If necessity is the mother of invention, then the Great Depression gave birth to public art in the United States. Franklin Roosevelt’s effort to fuel the country’s collapsing workforce resulted in collections of free-standing whatzits, whoozies and flibbertygibbets on the street and at adjoining exteriors, supplying artists with jobs and Mr. and Mrs. America with stuff to talk about in passing. The era’s Art in Architecture program helped create a principle of thought among creators and their millions of patrons – that true public art must truly belong to the public.
That was then and this is now, and in between, the principle hasn’t changed a bit. If you don’t believe us, then by all means, go take a peek at the 13 entries that make up the Murals of La Jolla project, begun in 2010 by the La Jolla Community Foundation and currently overseen by the people at The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. The Athenaeum holds free monthly walking tours of the artwork (the latest is set for Wednesday, Sept. 24, the last event until March of next year), and the murals feature everything from topical nautical themes to ponderous stills, reflecting several sides of the local public experience.
Lynda Forsha, project curator, concurs that variety is the spice of the program’s life.
The Athenaeum, she said, “has been very deliberate about the variety of work, about wanting to work with the artist and create a feel for the community and for the artist. These [patrons] always have questions about the muralist and the idea behind the mural, how it was created. These are involved, curious people who want to come back often. They’ll go on one tour and ask ‘Can I come on tour B?’ because their interest was [piqued] the first time.” A maximum of 30 can take the walk, and Forsha said there’s invariably a healthy waiting list following an event.
The installations are staggered amid the Athenaeum’s consensus, Forsha said. “We don’t expect everyone to love every mural, because they’re always different,” Forsha said, “but we always get a responsive group.” Murals by John Baldessari, Gajin Fujita, Anya Gallaccio, Robert Ginder, Ann Hamilton, Robert Irwin/Philipp Scholz Rittermann, Nina Katchadourian, Kim MacConnel, Ryan McGinness, Roy McMakin, Richard Allen Morris, Catherine Opie, Julian Opie and Fred Tomaselli have been installed throughout La Jolla, which bears little resemblance to cities from a darker economic time in our history. But art is required to reflect the good times as well as the bad – and by accounts, Murals of La Jolla has the public’s attentions accordingly. The Sept. 24 tour begins at the Athenaeum, 1008 Wall St., at 5:30 p.m. and runs until 7. Reservations are suggested and are available at (858) 454-5872. For more information, including a map fo mural sites, see muralsoflajolla.com.
