MURAL, 2017
Projector, digital video | Dimensions variable | 33 min. 27 sec. loop
Installation view at the Cole Creativity Center with Santa Paula Art Museum, 2017
The piece contains photographs of Santa Paula taken by the artist and the community members. Hundreds of photographs were made into six sequences of images including natural and human landscapes, shops, street views and interior spaces. Visual effects representing the movement of water and relfection of images were added to the sequences. The digital video were projected on the Cole Creativity Center as a commision by the Santa Paula Art Museum.
Santa Paula is located in the Santa Clara River Valley. The economy is primarily agriculturally based. With the opening of the community center(the Cole Creativity Center), water is used to highlight the creation of a new gathering space for the community. The unique structure of the Cole creativity Center also brings to mind the steps of water. There are nine murals in Santa Paula that depict various historical aspects of the city, including its first inhabitants, the Chumash, the discovery of oil, its Latino culture, founding of the Santa Paula Airport, local farming and more. MURAL is a modern reflection/ representation of the current Santa Paula.
The unique structure of the facade of the Cole creativity Center inspires the idea of steps of water. Water is an important part of Santa Paula due to the city’s geographical location in Santa Clara Valley, as well as due to its history as an agrarian society. With the opening of the Cole Creativity Center, water is also used as a metaphor of new energy and sustainability to highlight the creation of a new gathering place for the community.
Art has been entrenched in Santa Paula residents’ lives by the form of murals, of which they are very proud. With the murals depicting their history, I want to make a modern mural that represents the current spirit of Santa Paula. With the help of Adrian, a member of the local Lion team, and my partner, Drew, hundreds of pictures were taken around Santa Paula and made into six sequences of images including natural and human landscapes, shops, street views and interior spaces.
The Cole Creativity Center is expected to be a place that gathers people and starts conversations through the inspiration of art. Through the idea of reflection, Mural carries the museum's hope of improving the community by generating appreciation of the place through presenting the beauty of Santa Paula and to reduce the distance between art and everyday life by making art that residents can resonate with.
Photographed and filmed by Shan Wu, Adrian Escobar, Andrew CavicchiDocumentation: Shan Wu, Wren WarnerIn collaboration with Santa Paula Art Museum,
Fillmore Leo Club Teen participant: Adrian,
Special thanks to: Michelle Glass, Jennifer Orcutt Heighton, Seana-Marie Sesma
Supervisor: Astra Price