Judy Baca facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Judy Baca
|
|
|---|---|
Baca in 1988
|
|
| Born |
Judith Francisca Baca
September 20, 1946 |
| Nationality | Mexican-American |
| Education | Cal State Northridge |
| Known for |
|
|
Notable work
|
Great Wall of Los Angeles |
| Movement | |
Judith Francisca Baca (born September 20, 1946) is an American artist, activist, and professor. She teaches about Chicano studies, world arts, and cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Judy Baca is also a co-founder and artistic director of the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC). This center is located in Venice, California. She is famous for directing the mural project that created the Great Wall of Los Angeles. As of 2018, this was the largest known community mural project in the world.
Contents
About Judy Baca's Life
Judy Baca's Early Years
Judy Baca was born in Watts, Los Angeles on September 20, 1946. Her parents were Mexican American. She grew up in Watts, an area with many Black and Latino families.
Judy lived in a home with only women: her mother, her aunts Rita and Delia, and her grandmother Francisca. Her grandmother was a traditional healer who used herbs. This greatly influenced Judy's understanding of her indigenous Chicano culture.
In 1952, Judy's mother married Clarence Ferrari. They moved to Pacoima, Los Angeles. Pacoima was very different from Watts. Mexican-Americans were a smaller group there. Judy has a half-brother, Gary, and a half-sister, Diane.
Judy Baca's Education and Art Journey
When Judy was in elementary school, she was not allowed to speak Spanish. She did not know English very well. Her teacher often told her to paint in a corner while other kids studied. Over time, Judy started to do better in classes as she learned English.
Her art teacher encouraged her to draw and paint. She graduated from Bishop Alemany High School in 1964. Judy then went to California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She earned her bachelor's degree in 1969 and a master's degree in fine art in 1979.
Judy was the first in her family to go to college. She learned about modern abstract art. She wanted to create art that everyone could see, not just art in galleries or museums. She wanted to make art for the people she cared about, who might not visit art galleries. After college, she studied mural painting in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Judy Baca's Famous Artworks
Las Vistas Nuevas Mural Project
In the summer of 1970, Judy Baca decided to create a mural in Boyle Heights. She wanted to bring the community together. Her first team had twenty members from four different gangs. They named their group Las Vistas Nuevas, which means "New Views."
The mural showed images that Mexican-Americans in the neighborhood would recognize. Judy wanted to use public spaces to give a voice to people who were often not seen or heard.
Raspados Mojados Art Installation
In Raspados Mojados, Judy Baca used a street vendor cart as an art piece. This artwork talked about issues of immigration and how Mexicans in the United States were sometimes misunderstood.
Street vendors in Los Angeles sell ice cream and Mexican snacks. This art piece showed a painting of a Mexican man on the cart. He was labeled "illegal alien, undocumented worker." This was the main focus of the artwork.
One side of the cart showed a man being pulled across a fence, like the U.S.-Mexico border. This represented the Bracero Program. This program started in 1942 during World War II. It allowed Mexican workers to come to the U.S. legally for farm jobs. They were promised housing, food, and transportation. However, some growers took advantage of their cheap labor.
Other paintings on the cart showed Mexicans working on farms. Some had tattoos on their backs, showing their heritage and how they were treated. Another painting showed Los Angeles skyscrapers with women sweeping and working. These images highlighted the struggles and contributions of Mexican immigrants.
Mi Abuelita Community Mural
The first project by Las Vistas Nuevas was on three walls of an outdoor stage in Hollenbeck Park. This mural was called Mi Abuelita, meaning "My Grandmother." It showed a Mexican-American grandmother with her arms open for a hug. This artwork honored the important role of grandmothers in Mexican families.
This project also helped rival gang members work together. They used art to solve their differences and create a shared identity in public spaces. Local police were worried about rival gangs working together. Judy also started the mural without official permission.
Despite these problems, Judy wanted to finish the project. She had lookouts to warn the team if rival gangs or police were coming. One day, a city official came to the park because of complaints. But after seeing the progress and how well the team worked, he gave Judy official permission to finish the mural. The city was impressed by her work with young people who were often seen as troublemakers.
After it was finished, the community loved Mi Abuelita. Judy said people brought candles and flowers to the mural for 12 years. Las Vistas Nuevas completed three murals that summer.
After these murals, Judy was offered a job in 1970. She became the director of a new citywide mural program. She had to choose mural locations, design them, and supervise painting teams. These teams were made up of teenagers who had been in trouble with the police. Members of the original Las Vistas Nuevas group helped run this program. This group went on to paint more than 500 murals.
