Previous Spotlights
Song of Unity
On Tuesday, June 3, 2008, a team of experts convened to document the condition of Song of Unity (La Cancion de la Unidad) and discuss a plan to restore it (see News). The mural incorporates the façade of La Peña Cultural Center at 3105 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, California and is a vibrant landmark in the community. However, since being created in 1978, this 15’ x 40’ artwork, which includes acrylic paint on Masonite, paper mache, fired ceramics, and fiberglass sculpture, has deteriorated and is in danger of being irreparably damaged.
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At left, detail of Song of Unity on La Peña Cultural Center’s façade and right, detail of cracking at the top of the mural. |
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Song of Unity came to the attention of the San Francisco/Bay Area committee of Rescue Public Murals and was chosen as one of the ten highly significant and endangered community murals that the project will assess during its pilot phase. Song of Unity embodies the spirit of La Peña Cultural Center, a community group that promotes peace, social justice, and cultural understanding through arts events, educational programs, exhibits, and artists’ residencies. Because of the many activists that have passed through La Peña’s doors, and literally, through the mural itself, Song of Unity has an international reputation. The mural shows unification of the Americas using symbols and iconic figures, the most prominent being Chilean folk singer Victor Jara, who was executed by the Chilean military junta. Others depicted in the mural are Pablo Neruda, Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, Woody Guthrie, Native American activist Bill Wahpepah, and folk singer Malvina Reynolds.
The mural was created by Commonarts, a group of artists including Anna DeLeon, Osha Neumann, Ray Patlán, and O’Brien Thiele. The artists, who still live and work in the Bay Area, participated in the assessment. A team of preservation specialists from ARG Conservation Services of San Francisco conducted the assessment. Senior Objects Conservator, Katharine Untch, assessed the ceramic, paper mache, and fiberglass elements of Song of Unity; Principal and Architectural Conservator, David Wessel, investigated the structure on which the mural is attached to the building; and paintings conservator in private practice, Anne Rosenthal, consulted on the painted portions of the mural. Paul Chin, Executive Director of La Peña Cultural Center, and Timothy W. Drescher, Berkeley art historian and co-chair of Rescue Public Murals, also attended the assessment.
The Rescue Public Murals assessment involves a team approach so that the mural’s history, techniques used to create it, and current physical condition are all thoroughly documented. With this information in hand, the artists, conservators, and building owner will then determine the most appropriate way to restore the mural. The findings of the assessment and restoration plan will be reported to La Peña Cultural Center, Heritage Preservation, and the Rescue Public Murals San Francisco/Bay Area Local Advisory Committee.
ring approximately 60 by 70 feet, is the only surviving mural in the United States by this Mexican master. It is also significant because it calls attention to the struggle between communities and urban renewal programs, one of the most common mural themes for the first phase (1965-73) of the community mural movement. The detail at the top of this page, taken in 2007, shows the wall's serious drainage and surface flaking problems.