From the VC Reporter:

The unveiling of Ventura’s Streetscape Mural Project on March 23 drew artists, members of the public and city representatives. The project also inspired comparisons to President Roosevelt’s public works projects.

Bringing to mind Depression-era subsidized public arts programs that installed sculptures and murals in federal buildings, the Public Art Commission’s project began as an open call, welcoming artists of varying experience levels. Proposals poured in from single artists and collaborative groups alike, enabling Buena High School and Cabrillo Middle School, as well as the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance, to take part in the citywide beautification effort.

When private goes public

The murals’ subject matter ran the gamut from landscapes to public awareness. For Mayor Carl Morehouse, who was present at the ceremony, the murals reflect the unique perspectives of over 62 artists who live in the community. For Morehouse, the pieces encourage “civic engagement,” meaning artwork previously relegated to private collections, galleries or personal doodles has now become part of the public landscape.

“It’s a value to every person’s public everyday experience,” Morehouse stated.

To Morehouse, the murals each preserve a moment in time. He characterized the 12 pieces as conversation starters, as well as contributions to smart urban planning. Referring again to New Deal-fostered artwork, the mayor reflected that citizen art is an important part of democracy, one that nurtures a legacy within the city.

With the stated purpose of softening “hard infrastructure,” the Public Art Commission decided to transform several citywide bus stops into art installations while maintaining their functionality. The Commission hopes improving bus stops on an aesthetic level will encourage Ventura residents to reconsider alternative modes of transportation.

The mural message

Photographer Stephen Schafer’s contribution encourages such an interaction with bus commuters, the only passers-by who might be able to “get” the full extent of his message. Schafer’s mural is a stark and eye-catching imitation of an optometrist’s chart, with large block letters of decreasing size spelling out his thoughts on Ventura.

On the other end of the spectrum were murals that eschewed text. Buena High School’s mural was inspired by American music of every imaginable genre and shows a variety of the industry’s movers and shakers: Gene Simmons butts up against Joni Mitchell and Ray Charles; Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix cast their influence among other legends. As the mural’s statement reflects, music is an all-inclusive art form.

The Rainbow Alliance made use of a simple black-and-white scheme to broadcast their theme, “I Know, Do You?” which refers to an international AIDS (and HIV status) awareness campaign. Using anonymous but emblematic figures of all ages, genders and sexual orientation, the piece becomes a show of solidarity for Ventura County’s population.

Christopher McMakin goes more abstract, with a mural that shows his transposed doodles and the cast of endearingly deranged cartoon characters who inhabit his psyche. Looking at McMakin’s piece, private becomes very public, and the surrounding area seems the better for it.

The mural-making process

Local artist Terence Adam Ulrich reflected on his experience producing a larger-than-life painting that will be seen by thousands. The seasoned painter and illustrator, whose work often appears in the Reporter, labored without knowing where his painting might end up.

He was provided with the necessary materials and found that his production experience was, like his mural, emblematic of Ventura: From receiving the four panels to completion, Ulrich suffered considerable setbacks due to January’s cold snap (he works from a studio in his garage).

Although he is no stranger to working on a large scale, Ulrich found the commission-sanctioned paint — acrylic latex — provided him with a crash course in a new medium.

“They wanted it to last due to the exposure it would be receiving,” explains Ulrich. “It took me about three days to figure out how I could work with this paint. It doesn’t work like usual acrylic. It’s made to sit on top of a surface — really durable, almost like elastic. It’s made to just sit on top of wood and not just sink in. I would paint a layer then let it dry. I painted these little intricate designs, then I painted over that. Then I took my electric sander, sanded the top layer off, the designs came up from underneath.”

Describing the scene shown in his mural, Ulrich said, “We moved up here to surf, and so for me the symbolization of Ventura is the ocean and the hillsides and the islands. That’s what I wanted to show.”

The Streetscape Mural Project is the first of a two-part project for Ventura’s streetscape.

So today we had the official dedication ceremony of the Streetscape Mural Project. The mayor; Carl Morehouse spoke about each of the artists and their pieces. The artists and their friends stuffed themselves on cupcakes, iced tea and cokes. It was a warm day with lots of great art and happy, friendly people. Here I am with a picture of the poster the City made for the occassion.

My family drove a couple of hours to be here and watch the ceremony, which I thought was really cool! Friends from LA and Ventura also showed up, some even took off work to be there! This is my friend John aka Preacher Herb, who performed the marriage ceremony for my wife and I last year!

It was a great day and I want to thank each and every artist involved for their support and kind words!

A nice little article about me in today’s local paper. How cool is that????

Mixed media with folk flavor
By Nicole D’Amore, Correspondent

Urban folk art is how Terence Ulrich describes his work, so it’s fitting that he is one of the artists chosen to participate in the Ventura Streetscape Mural Project.

