Thursday, August 14, 2014

The LA Times pays homage to O.C. artist Emigdio Vasquez


Vasquez
Emigdio Vasquez, with detail of his mural "The Legacy of Cesar Chavez" at Santa Ana College. Photo by .Allen J. Schaben, Los Angeles Times

Rebel Girl woke up this morning is an appreciation of Emigdio Vasquez in the Los Angeles Times. In his article, "Orange County's 'Godfather of Chicano Art' dead at 75," Adolofo Flores writes,

Vasquez, known as Orange County's Godfather of Chicano Art, created more than 400 paintings and 22 murals throughout the county. The “Legacy of Cesar Chavez” at Santa Ana College is one of his most well-known murals.

“My dad liked the gritty subjects, old people’s skins and the grittiness of the city,” Vasquez-Tuthill said.

In an artist statement posted on UC Santa Barbara’s library website, Vasquez wrote that he considered his art to be part of the working-class experience that surrounded his life.

“This environment holds inspiring visions of human warmth and cultural heritage,” Vasquez wrote. “I want to convey to the viewer the intense reality which people experience. Art must be more than aesthetic or decoration. Art creates an environment which enlarges humanity.”
To read the rest, click here.

Rebel Girl has learned that there is an effort to raise money to help pay the family pay for the expenses of a memorial.  To contribute (and to learn more about Vasquez), click here.
One of Vasquez's murals hangs in the B-100 building at Irvine Valley College where it has been creating an environment which enlarges our humanity for some years now. It would be a nice gesture for the college (faculty, staff, administration - the district!) to make a contribution in his memory to help his family defray their costs.  Think about it as we finish up our meetings this week. Rebel Girl is happy to facilitate such a donation.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think Santa Ana College is doing something for the memorial fund. We should too.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps the college president could send out an email (as is often done when people pass away who have had some relationship to the school) - that would be a nice thing to do. The services are this weekend. The OC Register has a big article too. It would be nice if the college could do something.

Anonymous said...

That would be great. I think that's what they did at Santa Ana. they have one of his murals too. Maybe Glenn is waiting until the semester begins.

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

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