To rescue a mural
National group takes first steps to save anti-AIDS art
By Maribel Villalva/El Paso Times
Article Launched: 10/28/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT
The mural "SIDA en Colores"
("AIDS in Colors") was painted
in ElPaso's Segundo Barrio in 1987.
Artist Carlos Callejo,right, discussed
paints, primers, sealers and other
materials that went into the making
of the mural with art conservator Steve Prins.
(Rudy Gutierrez/El Paso Times)
Twenty years ago, AIDS was becoming a household word as the disease was reaching all segments of the population.
In 1987, officials at La Fe Centro De Salud Familiar embarked on a summer project with the Chicano AIDS Coalition to educate the youth of El Paso's Segundo Barrio about the disease through film, theater and a mural.
Well-known artist Carlos Callejo, who happened to be a social worker at La Fe at the time, spearheaded the mural project.
The mural that resulted, "SIDA en Colores" ("AIDS in Colors"), adorns Mata's Produce on Sixth Avenue in the Segundo Barrio.
"We wanted to represent the AIDS virus as a tornado—and inside the tornado, you see different people engaging in high-risk behavior such as intravenous drug use," Callejo said. "At the time, there was the misconception that you could only get AIDS through sexual activity."
Twenty years of El Paso's harsh sun have faded the mural's vibrant colors, and vandals have sprayed the mural with graffiti.
Muralist Carlos Callejo, right, who
spearheaded the "SIDA en Colores"
mural in 1987 with El Paso youths,
met with Steve Prins, a professional
conservator from Santa Fe. Together,
they went over the details of the
mural earlier this month. Prins will
make recommendations on how to
restore the mural.
(Rudy Gutierrez/El Paso Times)
It is now one of a handful of murals nationwide being considered for conservation by Rescue Public Murals, a project of the nonprofit organization Heritage Preservation.
The project, which is still in its pilot stage, recently received funding from the Getty Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Booth Heritage Foundation and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art.
Timothy Drescher, co-chairman of Rescue Public Murals, said saving endangered murals is a crucial task.
"These murals are markers of the vitality, strengths and concerns of their communities. They are big, public—and, in many cases, they speak for the communities," said Drescher, who has been studying murals since the 1970s.
Drescher said a committee of El Pasoans nominated the mural to Rescue Public Murals for possible conservation.
"As part of the criteria, they needed to take into consideration the mural's artistic merit, the mural's role in the community. Is it still relevant in the community?" he said. "They also needed to consider the importance of the artist."
The first step is to have the mural professionally assessed by a conservator and, depending on the conservator's recommendations, decide on an appropriate plan for treatment. Rescue Public Murals would then try to raise the money needed.
Callejo, who moved to Los Angeles in March, returned to El Paso earlier this month to meet with Steve Prins, a conservator based in Santa Fe, to go over the details of the mural.
As part of that assessment, Callejo said, Prins wanted to know what products and materials were used on the mural, such as primers, paints and sealers. He also wanted to examine the surface beneath the mural.
"It's all very scientific," Callejo said.
"SIDA en Colores" is one of the first
murals being assessed by the Rescue
Public Murals program, which is still
in its pilot phase.
(Rudy Gutierrez/El Paso Times)
Prins said knowing every detail—no matter how small—is crucial to conservation. Though he won't make his professional assessment to the organization for another six weeks, he offered an "unofficial" assessment.
"In the end, I think it will be more effective to have the mural repainted than to to try to treat it by normal conservation method," he said. "The building has continued to shift and settle, and water is getting in the cracks between the cement. There's mold and discoloration, and water is seeping behind the paint that's causing the paint to peel off."
He also said most of the damage to the lower part of the mural has been caused by graffiti.
Prins said it was a luxury to work with Callejo, who is alive and well and can provide the necessary information about the mural.
Prins also said he'd like to encourage Callejo to spearhead a repainting effort.
"El Paso has such a vibrant mural community," he said, "and I think it makes sense for the community become involved" in the conservation effort.
Maribel Villalva may be reached at mvillalva@elpasotimes.com; 915-546-6129.
Reprinted with permission from the El Paso Times.