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Location: 1 Haven for Hope Way
Dimensions: 180' x 13'6" Date: March 2011 Lead Community Muralist: Gabriel Garcia |
Transformation is one of San Anto Cultural Arts’ largest murals in more ways than one: it measures 180 feet long and involved hundreds of community members as volunteers, artists, interviewees, and models. The project is a collaboration of San Anto Cultural Arts, NuStar Energy, Haven for Hope, SAMMinistries, UTSA, Henry Ford Academy, not to mention countless individuals. Lead artist Gabriel Garcia designed the mural to represent stories of different people who experience homelessness, including men, women, the elderly, children, families, and people who suffer from mental illness. The mural shows change from darkness to light and from caterpillar to butterfly, communicating the hope of transformation for all who struggle.
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Content and Design
Every image in the mural comes from surveys, brainstorming sessions, conversations, site visits, and focus groups with people experiencing homelessness in San Antonio. All portraits include the clothing worn by original models. Lead artist Gabriel Garcia’s original design was colorful, almost psychedelic, and crowded with images. The final version includes negative space and focuses on images from individual stories that speak to a group’s shared experience, including the elderly, children, families, and people with mental illnesses. Garcia says:
I was trying to go for a really graphic mural that you can kinda glance at from for away and still register what you’re looking at, and hopefully as you get closer to it you see that there is order and process to it. |
From left to right:
Sky: The mural moves from purple to blue to light yellow, representing the transition from night to morning, from darkness to light. This transition emphasizes the mural’s hopefully message of transformation.
Caterpillar: The caterpillar on the far left expresses the mural’s title. Throughout the mural, the caterpillar moves from the phases of metamorphosis to become a butterfly.
Tree: At brainstorming sessions, Gabriel and his crew rolled out butcher paper and invited Haven for Hope members to draw pictures that represented what “transformation” meant to them. One member drew a tree, and Gabriel used that exact image, including the colors, in the left side of this mural.
Blowing leaves and butterflies: Lead artist Gabriel Garcia explains that “You move to the right and the caterpillar starts transforming and this whole magical sequence begins with the leaves blowing away to incorporate movement, not being static.”
Man lying down: The man on the ground, modeled by the lead artist, has a sign that says “Anything Helps.” The words “I never thought I would have to sleep on the outside” run across his back. This phrase came up in discussions with Haven members and stuck with Gabriel ever since. The purple heart medal hanging above the man is a tribute to homeless veterans as well as to Gabriel’s father, a purple heart recipient.
Man with hat: This man was a SAMM Shelter resident and one of the first Haven for Hope members. He had the broad, thick build of a football star and a reputation as one of the most recognizable people at Haven for Hope and SAMMinistries. Garcia incorporated his image to represent both the elderly homeless population and to symbolize perseverance. Garcia placed the words “Strength and Wisdom” behind the man’s head, explaining that he thought “incorporating him would be a good sign to represent perseverance, fighting through all the challenges and coming through the other end a lot stronger and a lot wiser.”
Cocoons: The cocoons hanging in three different stages repeat the motif of transformation. They also refer to Haven for Hope’s transitional model, where residents pass through the programs in multiple stages. The end goal is for each person to emerge independent and self-sufficient, like the butterfly flying just beneath the cocoons.
Girl holding globe: Garcia met this girl at the SAMM Shelter. She was standing in an empty room holding a ball. The photographer snapped a picture of her and something in the image captivated Garcia. He gave her a prominent space in the mural to represent the situation of children experiencing homelessness and the innocence of youth. The girl holds the world in her hands, showing that our future is in the hands of the next generation.
Family: This image represents the situation of parents who try to raise their children the best they can within their means. Garcia did not originally intend for the family’s picture to cover the door of the warehouse, but finds it appropriate in retrospect that viewers can literally enter the scene through the image of a loving family.
Woman with two faces: Many people the artists met suffered from some kind of mental illness, such as PTSD, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, or schizophrenia. To verbalize this struggle with mental health, Garcia included the words of one Haven member: “I feel like two people sometimes.” He also designed the image of a woman mirrored back-to-back with herself, two people in one.
Woman laying down: Garcia’s wife Annette modeled for this image. She is overlaid with the words “I need a hand up, I don’t need a handout.” A hand reaches down from the sky to help her up.
Butterflies: Dozens of butterflies flutter around the outstretched hand, representing the final phase of transformation. Most of the butterflies were painted by Celeste, a Haven for Hope member.
Sky: The mural moves from purple to blue to light yellow, representing the transition from night to morning, from darkness to light. This transition emphasizes the mural’s hopefully message of transformation.
Caterpillar: The caterpillar on the far left expresses the mural’s title. Throughout the mural, the caterpillar moves from the phases of metamorphosis to become a butterfly.
Tree: At brainstorming sessions, Gabriel and his crew rolled out butcher paper and invited Haven for Hope members to draw pictures that represented what “transformation” meant to them. One member drew a tree, and Gabriel used that exact image, including the colors, in the left side of this mural.