Ulrich’s four-part mural, titled “Surfer’s Point,” can be seen at Ventura Avenue and Main Street, near the Museum of Ventura County. It is a colorful representation of people enjoying the beach — surfing and flying a kite — with some larger-than-life birds added to the mix.

Ulrich’s paintings come from his imagination and often feature unusual elements. Color is bright and unexpected, limbs might be missing, animals wear human clothing.

He did a series on Catholic saints as Mexican wrestlers, with titles like “Santo Domingo de Guzman.” He did another series on American proverbs, inspired by a book in his studio.

“When I don’t know what to do, I take a proverb and make a picture around it,” Ulrich said. “I’m influenced by early carnival art, banner art, circus sideshow stuff, turn-of-the-century mural art.”

In his garage, recently converted to a studio in Ventura, Ulrich has shopping bags full of items he has collected to be incorporated into his mixed-media pieces: Chinese paper, old pieces of wallpaper, wood in various sizes, lucky charms, telephone pole nails. He has been influenced by such artists as Jose Posada, Manuel Ocampo and Michael Ray Charles. His bookshelf includes autographed copies by the pop surrealists Mark Ryden and Robert Williams.

Ulrich was born in Indiana and started drawing before he was 7, he said.

“I used to try to duplicate characters in my comic books,” he said. He started painting when he was about 15.

His family moved to California when he was 14, but after graduating from high school he went back to the Midwest and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1988 to 1990.

He returned to California and worked at various office jobs for several years, occasionally doing murals for people.

“I went to Platt College to learn design, to get out of the office,” he said. He does illustrations for newspapers and magazines and for American Apparel in Los Angeles.

It was his wife, Ionia, who inspired him to get back into painting, he said.

“She saw my old sketchbooks and said, ‘You have to get out there and paint,’ ” he said. “She kind of disciplined me, whipped me into shape. She is my greatest supporter.”

Before moving to Ventura, Ulrich and his wife lived in Los Angeles for six years, where his art was influenced by the urban environment.

“We lived one block from Skid Row; we were smack-dab in the middle of it,” he said.

“I would see a billboard with old advertisements, layers and layers peeling like an onion, and I would wonder about that,” he said. “I saw a blank canvas with my imagination as the unifying element to put the story together.

“I experimented on canvas, wood and other found objects and applied a system which mimicked my surroundings,” he said. “Like most folk artists, the process and labor becomes part of the final product. There is a lot of gluing, cutting and sanding in my paintings.”

He has exhibited paintings at La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles, was in a group show at the Nathan Larramendy Gallery in Ojai in 2005, and was one of only three California artists asked to participate in the “James Brown – Soul of America” exhibition in Georgia last summer. He also does commissions for private collectors.

The mural project is sponsored by the Ventura Public Art Commission with the objective of making art accessible to the community while encouraging bus transportation and discouraging graffiti. Murals are at bus stop shelters throughout the city. In addition to nine artists, participants included Buena High School, Cabrillo Middle School and the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance.

A dedication ceremony for the mural project will be at 11 a.m. today at the California Mini Park at Santa Clara and California streets. Mayor Carl Morehouse will speak and refreshments and complimentary bus tokens will be provided.

For more information, call 658-4736. For more information about Ulrich’s art, visit his Web site, http://www.terenceulrich.com.

Hello!

Remember me?

I haven’t posted an entry for a while, the past few weeks have been busy beyond belief. I’ve got lots of news to share but first things first. Ionia and I had a pleasant surprise on the way to the water to surf and walk the dogs today, the bus stop murals were being installed. The guys from the city had finished one and were working on another while we drove by. The location where mine was to be installed was still empty. When we drove back an hour and a half later, the mural was installed and I had a little plaque with the title and my name!

To say that I’m stoked would be an understatement!!!!

So here’s a picture and stuff:

Here’s my plaque:

I think I’m gonna ask the woman on the left to marry me! Wait, I already did!

The Mural for the City of Ventura is complete. I even know where it will be installed. For you locals, you’ll be able to see it near the corner of Main and Ventura Avenue, in front of the Ventura County Museum of Art.

Ventura is going to treat the mural artists to a dedication ceremony on March 23rd.

Here is part of an email from Ventura’s Public Art Project Manager regarding the day ahead.

“…I am also pleased to share that there will be an official dedication ceremony to celebrate your new works on Friday March 23 at 11:00AM. It will be held at the California Mini-Park on the corner of Santa Clara and California Streets. Mayor Carl Morehouse and a Public Art Commissioner will give remarks. There will also be images of your artwork on display, refreshments, and complimentary bus passes. In the coming weeks, I will be mailing you invitations to share with your friends and family–everyone is invited to attend!”

Does this look like a hummingbird?