It is not often that one has the privilege of witnessing art being created live. However, beginning today, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Ethnic Studies at UCLA, a live mural painting by renowned artist Gronk will take place at the Fowler Museum.
He has had a 40-year career as an artist, which coincidentally overlaps with the inception of UCLA’s American Indian studies Center, Asian American studies Center, Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American studies, and Chicano Studies Research Center. While Gronk began his career as a performance and conceptual artist, he turned to painting following a 1985 wall-painting project at the Museum of Contemporary Art. As a member of the conceptual art group Asco, Gronk’s work contributed greatly to the Chicano civil rights movement during the 1970’s.
“During the Chicano student hunger strike at UCLA, Gronk donated a painting (now at the Faculty Center) in order to have charges dropped against student protesters. What is important to stress is that Gronk, as with other Asco members, engaged social issues in conceptual and avant-garde terms ““ in effect, they developed a new artistic language for social protest,” said Chon Noriega, director of the Chicano Studies Research Center. “His own work is deeply informed by art history, but also political and cultural history.”
The exploration of this history through the ethnic centers at UCLA have diversified the curriculum and widened the scope through which students see the world.
“There was a period 40 years ago when our histories and literatures were a one sided conversation, the formation of these centers foregrounded these issues,” said Betsy Quick, director of education for Fowler Museum.
Along with Gronk’s mural, the exhibition also includes special collections at the centers and university library detailing a large history of the ethnic centers’ efforts to attain equality and academic access. Selections from Gronk’s papers, sketchbooks, journals and other materials from throughout his career can be found in the UCLA Digital Library and the Chicano Studies Research Center.
“We are publishing more books now than ever before, and in fact have been identified as one of the most active publishers in the UC outside the UC Press,” Noriega said. “We have community partnerships in the arts, education, health care, telecommunications, and other areas ““ and each allows us an opportunity to involve students in real hands-on training that complements their classroom education.”
These partnerships allow famed artists such as Gronk to teach young people at UCLA about ethnic struggles through art. Gronk’s mural will transform the entry space of Fowler Museum into an artistic message. Meanwhile, people will be able to meet Gronk and watch his work unfold before their eyes.
“I was asked to do one of my on-site pieces because I allow people to see an artist at work, opening the process up for whoever might want to see how something is made. I like the fact that these pieces last for a short time and are not owned by anyone. The wall will go back to being a white wall after the show closes,” Gronk said.
The mural will depict the ethnic struggles of today’s society ““ a struggle linked with educational obstacles and student rights.
“Education is a struggle on all fronts, and today is a perfect example of that,” Gronk said, “Hikes in tuition affect us all. They affect the world we are going to live in.”