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Finding Aid for the Luis Garza Papers 1978-2005
142
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Title: Luis Garza Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1978-2005
Collection number: 142
Creator: Garza, Luis
Extent:
15 linear feet
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
Los Angeles, California 90095-1490
Abstract: Luis C. Garza (1943-) is a photographer and independent curator living in Los Angeles, CA. He served on the Board of Directors
of Plaza de la Raza, worked in a leadership role at Legacy and Legend Producations, and served as a project consultant at
the Getty Conservation Institute during the conservation of David Alfaro Siqueiros' "America Tropical" mural. Plaza de la
Raza is a nonprofit, community-based, cultural arts and education center located in East Los Angeles' Lincoln Park. Legacy
and Legend Productions is a company whose work includes museum exhibitions, speaker events, and public discussions – most
notably related to the works of David Alfaro Siqueiros. The collection contains records collected by Garza during his tenure
at Plaza de la Raza, Legacy and Legend Productions, and The Getty Conservation Institute.
Physical location: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access. Open for Research. Please contact the UCLA Chicano
Studies Research Center Library for paging information.
Language of Material: Collection materials in English
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access. Open for Research. Please contact the UCLA Chicano
Studies Research Center Library for paging information.
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Chicano Studies Research Center Library. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner, or his or her heir, for permission to publish where The Chicano Studies Research Center Library
does not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], Luis Garza papers (Collection 142). Chicano Studies Research Center Library,
UCLA.
[Identification of item], Luis Garza Papers, 142, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles.
Gift of Luis C. Garza, 2014. Deed on file at the CSRC Archives office.
Processed by Michael Aguilar II and Angel Diaz, July 2015 (Bulk), January 2014
Processed by Michael Aguilar II, July 2015 and Angel Diaz, January 2014 in the Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) at UCLA.
Encoded Archival Description created by Michael Aguilar II and Angel Diaz. Processing of this collection was generously supported
by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Luis Garza is a photographer and independent curator living in Los Angeles. He served on the Board of Directors of Plaza de
la Raza in the 1980s and early 1990s, worked in a leadership position for Legacy and Legend Productions, and served as a project
consultant for the Getty Conservation Institute.
Plaza de la Raza was founded by prominent labor, business and community leaders and local residents. Margo Albert (a Mexican-born
actress/singer) and Frank López (a well-known labor union organizer) were fundamental in the development of the community-based
cultural arts and education center. Plaza de la Raza officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on May 20, 1970.
It is located in Lincoln Heights in East Los Angeles.
Legacy and Legend Productions is a company established to support a public education project designed to increase and expand
knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of why an acclaimed Mexican artist (David Alfaro Siqueiros) and his murals (America
Tropical, Street Meeting, and Portrait of Mexico Today) painted over 75 years ago in Los Angeles remain relevant today. This
story was told through the group's multimedia exhibition "Legacy and Legend: Siqueiros in Los Angeles." Additional Legacy
and Legend Exhibits include "Siqueiros in Los Angeles," "Time Refocused," and "Encuentro Siqueiros."
Serving as a project consultant, Garza worked with the Getty Conservation Institute during its Conservation of America Tropical
project. This was a joint venture between the Getty Conservation Institute and the City of Los Angeles to conserve, interpret,
and provide public access to the only United States public mural by David Alfaro Siqueiros still in its original location.
Collection contains a variety of documents related to the work of Luis C. Garza as the Board Director of Plaza de la Raza,
as a leadership member of Legacy and Legend Productions, and a project consultant for the Getty Conservation Institute.
Materials from his tenure with Plaza de la Raza include Board of Directors meeting agendas, meeting notes, memorandum, correspondence,
budget reports, membership plan information, program development, performing arts announcements and programs, art exhibition
announcements and programs, art exhibition guides, newsletters, booklets and pamphlets, magazine and newspaper article clippings,
photographs, blueprints, and various other documents produced by related organizations. The collection also includes video
copies of the KCET show, Reflecciones, which Garza produced and directed.
Many of the Legacy and Legend documents concern the three murals created by David Alfaro Siqueiros in the United States: "America
Tropical," "Mitin Obrero" ("Workers' Meeting" or "Street Meeting"), and "Portrait of Mexico Today." Of the three, the largest
amount of material is related to the conservation, exhibits, and unveiling of "America Tropical" at the Italian Hall in Los
Angeles' Olvera Street. Similiar documents address "Mitin Obrero," which Siqueiros originally created for the Chouinard School
of Art when he was hired to teach students about the fresco technique and muralism. Thought to have been destroyed, it was
discovered by Garza and the Legacy and Legend team. The mural has since been placed for public viewing at the Santa Barbara
Museum's permanent collection. The collection includes correspondence, blueprints, design plans, booklets and pamphlets, posters,
photographs, art exhibition announcements and programs, and newspaper article clippings related to each of Siqueiros murals.
Material from Garza's time as a project consultant for the Getty Conservation Institute includes correspondence, art exhibition
announcements and programs, contracts, documentation material, conservation material, and shelter and viewing plans for the
Conservation of "America Tropical" mural project.
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Administrative, Gallery, Theater, and Event Papers, 1978-2005. 11 linear feet, 3 Oversize Boxes
- Series 2. Audio and Visual, 1972-1982. 3 linear feet
Plaza de la Raza Archive, 63, Chicano Studies Research Center, UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Getty Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Legacy and Legend (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Plaza de la Raza (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Los Angeles (Calif.)
Los Angeles Plaza (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Art centers--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources.
Art objects--Conservation and restoration
Arts--Education.
Dance--Education.
Mexican American arts--Exhibitions.
Mural painting and decoration