Fair Park Murals Walking Tour, Sat Sept 8, 9:30 am

[alittleceltic]

TOUR THE FAIR PARK MURALS
& VIEW “A FAIR TO REMEMBER”

Saturday, September 8
Murals Tour: 9:30–11:30 a.m. Start at Magnolia Lounge
Lunch: 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. at the Old Mill Restaurant
Film Screening: 1:00 p.m at Hall of State


Preservation Dallas and the Friends of Fair Park are sponsoring a walking tour of the murals at Fair Park, followed by lunch and a screening of A Fair to Remember, a Media Projects documentary that chronicles the development of Fair Park from its inception in 1886 to today.

Beginning at 9:30 a.m. with coffee & snacks at the Magnolia Lounge, Craig Holcomb, Executive Director of Friends of Fair Park and Julie Stephenson, Art Conservator of the murals project, will offer a brief talk and walking tour of the large murals that cover Fair Park’s largest buildings. Thanks to Preservation Tree Service for sponsoring breakfast.

Fair Park is a unique complex of architecture, monumental sculpture and mural paintings—all a product of the 1936 Texas Centennial Celebration. In 1935, architect George Dahl commissioned the award–winning modernist painter Carlo Ciampaglia to paint the massive geometric artwork that accents the wall porticos of the the Centennial and Food and Fiber Buildings.

The murals focused on such themes as motion, speed, and transportation. Additional paintings by unknown artists focused on phases of Texas history—Spanish, Texas Republic and Confederacy. Many of the murals were thought to be lost after fifty years of concealment by multiple layers of paint until sandblasting of a section of the Centennial Building’s exterior revealed a portion of one of the murals, Motion. Now, the murals have been restored and cleaned and a “sun abatement” treatment is in process to protect the murals for the future.

The walking tour will end at 11:30 a.m. After the tour, members are invited to head over to the Hall of State to pick up a complimentary ticket for a community screening of A Fair to Remember. Tickets will be available on a first–come, first–serve basis beginning at Noon that day. After picking up your ticket—-or, even if you decide not to attend the screening—-drop by for lunch at the Old Mill Restaurant, where tables will be set aside for Preservation Dallas members and their guests. After lunch, return to the Hall of State by 1:00 p.m. for the film screening.

Cost for the tour is $10 for
Preservation Dallas members and guests proceeds will
benefit Friends of Fair Park and Preservation Dallas.
Lunch cost is on your own, and the film screening is complimentary.

Free parking is available by entering Fair Park through GATE 5 (Grand Avenue) off Robert B. Cullum Blvd. Lots are located adjacent to the Music Hall and Museum of Nature & Science. Watch the construction - getting ready for the State Fair !

R.S.V.P. to 214.821.3290 or
sroebuck@preservationdallas.org
For more information, visit these sites

www.fairparkmurals.com
www.preservationdallas.org
www.mediaprojects.org
www.preservationtree.com

[RobertB]

I was trying to figure out why the murals were painted out, when I saw this tidbit at the fairparkmurals.com site:

Opposite the Centennial Building across the Esplanade, stands another building which mirrors its image, the Automobile Building which originally had murals painted by another artist under its porticos also. Contemporary newspaper articles describe both sets of murals as being painted in "full rich colors that are associated with Italian art". Unfortunately the murals were lost when a fire destroyed the building in 1942. It may have been at the time of the reconstruction of this building that the murals on the Centennial Building were painted out so that the two buildings would be mirror images.
That explanation doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You remove a work of art just to match the empty wall across from it?

I think the date is the most notable hint. In late 1940, Italy declared war on Britain and France (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Italy_during_World_War_II), and with the US entry into WWII after Pearl Harbor in December 1941, that made Italy an enemy country.

I suspect the murals were painted over not out of a desire for architectural balance, but as a way of poking the Italians in the eye by destroying the artwork of one of their countrymen. Kinda silly, isn't it? Good thing we've progressed beyond such petty acts. Right? Oh, never mind. (http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,,1026475,00.html)

[Lakewooder]

Well people painted over the stained woodwork in Craftsman Bungalows -- just ask any of us who own them and have tried to strip the paint!

I know someone's father who painted (in the early 1960s) over a huge Rookwood tile fireplace mantle in a Lakewood Hutsell mansion. It took the new owners forever to get that off. Also a lot of the Hutsells had murals which were painted over. I have even heard in the 1950s and 60s that some people knocked out stained glass windows and put them in the garbage can. Thank God most didn't!

Of course in the Park Cities they just tore the houses down. There was a great story today about a rebel family there:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/parkcities/stories/DN-pcdooley_30met.ART.Central.Edition1.428bca6.html

[alittleceltic]

[QUOTE=RobertB]I was trying to figure out why the murals were painted out, when I saw this tidbit at the fairparkmurals.com site:

Opposite the Centennial Building across the Esplanade, stands another building which mirrors its image, the Automobile Building which originally had murals painted by another artist under its porticos also. Contemporary newspaper articles describe both sets of murals as being painted in "full rich colors that are associated with Italian art". Unfortunately the murals were lost when a fire destroyed the building in 1942. It may have been at the time of the reconstruction of this building that the murals on the Centennial Building were painted out so that the two buildings would be mirror images.
That explanation doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You remove a work of art just to match the empty wall across from it?



http://www.fairparkmurals.com/
I just spoke to Julie Stevenson, Art Curator and our Tour guide on Saturday and she said she will discuss this in detail.