In this new job, Judy faced censorship. People in neighborhoods wanted to show all parts of their lives in the murals, both good and bad. But the city did not want any controversial topics. For example, when the city didn't like a mural showing people struggling with police, they threatened to stop funding.
Instead of giving in, Judy formed the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) in 1976. This allowed her to continue funding public murals. Judy's efforts to involve the community in her art were unique. Bringing young people together to create art changed Chicano culture in Los Angeles. It gave a sense of purpose to young people of color who were often overlooked.
The World Wall and Other Art Projects
In 1987, Judy Baca started painting The World Wall: A Vision of the Future Without Fear. This painting showed a world without violence. She believed that imagining world peace was the first step to achieving it. She wanted artists from all over the world to help her paint it.
The painting was made in panels so it could be moved. It was first shown in Finland in 1990. The idea was that as the panels traveled, each host country would add their own panel. Countries like Russia, Israel/Palestine, Mexico, and Canada contributed.
In 1988, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley asked her to create the Neighborhood Pride Program. This citywide project painted murals. It hired over 1,800 young people who were at risk. The program created over 105 murals across the city.
In 1996, she created La Memoria de Nuestra Tierra ("Our Land Has Memory") for the Denver International Airport. This mural was special to Judy because her grandparents fled Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. They came to La Junta, Colorado. The mural told the forgotten stories of people who traveled freely across the land before borders existed. It also spoke about how we are all temporary residents of Earth. The mural was finished in 2000.
Judy researched by interviewing local residents. She also led a workshop with students from the University of Southern Colorado. She found a picture of an important meeting between Corky Gonzales and Cesar Chavez. They agreed to bring the Delano grape strike to Colorado.
Judy Baca also created the Cesar Chavez Monument Arch of Dignity, Equality, and Justice in 2008. It is at San Jose State University. It has mosaics of Cesar Chavez, Mahatma Gandhi, Robert F. Kennedy, and Dolores Huerta.
Judy Baca and Feminist Art
As a Chicana woman, Judy Baca wanted to empower women of color. She wanted to bring communities together in Los Angeles. She did this by showing the beauty and strength of Chicana culture through public art.
The way Judy created her art was also powerful. She involved young people who often felt powerless. This helped create a sense of community and allowed them to grow. In some ways, these actions make Judy's art feminist.
After getting divorced and moving to Venice, Judy joined "Consciousness Raising" meetings. She met professional women like doctors, lawyers, and scientists for the first time. She was amazed by what women could achieve. Through these meetings, she learned about feminist art by Judy Chicago. She was inspired by works like Woman's Space and the Feminist Studio Workshop.
Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC)
Great Wall of Los Angeles Project
The Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) was started in 1976. Judy Baca, artist Christina Schlesinger, and filmmaker Donna Deitch founded it. They believed art should focus on everyday people.
SPARC's first big project was the Great Wall of Los Angeles. Judy first wanted to paint a mural in East LA, but the city council said no. A friend told her to dream bigger. So, Judy planned a city-wide mural project. She wanted it to involve Black people in South Central Los Angeles, Chicanos in East Los, Filipinos in Echo Park, and Japanese people in Little Tokyo. And that's what happened.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers hired Judy Baca. They wanted her to improve the area around the Tujunga Wash, a flood control channel in the San Fernando Valley. It was a large concrete ditch. Judy's idea was to paint a history of Los Angeles. But not the history found in books. She wanted to show the events that were often forgotten. This included the stories of people of color who were left out of American history. Judy said the mural would be "a tattoo on the scar where the river once ran."
Judy was inspired by Los tres Grandes ("The Three Greats"). These were three very important Mexican muralists: Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Clemente Orozco. In 1977, she went to a workshop in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She learned mural techniques and saw their murals.
When she started the Great Wall project in 1976, Judy decided to involve people from the community. These were voices that had often been ignored. With funding, Judy worked with nine other artists, five historians, and 80 young people. These young people had been referred to the program by the criminal justice department.
For Judy, the project was more than just painting. It was about investing in the community. Judy led the project by interviewing people about their lives, family histories, and stories from older relatives. She also talked to history experts. From this research, she designed the mural. Some events shown in the mural were displayed publicly for the first time. These included the Dust Bowl Journey, Japanese American internment during World War II, Zoot Suit Riots, and the Freedom Bus Rides.
Judy wanted the mural to be painted by people as diverse as those in the paintings. She said she learned as much from the young people as she taught them. By focusing on the process and involving the community, Judy Baca was doing "artivism." This means using art for social change. Working with young people was important to Judy. She noticed that many young people in gangs used graffiti to express themselves. Judy felt that mural painting could redirect their energy and build community.
