Salvador Torres
Salvador Roberto Torres | |
---|---|
Born | Salvador Roberto Torres July 3, 1936 muralist |
Movement | Chicano art |
Salvador Roberto Torres (born July 3, 1936) is a Chicano artist and
He was born in El Paso, Texas, but moved to San Diego with his family as a young child. He attended San Diego City College and the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California, where he earned a B.A.Ed. degree in art in 1964. In 1973 he earned an M.A. degree in painting and drawing from San Diego State University.[2]
Chicano Park
Torres was raised in
For three years, while plans for the park were proceeding slowly through the city and state governments, Torres and other artists lobbied for permission to begin creating their murals. Finally in 1973 they received permission and painting began on March 23, 1973. Torres and many other artists expanded the project until it became the largest collection of Chicano murals in the world.[1] In 1980 the city designated the park and its murals as a San Diego Historical Site. Torres is described as "the architect of the dream" for his role in inspiring and launching the project.[2]
Centro Cultural de la Raza
Torres was one of the founders of the
Later activities
He produced murals for an NBC television pilot, The Fortunate Son. In 1993 he and his former wife, artist Gloria Robolledo Torres, completed the Kelco Historical Community Mural in Barrio Logan. In 2009 he was a visiting artist in residence at the University of California, Santa Barbara.[4]
As a painter Torres is best known for his 1969 painting Viva La Raza, an oil on canvas that depicts the transformation of the eagle of the United Farm Workers of America into a rising phoenix. His work has been shown in a number of exhibitions, including Salvador Roberto Torres (1988), the nationally touring Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation (1990–93), and Made in California: 1900–2000 (2000).[2]
References
- ^ a b c d Delgado, Kevin, A Turning Point: The Conception and Realization of Chicano Park, Journal of San Diego History, Winter 1998 Archived May 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Guide to the Salvador Roberto Torres papers, UC Santa Barbara Library
- ^ San Diego Park and Recreation Department Archived May 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ UCSB Artist in Residence