Life of Washington (murals): Difference between revisions

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Funded by the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Federal Art Project, the murals were Arnautoff’s largest New Deal commission and one of the largest ensembles of New Deal artworks at a single site. Arnautoff was a well-known muralist, having painted other WPA funded projects including murals at Coit Tower where he was Technical Director of the project.

Arnautoff, presented ~~them~~ as a counter-narrative to high school history texts of the time that aggrandized Washington; they depicted his dependence on slave labor, his belief in Manifest Destiny and his role in Westward Expansion and the “march of the white race” (in Arnautoff’s words). In one panel Washington is depicted pointing West over the body of dead Native American.

Arnautoff presented the murals as a counter-narrative to high school history texts of the time that aggrandized Washington; they depicted his dependence on slave labor, his belief in Manifest Destiny and his role in Westward Expansion and the “march of the white race” (in Arnautoff’s words). In one panel Washington is depicted pointing West over the body of dead Native American. Arnautoff's political views were influenced by Diego Rivera, for whom he worked as an assistant while living in Mexico. His style is considered more subtle than Rivera's and that of other social realists of the period. Later he joined the Communist Party, the American Artists' Congress and the San Francisco Artists and Writers Union. His politics were reflected in his work, which was part of the mural arts movement intended to inspire change through criticism of the current political system.

~~Arnautoff's political views as well as his work were influenced by Diego Rivera, for whom he worked as an assistant while living in Mexico. He joined~~ the ~~Communist Party,~~ the ~~American Artists' Congress~~ and ~~the San Francisco Artists and Writers Union~~. ~~His politics were reflected in his work~~, which was part of a mural arts movement intended to inspire change through criticism of the political system. His style is considered more subtle than Rivera's and that of other social realists of the period.

Two of the mural panels have come under fire since the 1960’s for their depictions of African Americans and Native Americans. For decades, activists have called for their removal.

|description_of_incident=In December 2018, George Washington High School was denied landmark status specifically due to of the mural’s ~~offensiveness to African Americans and Native Americans~~. ~~Two~~ of the ~~panels have come~~ under ~~fire since~~ the ~~1960’s for their controversial depictions~~ of ~~African-Americans and Native Americans~~. ~~For decades, Native Americans and activists have called~~ for the ~~mural’s removal, most recently~~.

|description_of_incident=In December 2018, George Washington High School was denied landmark status specifically due to the mural’s controversial nature. The high school is part of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education. The Board was divided about the school’s application for landmark status because designating it as such would make it impossible to modify or remove the murals afterwards.

The Board ~~was divided about the school’s application for landmark status because designating it as such would make it impossible~~ to ~~modify or~~ remove the murals ~~afterwards~~. ~~(The high school is part of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education)~~

The SFUSD created a 13-member “Reflection and Action Group” to provide a recommendation to the Board. In February 2019, after four public meetings, they issued their final recommendation to remove the entire series of murals from the school.

The SFUSD created a 13-member “Reflection and Action Group” to consider the provide a recommendation to the Board. After four public meetings, and in February 2019 they issued their final recommendation to remove the entire mural series from the school.

The George Washington High School Alumni Association GWHSAA) launched a campaign to keep the 83-year-old murals intact. The alumni proposed adding interpretive panels to give them historical context and to also document how they have been experienced by Native American, African American, and other students of color.

The George Washington High School Alumni Association launched a campaign to ~~save~~ the ~~mural~~. The alumni proposed adding interpretive panels to give historical context ~~to the murals~~ and to also document how they have been experienced by Native American, African American, and other students of color~~, keeping the 83-year-old mural intact~~.

The story was extensively covered in both local and national media. Those who would censor the work cited its depiction of slavery and the murder of a Native American as traumatizing to some students of color. Others, including NCAC and the leaders of four of San Francisco’s top visual arts institutions, argued that it is an artistic and historical treasure that does not celebrate the life of George Washington uncritically, but rather depicts him as complicit in slavery and the violent pursuit of America’s “Manifest Destiny.”

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 Funded by the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Federal Art Project, the murals were Arnautoff’s largest New Deal commission and one of the largest ensembles of New Deal artworks at a single site. Arnautoff was a well-known muralist, having painted other WPA funded projects including murals at Coit Tower where he was Technical Director of the project.
-Arnautoff, presented them as a counter-narrative to high school history texts of the time that aggrandized Washington; they depicted his dependence on slave labor, his belief in Manifest Destiny and his role in Westward Expansion and the “march of the white race” (in Arnautoff’s words). In one panel Washington is depicted pointing West over the body of dead Native American.
+Arnautoff presented the murals as a counter-narrative to high school history texts of the time that aggrandized Washington; they depicted his dependence on slave labor, his belief in Manifest Destiny and his role in Westward Expansion and the “march of the white race” (in Arnautoff’s words). In one panel Washington is depicted pointing West over the body of dead Native American. Arnautoff's political views were influenced by Diego Rivera, for whom he worked as an assistant while living in Mexico. His style is considered more subtle than Rivera's and that of other social realists of the period. Later he joined the Communist Party, the American Artists' Congress and the San Francisco Artists and Writers Union. His politics were reflected in his work, which was part of the mural arts movement intended to inspire change through criticism of the current political system.
-Arnautoff's political views as well as his work were influenced by Diego Rivera, for whom he worked as an assistant while living in Mexico. He joined the Communist Party, the American Artists' Congress and the San Francisco Artists and Writers Union. His politics were reflected in his work, which was part of a mural arts movement intended to inspire change through criticism of the political system. His style is considered more subtle than Rivera's and that of other social realists of the period.
+Two of the mural panels have come under fire since the 1960’s for their depictions of African Americans and Native Americans. For decades, activists have called for their removal.
-|description_of_incident=In December 2018, George Washington High School was denied landmark status specifically due to of the mural’s offensiveness to African Americans and Native Americans. Two of the panels have come under fire since the 1960’s for their controversial depictions of African-Americans and Native Americans. For decades, Native Americans and activists have called for the mural’s removal, most recently.
+|description_of_incident=In December 2018, George Washington High School was denied landmark status specifically due to the mural’s controversial nature. The high school is part of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education. The Board was divided about the school’s application for landmark status because designating it as such would make it impossible to modify or remove the murals afterwards.
-The Board was divided about the school’s application for landmark status because designating it as such would make it impossible to modify or remove the murals afterwards. (The high school is part of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education)
+The SFUSD created a 13-member “Reflection and Action Group” to provide a recommendation to the Board. In February 2019, after four public meetings, they issued their final recommendation to remove the entire series of murals from the school.
-The SFUSD created a 13-member “Reflection and Action Group” to consider the provide a recommendation to the Board. After four public meetings, and in February 2019 they issued their final recommendation to remove the entire mural series from the school.
+The George Washington High School Alumni Association GWHSAA) launched a campaign to keep the 83-year-old murals intact. The alumni proposed adding interpretive panels to give them historical context and to also document how they have been experienced by Native American, African American, and other students of color.
-The George Washington High School Alumni Association launched a campaign to save the mural. The alumni proposed adding interpretive panels to give historical context to the murals and to also document how they have been experienced by Native American, African American, and other students of color, keeping the 83-year-old mural intact.
 The story was extensively covered in both local and national media. Those who would censor the work cited its depiction of slavery and the murder of a Native American as traumatizing to some students of color. Others, including NCAC and the leaders of four of San Francisco’s top visual arts institutions, argued that it is an artistic and historical treasure that does not celebrate the life of George Washington uncritically, but rather depicts him as complicit in slavery and the violent pursuit of America’s “Manifest Destiny.”