Blowing leaves and butterflies: Lead artist Gabriel Garcia explains that “You move to the right and the caterpillar starts transforming and this whole magical sequence begins with the leaves blowing away to incorporate movement, not being static.”
Man lying down: The man on the ground, modeled by the lead artist, has a sign that says “Anything Helps.” The words “I never thought I would have to sleep on the outside” run across his back. This phrase came up in discussions with Haven members and stuck with Gabriel ever since. The purple heart medal hanging above the man is a tribute to homeless veterans as well as to Gabriel’s father, a purple heart recipient.
Man with hat: This man was a SAMM Shelter resident and one of the first Haven for Hope members. He had the broad, thick build of a football star and a reputation as one of the most recognizable people at Haven for Hope and SAMMinistries. Garcia incorporated his image to represent both the elderly homeless population and to symbolize perseverance. Garcia placed the words “Strength and Wisdom” behind the man’s head, explaining that he thought “incorporating him would be a good sign to represent perseverance, fighting through all the challenges and coming through the other end a lot stronger and a lot wiser.”
Cocoons: The cocoons hanging in three different stages repeat the motif of transformation. They also refer to Haven for Hope’s transitional model, where residents pass through the programs in multiple stages. The end goal is for each person to emerge independent and self-sufficient, like the butterfly flying just beneath the cocoons.
Girl holding globe: Garcia met this girl at the SAMM Shelter. She was standing in an empty room holding a ball. The photographer snapped a picture of her and something in the image captivated Garcia. He gave her a prominent space in the mural to represent the situation of children experiencing homelessness and the innocence of youth. The girl holds the world in her hands, showing that our future is in the hands of the next generation.
Family: This image represents the situation of parents who try to raise their children the best they can within their means. Garcia did not originally intend for the family’s picture to cover the door of the warehouse, but finds it appropriate in retrospect that viewers can literally enter the scene through the image of a loving family.
Woman with two faces: Many people the artists met suffered from some kind of mental illness, such as PTSD, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, or schizophrenia. To verbalize this struggle with mental health, Garcia included the words of one Haven member: “I feel like two people sometimes.” He also designed the image of a woman mirrored back-to-back with herself, two people in one.
Woman laying down: Garcia’s wife Annette modeled for this image. She is overlaid with the words “I need a hand up, I don’t need a handout.” A hand reaches down from the sky to help her up.
Butterflies: Dozens of butterflies flutter around the outstretched hand, representing the final phase of transformation. Most of the butterflies were painted by Celeste, a Haven for Hope member.
History
The number of people involved in creating this mural was simultaneously its greatest asset and greatest challenge. Transformation, the central concept for this mural, came from the principal funders, NuStar Energy and Bill Greehey. The mural involved a crew of multiple artists, San Anto Cultural Arts, Haven for Hope Board, staff, and members, the UTSA School of Social Work, and dozens of community volunteers.
A professor from UTSA’s School of Social work and his students lead the research end of Transformation, hosting focus groups and documenting community feedback. San Anto staff and artists visited classes at UTSA, and the leading UTSA faculty member participated in meetings with San Anto and the Haven for Hope staff, discussing the vision for the mural project and refining the message artists and staff wanted the mural to convey.
In preparation for the mural, artists visited Haven for Hope and the SAMM Shelter, taking photographs and visiting with members. They learned about how funders and the City of San Antonio were diverting resources from other homeless shelters to build up Haven for Hope, and studied Haven for Hope’s transitional model for developing independence. At Haven for Hope, the San Anto team rolled out butcher paper and invite people to write and draw their own interpretations of “transformation.” These brainstorming sessions provided much of the imagery for the mural.
Lead artist Gabriel Garcia also met one-on-one with people who had experienced homelessness. He recalls one that left a lasting impression on him:
A professor from UTSA’s School of Social work and his students lead the research end of Transformation, hosting focus groups and documenting community feedback. San Anto staff and artists visited classes at UTSA, and the leading UTSA faculty member participated in meetings with San Anto and the Haven for Hope staff, discussing the vision for the mural project and refining the message artists and staff wanted the mural to convey.
In preparation for the mural, artists visited Haven for Hope and the SAMM Shelter, taking photographs and visiting with members. They learned about how funders and the City of San Antonio were diverting resources from other homeless shelters to build up Haven for Hope, and studied Haven for Hope’s transitional model for developing independence. At Haven for Hope, the San Anto team rolled out butcher paper and invite people to write and draw their own interpretations of “transformation.” These brainstorming sessions provided much of the imagery for the mural.
