Born in 1941 in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, Frank Romero holds a special place amongst the many greats of the Hispanic community of the United States. Of Mexican heritage, Romero expressed an early aspiration for the work of art and was inspired to take the path towards becoming one of the most influential, instrumental and renowned artists of his time. Romero was closely attached to his rich Hispanic heritage and gained much inspiration from his culture and his surroundings of Los Angeles, a city bustling with millions of diverse, culture-rich backgrounds. As a painter and muralist, Romero was profoundly influenced by the Chicano population of Los Angeles in which he spent most of his lifetime living as a part of. His passion for art quickly …show more content…
The group, originally consisting of the late Carlos Almaraz, Frank Romero, Robert de la Rocha, and Gilbert Lujan who then welcomed Judithe Hernandez as a fifth member, made their mark in history as they sought to transpire a new era of art. Los Four, a name wisely coined by Romero, crafted wonderful murals all throughout Los Angeles that captivated the attentions of the millions living in the city and brought Chicano Art to the center stage of the Los Angeles art community. The group was a huge sensation and success in that it rightfully represented and spread the vibrant Chicano style of art that Romero and his colleagues had developed a deep passion for throughout the years. The group with which Romero served numerous years with saw him rise to the occasion to national and worldwide glory numerous times as their works were displayed at galleries all throughout the nation. Most notably, with Los Four, Romero made national headlines with the group’s breakthrough exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) being the nation’s first-ever showing of Chicano art at a major art institution. The event set off the Chicano movement and it took off like a rocket as it gained …show more content…
The Los Angeles native is still inspired by his surrounding influences and continues to create art that reflects his surrounding environments. With his old days as a Chicano muralist and artist now behind him, Romero is immersed in a peaceful life filled with joy, inspiration, and motivation. As a member of Los Four and as a solo artist, some of his most famous works can still be seen throughout the bustling streets of Los Angeles, while others are immortalized in museums and art institutions worldwide, including some held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and several others on the campuses of universities renowned for their art such as the University of California-Irvine and Los Angeles and California State University. One of his most popular works, the “Going to the Olympics” mural located near a Los Angeles freeway cemented his place in history as one of the greats. Romero, a great, is an immortal and highly inspirational figure that has left behind a massive impact on his surroundings and has contributed much to the world of art. His legacy lives on as he has gained much appreciation for his unique perception and creation of
Romero has the right to sue them because a year before destroying Romero's mural, Kent Twitchell's portrait was destroyed which was painted on a federally owned building in downtown L.A. and won $1.1 million against the U.S government. Romero was not notified that the government will be erasing one of his most famous morals, which is not allowed to do because the artist should have been given a notice that provides for the artist to save or relocate works of public artwork before the building's owner can remove it. In 2007, Frank Romeor's mural "Going to the Olympics,1984" was restored and painted over with gray paint, the painting process was said to be placed on November 26, but was delayed due to the weather, and the restoration would take about 10 weeks. The murals "L.A. Freeway Kids" and "Luchas del Mundo" was also restored after Romero's mural. After years of graffiti and tagging on the murals of Los Angeles it has been said that this is the end of hundreds and thousands of murals in Los Angeles.
The two artists that caught my attention were Mexican artists, Pedro Reyes and Carla Fernandez. What makes these artists unique is that they both collaborate together to create their own form of art. They met in college when they decided to collaborate in a show after knowing each other for ten years they married. Carla works with textile and fabrics and Pedro focuses more on welding, stone making or weaving. While Pedro works more with young college students, Carla finds her inspiration while working with the community.
Romeros painting is a "It's a classic and beautiful Chicano piece, painted with rough, almost broom-like movements of his hand," Baca said "Losing Franks Romeros in the city of Los Angeles is not such a smart thing to do. He's an internationally known artist of importance. He's an assert. " I want to say Baca was upset towards this situation because he must enjoy Frank Romeros painting. Frank has painted over 15 murals around Los Angeles city.
LA does have issues with vandalism and graffiti as shown in Romero's mural in 2009 you can tell that a lot has happened through out the years you can see lots of graffiti all over. Romero's art is now ruined, this is all because of some "taggers". In the "LA Times" newspaper article Romero states " if restoration is not possible he wants the mural removed to another safer spot." In 2013 the city of Los Angeles decided to just cover the mural that Romero put his sweat and tears to paint. The people also seemed to enjoy looking at it while they passed the freeway.
He is suing the Caltrans for painting over a mural he created in the Hollywood Freeway downtown in 1984 Olympics. He has painted more than 15 murals in Los Angeles also studied in Otis art institute. Government agencies toward restoring murals say that they are running educational programs. The people also think that the murals cost lots of money to create. In my opinion I think it was wrong to paint over the mural that Frank Romero had made.
