The Art Collections Department joins the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative Participating in the latest collaborative effort from arts institutions across Southern California

The Art Collections Department is excited to announce our participation in the Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative led by the Getty. Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, is a far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles. Initiated through grants from the Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA takes place from September 2017 through January 2018 at more than 60 cultural institutions across Southern California, from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, and from San Diego to Santa Barbara.

Emigdio Vasquez (1939-2014, American). Detail: “El Proletariado de Aztlán”, 1979, acrylic on plaster, 8’ x 40’. Chapman University Art Collections, © Emigdio Vasquez Art. Photo: Jessica Bocinski.

Chapman University’s project explores our campus’ own connection to Chicano history in Orange County. In 2014, Chapman University partnered with the Orange Barrio Historical Society and local artist Higgy Vasquez to restore a 34-year-old mural, El Proletariado de Aztlán , on the exterior of a former apartment complex adjacent to the university. The mural was originally painted in 1979 by Higgy’s father, Emigdio Vasquez, a prolific artist who painted 22 public murals in Orange County between 1976 and 2006. Vasquez’ murals celebrated the Chicano cultural movement, depicting local people and places alongside imagery from Mexican and Mexican-American history. For Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, Chapman’s art collections team will launch the first comprehensive investigation of these local murals and the communities they identify. Exhibitions on campus at the Guggenheim Gallery and the University Student Union will highlight the work of Emigdio Vasquez and additional contemporary Chicana/o muralists, and display historical artifacts and photos related to Chicano murals in Orange County. A downloadable app will enable users to view an interactive map of historic mural sites for a self-guided tour that provides information on each work, including those that have been destroyed.

The project is organized and curated by:

• Natalie Lawler, Project Director and Curator of Art Collections
• Wendy Salmond, Professor of Art History
• Lindsay Shen, Director of Art Collections
• Denise M. Johnson, Art History Lecturer
• Marcus Herse, Guggenheim Gallery Coordinator

The exhibition and related activities include collaboration with students and faculty across campus, and is scheduled to take place from September 2017 through January 2018. We are grateful to Emigdio Vasquez’s family for their support of this project. Stayed tuned for more information and updates!

Pacific Standard Time is an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America.