Lead artist Gabriel Garcia also met one-on-one with people who had experienced homelessness. He recalls one that left a lasting impression on him:
Bob’s class at UTSA set up an interview with me and a gentleman by the name of Forest...we met up at Tri-Point, over there off of St Mary’s and 281, so we were over there and having coffee and I just kinda asked him to tell me his story, like what brought about him being homeless, and he told me that he was a really good student and school and didn’t do drugs or anything, didn’t drink even, but one day his older brother who he had been really close with had died in a car accident. And he basically turned his back on the world, turned his back on the family and was just completely devastated and walked away from everything like, ‘I can’t survive without my brother in my life.’ So before he knew it he was out on the streets. So I’m sure a story like that is very nuanced and I don’t know the background and everything but him being able to tell me like that stopped me in my tracks. This is real. These are real stories.
Garcia strove to include everyone’s story in the mural. The first concept drawing was crowded with images, ranging from a beach ball to a cherry tree. When a community member at one of the mural meetings pointed out that cherry trees don’t grow in Texas, Garcia realized some things would have to go and decided to opt for quality over quantity. Instead of incorporating every picture community members drew, he focused on images that would tell stories representative of the diverse people he met at SAMM Shelter and Haven for Hope.
Transformation is San Anto’s second polytab mural. Community Mural Program (CMP) Coordinator Ruth Buentello travelled to Philadelphia to be trained in the polytab technique by artists at Philadelphia Mural Arts. Buentello piloted the polytab technique with the restoration of End Barrio Warfare and invited a Philadelphia artist to train the Transformation crew in polytab painting and application. Polytab or parachute cloth material comes in 5x5 panels. The panels are painted first and then applied to the wall with an adhesive (in this case, Novagel). This means a mural in progress can be transported to different locations and worked on indoors so that people of all ages and abilities can participate.
Most of the painting for Transformation happened inside the Haven for Hope warehouse where it was eventually installed, but the mural crew carried it all over San Antonio, including to the Alameda Museum (now called Centro de Artes). The mural brought together volunteers from otherwise separate communities, including Haven for Hope members, families, professional artists, and high school students. Some people featured in the mural helped to paint their own portraits. One Haven for Hope resident, Celeste, volunteered so regularly that she became part of the mural crew. The flock of butterflies on the far right of the mural are mostly her work. The butterflies are also Garcia’s favorite part of the mural because their sheer number and variety reflect the project’s inclusiveness:
Transformation is San Anto’s second polytab mural. Community Mural Program (CMP) Coordinator Ruth Buentello travelled to Philadelphia to be trained in the polytab technique by artists at Philadelphia Mural Arts. Buentello piloted the polytab technique with the restoration of End Barrio Warfare and invited a Philadelphia artist to train the Transformation crew in polytab painting and application. Polytab or parachute cloth material comes in 5x5 panels. The panels are painted first and then applied to the wall with an adhesive (in this case, Novagel). This means a mural in progress can be transported to different locations and worked on indoors so that people of all ages and abilities can participate.
Most of the painting for Transformation happened inside the Haven for Hope warehouse where it was eventually installed, but the mural crew carried it all over San Antonio, including to the Alameda Museum (now called Centro de Artes). The mural brought together volunteers from otherwise separate communities, including Haven for Hope members, families, professional artists, and high school students. Some people featured in the mural helped to paint their own portraits. One Haven for Hope resident, Celeste, volunteered so regularly that she became part of the mural crew. The flock of butterflies on the far right of the mural are mostly her work. The butterflies are also Garcia’s favorite part of the mural because their sheer number and variety reflect the project’s inclusiveness:
Throughout the process I wanted people’s voice to come through, I wanted people’s mark and their hand to come through so you can see this wasn’t done by one person - this was a whole team of people - and still have that cohesive look of finishing, that everything belongs where it is.
About the Artist
Gabriel Garcia’s interdisciplinary practice is informed by the culturally rich stories of his family and community members. Garcia’s past works have also explored ways in which imagery, mostly found in advertisements, takes on new meaning when exposed to weather elements. By applying the same deconstructive process, his works paralleled the lives of his subjects aiming to represent the hard work and sacrifice required by these individuals in order to provide for their families. Woven throughout his works are themes of wealth/class disparity, social injustice and violence as constant barriers his subjects strive to overcome.
For the past 2 years, Garcia has been working on the comic book “Boney Toe” which is loosely based on his late father’s life growing up in San Antonio, Texas in the 50’s and 60’s, culminating with his service in the United States Marine Corps, and his tour during the Vietnam War.
Gabriel Garcia was born in San Antonio, TX. He received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has exhibited in numerous galleries throughout the US along with several touring exhibitions in Europe. He currently lives in Chicago, Il.
For the past 2 years, Garcia has been working on the comic book “Boney Toe” which is loosely based on his late father’s life growing up in San Antonio, Texas in the 50’s and 60’s, culminating with his service in the United States Marine Corps, and his tour during the Vietnam War.
Gabriel Garcia was born in San Antonio, TX. He received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has exhibited in numerous galleries throughout the US along with several touring exhibitions in Europe. He currently lives in Chicago, Il.
Gallery: Notes from Community Meetings
These notes were either written by members of Haven for Hope or transcribed by facilitators from San Anto Cultural Arts or UTSA during community meetings. These notes and others like them informed the content of Transformation.
