Update 10/26/09
In a dramatic turn of events, the mural on the East wall of Neighborhood Thrift got spared from being painted over. In an outpouring of community support that involved emails, phone calls and a human wall in front of the mural the Neighborhood Thrift Board reconsidered it’s course of action. See The Fresno Beehive for Pastor Tim Goetz’s letter announcing the change of course.
photo by: Joe Osejo
The effort to reconcile the differences the murals immediate neighbors and the vision of the Tower District as a whole was spearheaded by graphic designer, tower resident, and longtime Creative Fresno board member, Suzzane Bertz-Rosa. Moving forward, Neighborhood Thrift manager, AP, and I will discuss any outstanding concerns that the neighbors have with the mural. These concerns will then be brought to the artists and Neighborhood Thrift Board to determine how to address the concerns and move forward as one neighborhood, all the more strong.
Original Post 10/24/09
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- photo by: Joe Osejo
A controversy brewed this week over the newest and largest mural in the Tower District. While the majority of the neighborhood and Tower District Community supported the mural be prominent local artist. Several neighboring homeowners strongly opposed it.
This story had been covered by Mike Oz for the Fresno Bee and Beehive
The final decision was made by the Neighborhood Thrift board of directors to paint over the mural or “buff” as the artist say. Neighborhood Thrift was setup as a independent 501c3 organization but began as a youth project of the Well Community Church.
Below is a response to a plea to keep the mural that I sent executive pastor of Well Community Church, Tim Goetz.
Kiel,
I appreciate your concern, however, you must first understand why we are in that location before you can understand our position. Also, when I say ‘our’ position, I mean Neighborhood Thrifts position. Neighborhood Thrift is its own 501c3, and is independent from The Well.
We have a simple business and a simple mission. We want to grow a successful business by selling mostly used goods at an affordable price so we can 1) promote an atmosphere of community and 2) help the community succeed economically.
We started Neighborhood Thrift just last year, and as of today, we employ 20 people from the community. We care about people, we care about the community, and we care about our neighbors. We hoped the mural would tie us into the Tower District and help promote the store, which would mean we could hire more people. We want to be tied in to the Tower District, but not bad enough to jeopardize relationship with our neighbors. We hope that people will understand why we need to paint over the mural, and we hope that we haven’t ruined potential relationships with our neighbors.
Ultimately, we just already have enough on our plate pursuing this thing they call economic development, the last thing we need is controversy, distraction, or another mission. We want everyone to know of Neighborhood Thrift as the store in the community for the community, not the place where the controversial mural is located. We need to be spending our time on growing the business to hire more people, or finishing our cafe so the community has another place to hang out this winter.
I know you may not agree with this, but the more this develops into 2 sides (Tower vs. Some neighbors), the more I am certain of what we need to do. I can respect the quote from the Tower District, but you need to understand that is your mission. We have our own mission. I think we can probably both be satisfied, but the current mural is jeopardizing our mission.
Hope this helps clarify things.
Tim Goetz
The muralist including Ramiro Martinez, Dominique Ovalle, Mike Howe & Josh Wigger worked into the night and today to finish the mural before it was buffed.
Oh boy! Sounds like another manifestation of the long-standing resentment in the ‘hood towards the non-profit service providers, including the numerous church-based social service groups. Every time a new one comes in, the temperature goes up a notch.
Many residents believe the Tower has become a dumping ground for activities no other neighborhood in the city would tolerate. As far as they are concerned, there are far too many recovery, sober living, or parolee houses and social service agencies (including the church aligned ones), attracting undesirables to the area.
Couple that to the long-standing controversy over who should make decisions for the neighborhood–the residents or the business owners, who are preceived by many as putting their interests first and the neighborhood a distant second. The reaction to the streetscape meetings from several residents epitomize this.
I’m not surprised the thrift store may now be concerned about its relationship with the Tower. A number of people have, in recent years, expressed to me their concern (and displeasure) with the increased number of storefront churches and associated activities in the neighborhood, particularly along Olive Avenue. Too many people are aware of the attempts by Peoples Church to acquire the Tower Theatre after Dottie died.
I have no big beef with the mural, but I don’t live in the Tower. Also, I don’t own the building, and also I am unaware if there is a building code or deed-level prohibition on something like the mural.
Still, too bad that such a major human effort is probably going to just be covered over. Just a big waste. Maybe it should have been painted in Santa Cruz or along Venice Beach.
Arnie
The Fresno Arts Council is in partnership with the State of California, and the City and County of Fresno as the representative for the arts. The Fresno Arts Council supports artists and arts organizations by promoting all forms of artistic expression. The Fresno Arts Council strongly supports the mural project on the Neighborhood Thrift Store at Olive and Wilson avenues. Artists deserve to be applauded for baring their souls and sharing their gifts with us.
In recent years, local artists have banded together to create murals on buildings providing us with public art. They combine brilliant colors in visuals that stimulate critical and analytical thinking. Beautification of buildings in older neighborhoods is an effective way to revitalize areas in which the original splendor has faded with time. Older buildings are emerging as excellent canvasses for creativity. Murals are a simple solution to building bridges between neighborhoods and opening channels of communication between neighborhood stakeholders. Art is serving one of its purposes – to stimulate communication through visual representation.
The mural on the wall of the Neighborhood Thrift Store has brought us together by contingents being at odds. To understand the mural and the controversy, one must see it first hand to experience their own senses with it, as photographs make it appear morose and foreboding. Everyone interprets art in their own way, and it may be different than what the artist’s vision is. To me the mural tells the story of the natural riches of the valley that we share with the world for the survival of mankind. The Central Valley is lush with life and vitality, rich with vast lands that create abundant agricultural resources that feed the world. The rivers, lakes and mountains of Mother Earth give rise to the ebb and flow of life. Farm workers are honored for their contributions in providing the world with food. The center of the mural is a baby in a cradle of the natural agricultural riches that are the strength of the Valley. The three men represent the gifts that we have from our rich agricultural resources – a vibrant and growing community, prosperity and world wide communication.
The Fresno Arts Council is currently in the process of updating the Cultural Arts Plan. This plan was adopted five years ago with input from the arts community. We have recently requested input from stakeholders in the cultural arts as we update the plan. One of the six goals in the plan is to promote public art. We believe that there are foundational assumptions for public art. 1) Public art should be protected. 2) Public art should not unrealistically restrict artistic creativity. 3) The perspective of residents and stakeholders should be considered prior to installation of a public art project.
The Fresno Arts Council encourages comments on public art as community members come together to consider the creation of a public art policy. Please send comments to
cindy@fresnoartscouncil.org or mfranco@fresnoartscouncil.org.
We look forward to hearing from you,
Cindy Dunn,
Executive Director