Also it is worth of noting that the author uses his paint to show his feelings towards the city of Los Angeles and its culture. Romero's love for the city of Los Angeles can be readily observed in the artist's commemoration of the history of the American automobile and the Olympics in his "Going to the Olympics" mural. In this image he shows a series of colorful cars in a line that is in front of the hills and palm trees of sunny Los Angeles, the artist evokes the history of the styling of automobiles. In this manner, the artist provides a metaphor of life in Los Angeles, sunshine, palm trees and the
Diego Rivera, a Mexican-born artist, used his murals and frescoes to influence the communication of shared interests and problems in many countries including Mexico and the United States. His cultural background inspired most of his artwork, as seen in his work, Man at the Crossroads, in which Rivera showed North America and the world that humanity as a whole was meant to unite and become greater than God himself. Through his work and connections with other artists, Rivera proved the importance of art as a form of communication and left a lasting effect on the art of today. Diego Rivera’s artistic prowess can be traced back to his youth. Born in 1886 in the city of Guanajuato, Mexico, Diego Rivera came from a humble family.
The Chicano movement derives from early oppression of Mexicans. Robert Rodrigo, author of “The Origins and History of the Chicano Movement” acknowledges that, “At the end of the Mexican American war in 1848, Mexico lost half of its territory to the United States and its Mexican residents became ‘strangers in their own lands.’” In stating this fact, Rodrigo exemplifies the United States’ relations with Mexico, that, ultimately, led to their oppression. Moreover, these early relations led to social injustice for the Mexican community. Carlos Muñoz, author of The Chicano Movement: Mexican American History and the Struggle for Equality reports, “As a conquered people, beginning with the Texas-Mexico War of 1836 and the U.S. Mexico War of 1846-48, they have
At the age 10 he went to study are at the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts in Mexico City. Mexico City is 4 hours and 51 minutes driving from Guanajuato Mexico where he was born. Diego Rivera was a larger than life figure who spent significant periods of his career in Europe and the U.S. in addition to his native Mexico. His style of art was inspired by European modern masters and Mexico’s Columbian heritage. Rivera handled major themes expectable to the scale of his chosen art form:
Unity for Chicanos came in the form of an idea, of a dream, called El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán (The Spiritual Plan of Aztlán). ‘Plan of Aztlán’ became one the Chicanos signature ideas, this ‘Plan’ “sought to connect Chicanos to their indigenous past while… reminding them of the colonial implications of the Mexican-American war.” The ‘Plan’ become a method through which Mexican-Americans could be united through their shared ancestry and culture. Simultaneously, the Young Lords pushed for unity through a much more radical avenue. The Lords aimed to liberate their fellow Puerto Ricans and thus “rejected the established norms and American values…
Joaquín Sorolla was born in Valencia in 1863. He attended various schools throughout his youth and in these academies is where he first put tremendous focus on his skills as a drawer and painter. At one point in his life, he became an assistant to a well-known photographer and father of his later wife and muse, Clotilde. Before becoming a renowned painter himself, Sorolla discovered many influences from several cities. During the early 1880’s, Sorolla made frequent visits to Madrid, specifically the Prado Museum, where he copied artworks from distinguished artists such as Velázquez, Ribera and El Greco.
During the Chicano Nationalist Movement, a well-known speaker, Rodolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales, delivered a speech titled Chicano Nationalism: Victory for La Raza. In this speech, Rodolfo Gonzales tries to unify the Latin American people within the United States by using the idea of a family and to create a new political organization for the Chicano people. This speech was a cumulation of various ideas which stemmed from his own life, the experiences of the Chicano people, and the Chicano Nationalist Movement in general. Each of these factors contributed to the context of the speech and how the ideas within the speech are presented by Rodolfo Gonzales. Rodolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales was born to Federico and Indalesia Gonzales, two Mexican immigrants, on June 18, 1928.
Chicano culture came as result of a mixture of different cultures (Shingles and Cartwright 86). Despite the assimilation by the majority whites the Chicanos have preserved their culture. This paper seeks to prove that Chicano culture has deep cultural attributes that would appeal to the larger American culture, leading to strengthening of
During the 1960s and early 1970s, the Chicano Movement embraced El Día de los Muertos as a way to reconnect with pre-Hispanic and Mexican
Romero’s opinion on car culture is that it is everybody connected into one community with it. Everyone in Los Angeles loves their cars because it is involved in their daily business and is universally shared by a great population. The artist’s choice of colors show a very vivid and alike mix like that of Los Angeles. The colors shown on the mural are mainly red, green, yellow, and blue. The red and yellow represents the usual sunshine that Los Angeles gets on a daily basis.