Judy also worked to include young women in her mural projects. At first, most of the young people were boys. But Judy actively recruited young women to participate.
Many people helped paint the mural. Some were scholars and artists, but most were community members. Judy said making a mural is like a big movie production. It can involve many scaffolds, trucks, and food for many people. 400 people helped paint the mural. It took seven summers to complete and was finished in 1984.
By the end, the mural was half a mile long (2,754 feet). It had provided jobs and leadership chances for over 400 people. The original plan was to show California history up to 1910. But Judy kept the project going, adding about 350 feet each year. The mural is still not complete. The plan is to make it about a mile long. It will show contemporary times and a vision of the future.
Judy Baca's Teaching Career
Judy Baca started teaching at her old high school, Bishop Alemany High School. She taught a program called Allied Arts, which combined different art forms. She created her first mural project with these students. Judy was later fired because she was involved in public protests against the Vietnam War.
She taught at UC Irvine from 1981 to 1995. She was an assistant professor, then an associate professor, and finally a full professor in the Studio Arts Department. She also led the Studio Arts Department for a time.
In 1995, she started the Muralist Training Workshop. This taught people the mural techniques she had learned. She also taught at California State University, Monterey Bay from 1994 to 1996. There, she helped start the Visual & Public Arts Institute Department.
In 1996, Judy Baca moved to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She took on several roles there. In 1993, she helped found UCLA's Cesar Chavez Center for Interdisciplinary Studies. She served as its vice chair. In 1998, she was a master artist in residence at Harvard University.
Judy Baca taught art in the UC system for over 28 years. 15 of those years were at the UCLA Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicana/o Studies. In 2002, she also joined the World Arts and Cultures department. In 2010, she became a full professor in both departments. Judy Baca retired from UCLA in 2018.
Workshops by Judy Baca
- Stockholm Conference: Community Mural Art and Social Change. This explored how collective mural art can help unheard voices.
- Toronto Mural Workshop, April 10, 2015
- Emancipation Workshop: April 10, 2015
Recent and Current Art Projects
In March 2010, Judy Baca was part of the Richmond Mural Project in the East Bay, Northern California. This project had five panels, each with different themes. Its goal was to connect citizens and share their diverse backgrounds.
She also helped successfully save her mural, Danza Indigenas, in Baldwin Park. This happened after protests and vandalism against the artwork. Judy Baca has also been a big part of the Mural Rescue Program. This program works to restore, preserve, and save murals in public spaces.
One of Judy Baca's most recent projects is "New Codex-Oaxaca-Immigration and Cultural Memory." This project shares artwork and stories of people immigrating from Mexico (especially Oaxaca) to the U.S. It explores why they are leaving and what they are experiencing. Judy Baca helps choose the art pieces, does community outreach, and starts conversations about these immigrants' artwork.
She was interviewed for the 2010 film !Women Art Revolution.
In 2024, her work was shown in Xican-a.o.x. Body. This exhibition highlighted the contributions of Chicano artists. It was shown at The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in California and later at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida.
Publications with Contributions by Baca
- Mapping the Terrain: new genre public art. Seattle: Bay, 1995. By Suzanne Lacy. ISBN: 9780941920308. Includes a chapter by Baca, "Whose Monument Where".
Notable Works by Judy Baca
_(cropped).jpg)
- Mi Abuelita, 1970, Hollenbeck Park, Los Angeles, California
- Great Wall of Los Angeles, 1976–present, Van Nuys, California
- History of Unitarianism, 1981, First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
- Danza Indigenas, 1994, Metrolink, maintained by Amtrak, Baldwin Park, California
- La Memoria de Nuestra Tierra, 1996,University of Southern California.
- Memoria de Nuestra Tierra, 2001, Denver Colorado, Denver international airport
- Digital tile murals, 2000, City of Los Angeles, Venice Beach, California
- Migration of the Golden People, 2002, Central American Research and Education Center of Los Angeles
- Arch of Dignity, Equality, and Justice, 2008, San Jose State University, San Jose, California
- Danza de la Tierra, 2009, Dallas Latino Cultural Center, Dallas, Texas
- Ataco, El Salvador Murals, 2009 Invited by the US embassy, Ataco, El Salvador
- Tiny Ripples of Hope'' and ''Seeing Through Others Eyes, 2010, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California
- La Gente del Maiz, 2011, Miguel Contreras Learning Complex, Los Angeles, CA
- The Extroardinary Ordinary People, 2013, Richmond Civic Center, Richmond, CA
- Find Your True Voice, 2013 Sandra Cisneros Learning Academy, Los Angeles, CA
See also
In Spanish: Judy Baca para niños
- Baca Family of New Mexico
- Murals of Los Angeles
