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Wednesday, 4/30/97 Digital murals depict Estrada Courts' history Students document family values, cultural pride in East Los Angeles

By Kathleen Rhames Daily Bruin Staff Whether you're passing one on a freeway, darting past it in an airport or simply admiring the way it livens up the drab decor of an office building, murals have the power to communicate. Beneath bright colors and striking visual images, a mural can reflect the feelings and issues within a community. In the East Los Angeles housing projects of Estrada Courts, it is the voice of self-identity and cultural pride. In a community known internationally for its collection of Chicano murals, residents of Estrada Courts will witness the dedication Thursday of a public art project with a more technological emphasis. In association with the UCLA Cesar Chavez Digital Mural Lab, the Social and Public Art Resource Center will present the permanent installation of "The Digital Murals," a digitized photographic documentary of the history of Estrada Courts. The project was commissioned to UCLA students who interviewed 25 local families and captured the emotions and social issues affecting their lives. "We wanted students to have the opportunity to do service-based learning," says professor and SPARC founder Judith Baca. "It's important for them to not only learn about the arts in a theoretical way but to actually be involved in the real production of an art work. It empowers students to understand how they create change in a community and improve the lives of the people they are in contact with." Inspired by family albums and photographs, Baca and her students used digital technology to create a photographic collage of the people living in Estrada Courts. In the past, these materials would have been the basis of sketches for a hand-painted mural. Now, with the help of a computer, students directly scanned in photographic images as the mural itself. The result was six 8-foot-by-9-foot murals, printed with high-resolution billboard techniques on a vinyl background. Its futuristic appeal is what Baca calls "a kind of magical realism." "The pieces we've created document real life," Baca says. "Each of these images have their own specific meanings and individual stories. We're trying to show that these stories are significant and that our work represents these people with dignity and hope." "The Digital Murals" attempt to counter negative media stereotypes of the inner city, replacing it with the positive reinforcement of family values and cultural pride. One piece, titled "Las Four," features four women sitting serenely on the front stoop of their house in Estrada Courts. The women are young and one of them has a small child. Behind them stand four historic Chicano leaders and the image of a pre-Columbian goddess. "These figures connect the people of Estrada Courts with their cultural past," says SPARC Associate Director Alma Lopez. "It envisions options for these women, a door to pass through. Understanding that they come from these wonderful historic pasts dignifies their presence and gives them the possibility for a future." Other pieces, such as "Maria De Los Angeles" and "Silver Angel" give postive parenting messages to young men and women. It is because the subject matter of the murals is so realistic that the UCLA Cesar Chavez Digital Lab chose to digitally install them as photographic images. The resulting murals capture the essence of Estrada Courts and have become the voice of the community. "These aren't images imposed from outside the community but are derived from interactive processes between the artists and the community," Baca says. "These murals symbolize the people's aspirations, their hopes and their worries." And Baca should know. A professor in the UC system for 15 years, she has also worked as a muralist with several well-known pieces to her credit. As an artist and a professor, she found early on that there were few vehicles that allowed her to produce community-centered artwork. In 1974, she founded SPARC, which based itself on the preservation, presentation and production of public art. Since its beginning, the resource center has produced over 70 murals throughout Los Angeles, including the Great Wall of Los Angeles and the Neighborhood Pride Mural Projects. Baca teaches through an interdisciplinary system, which she explains allows students of all majors to take part in community participatory projects. "This is about students doing something that has real application in the world," Baca says. "They're not only beautifying physical space, but discovering that they can work in a difficult place and improve the situation there." ART: "The Digital Murals" dedication will be Thursday at the Estrada Courts Community Center in East Los Angeles. Admission is free. A free bus for UCLA students will leave from Ackerman Union at 2 p.m. For more information, call the Cesar Chavez Mural Lab at 822-9560. UCLA Cesar Chavez Digital Mural Lab at SPARC "La Trinidad" is among the pieces that depict life in Estrada Courts. UCLA Cesar Chavez Digital Mural Lab at SPARC "Las Four" is one of series of photos used in "The Digital Murals."