Articles

 

The Museum of History and Art, Ontario, ed. Museum associates,

May- July, 2002, Vol. 6 No. 2

 

Ontario Invitational Art Exhibition, April 24 to June 16, 2002

 

The 2001 Ontario Open Art Exhibition featured artwork from more than 150 artists. The Ontario Open Committee extended an invitation to all of the artists who received awards to exhibit their recent work for the Ontario Invitational Art Exhibition. The committee is delighted to host two emerging artist for the Inland Valley area-Christine Wiseman, First Place, and Chi Huynh, who received “Honorable Mention.”

 

 

Christine Wiseman graduated with B.A. in Fine Arts, concentration in painting, with high honors in 2001 form Cal State University San Bernardino. Wiseman s winning [canvas],  Sonya in Red captured the juror, Dee Marcellus Cole’s attention because “the artist got the hard stuff right. Hands and feet are the hardest human features to scale correctly.” Wiseman’s artist statement elaborates further:

 

" Rarely are we completely exposed to anyone, sometimes even to ourselves. We choose what and with whom we share certain aspects of our lives. My paintings reflect this visually by the placement of the figure on the canvas, the choice of how much of the figure to present, and the often averted faces. The surrounding space is quiet, providing a subtle background that allows the viewer to focus on the subject. I paint primarily with a palette knife, applying several layers of vibrant acrylic color necessary to express a richness of emotion. So much can be said in a gesture: how people position themselves or how they place their hands and feet."

 

From the InlandValley Daily Bulletin; Arts and Entertainment

 

  Saturday, Jan 19, 2002,  by Rich Mortensen, staff writer

Wall Art: Pomona muralist uses history as muse in Huntington Beach Mural

 

Caption for first image: “Fragile Moments,” a mural by Kevin Stewart-Magee and Christine Wiseman, hung at Pomona’s Avatar Gallery before it’s installation at the Huntington Beach Wal*Mart.

 

Second image: a truck passes “Fragile Moment” at its new home at the Huntington Beach Wal*Mart.

 

Until a couple of weeks ago, a 14-foot-by 68-foot painting covered the back wall of Pomona’s Avatar Gallery.    The painting now covers an outdoor wall of a new Wal*Mart in Huntington Beach [California].

 

The Avatar is the live/work space of Kevin Stewart-Magee, who runs a mural-painting business from his gallery.  With his assistant, Christine Wiseman, who also shows some of her paintings at the Avatar, Stewart-Magee created the mural.  It depicts three children surrounded by soap bubbles in a park.

 

Wal*Mart commissioned the piece to fulfill the city of Huntington Beach’s requirement that all new building projects contain public art.  Stewart-Magee’s design not only had to gain approval from his corporate client but from the city’s design review board, planning director and cultural services manager.

 

The process required him to examine the project from the city’s point of view.  “Instead of just talking to Wal*Mart about what they want, I went and hung out in Huntington Beach to find out what the community was about,” Stewart-Magee said.

 

                      As a commercial muralist, Stewart-Magee has always tried to create work that reflects its surroundings.  One of Stewart-Magee’s regular mural clients is Bristol Farms markets.  He painted murals at 12 of the store’s locations and tailored each one to its specific community.

 

                      “I spend a lot of time talking to people locally.  I like to have lunch particularly with older residents.  Then I get more of an overview,” Stewart-Magee said.  ‘ It’s not ’gee, what has it been lie since the mall came in?’ but ‘what was it like before the freeway came through, what was it like when the trains came?  What was it like before Starbucks and Gap.  Back when this community had a distinct personality?”

 

                      Stewart-Magee discovered that in the 1920s through the ‘50s, Huntington Beach held beauty pageants for twins and billed itself as a twin city.  In his mural, which was set in the city’s historic Central Park, he put a part of identical twins.

 

                      Michael Mudd, the cultural services manager of Huntington Beach said Stewart-Magee’s focus on the city’s history was a selling point.  “I liked his immediate interest to tie in the history of Huntington Beach,” Mudd said.  “I like the notion that he went beyond the obvious, which is  ‘surf-city.’   I think, for me, that’s what caught my attention.”

 

                      As an advocate of public art and a member of the city’s committee that approves new buildings, Mudd also liked the size and scope of Wal*Mart’s public art proposal. “We were really pleased that they were willing to take the project this far and actually give us 90 feet of storefront to do a mural,” he said  “It’s terrific.”

 

                      Not everyone in Huntington Beach liked the idea of a Wall*Mart in the community.  After the city council approved the project by a vote of 4-3, a group of citizens organized a petition that forced the issue to a citizen’s vote.  It narrowly passed.

 

                      The petitioners concerns toward Wal*Mart included traffic, noise, incompatibility, wit its surroundings and possible negative economic impact on locally owned businesses.  They reflected the concerns of  many small towns toward the megastore chain.

 

                      Stewart-Magee understands these concerns, but he doesn’t share them.  He hopes his mural will help preserve the town’s unique look, and he believes the presence of a Wal*Mart doesn’t necessarily mean local businesses will suffer.

 

                      “There’s a Wal*Mart in Upland and a Wal*Mart in Pomona, and I don’t think downtown Pomona has suffered a bit for the Wal*Mart being there,” Stewart-Magee said.

 

                      “The world changes, and we adapt tot it.  If they opened a great big mural factory down the street, I’d have good excuse, but the truth is, we always have to struggle.  You always have to struggle to find your niche and to differentiate your product."

 

                      “Not every corporation and not every city would as enthusiastically embrace a 15-foot-high portrait of a child with Down syndrome,” he said.  “Wal*Mart was very excited about that.  It was my feeling that Austin is a very good-looking and extremely happy kid.  He just embodies childhood.”

 

                      Stewart-Magee titled his work, “Fragile Moments,” which he said has meaning on many levels.

 

                      “That refers not only to that fleeting, fragile quality of childhood, but it uses soap bubbles as a metaphor for the fragility of each moment,” Stewart-Magee said.  “It was designed over a year-and-a-half ago, but given the incidents this fall [terrorist attacks] in the world, it became more poignant.”