aspects of studio practices such as observation, critique, and apprenticeship. The first two of these terms refer to the process of gathering around an artist’s work and presenting thoughts and ideas related to its improvement or successfulness. Apprenticeship refers to the process of learning from a leading artist who boasts a wealth of experience in one or more artistic techniques.
Apprenticeship
The tradition of Chicano muralism in the United States bears the same core tenants of the artist studio practice made manifest in the public spaces in which they are created. These attributes came from an earlier movement of politically motivated mural production in Mexico. Pivotal to the Mexican mural movement were artists the “big three” or Diego Rivera (1886-1957), David Siqueiros (1896-1974), and Jose Clemente Orozco (1883-1949) who painted numerous murals on government buildings in mostly Mexico City in the 1930s and 1940s. These muralists expanded on the tradition of painting politically inclined murals for public display to become a teaching tool for tourists and the general population to learn about the history of Mexico’s foundation and its newly-won independence.
Soon after, Mexican muralists were commissioned to create public works of art in United States institutions, often teaching local artist assistants their techniques.1 This practice unfortunately came to a halt during the peak of McCarthyism where foreign entities were thought to perpetuate a degradation of national identity. The lasting impact of the teaching of Mexican muralists who passed on their traditions to Chicano artists working in the United States is evident through the revival of mural making in the 1960s. The concept of passing down artistic technique to another artist or generation of artists fits in with the traditional studio concept of apprenticeship.
Observation and Critique
The new generation of artists creating public murals provided a highly visual mode to express political sentiments and storytelling narratives to the community in a way that could be understood by everyday people. The placement of murals in areas such as community centers, parks, and other commonly occupied buildings strengthened their reception. One can imagine workers on their way to work, passing by murals in the area, repeatedly exposing them to important community narratives, as well as their creation.
Observation and critique comprise some of the more critical components of artist studio practices, especially those of Denver’s Chicano muralists. Many local Rocky Mountain PBS documentaries created from the 1970s to today offer a glimpse into this process as they document the creation of murals in the city. Neighbors, siblings, friends, and others gather around the walls of public structures to watch a local artist from their community create a visual story painted for the generation.
This video provides a great example of this:
While public murals do not fit with the myth of the creative lone wolf toiling away at a canvas, or the traditional classroom filled with easels, the classic components of observation, critique, and apprenticeship associated with the artist studio persist in meaningful ways. Chicano artists tapped into the origins of muralism from its roots in Mexican independence to create their own narratives expressing the stories of their communities. This often took place amid protest and urban renewal, threatening the erasure of the Chicano histories in the United States. An exploration of the histories of protest during the Chicano movement as it manifested in Denver reveals the role of murals in educating the masses and preserving community knowledge.
Learn about Denver’s Chicano movement
- Anna Indych-López, “Mural Gambits: Mexican Muralism in the United States and the ‘Portable’ Fresco,” The Art Bulletin (New York, N.Y.) 89, no. 2 (2007): 287–305. ↩︎