Post Office Mural Dedication – 66 Years Later!
While Venetians have a reputation for lateness,
the dedication, Nov. 15, of the mural in the post office lobby which was painted
in 1941 must take the cake.
The event honored the artist, the late
Edward Biberman, who created Venice’s oldest surviving mural as part of a
Work Projects Administration (WPA)
assignment.
The dedication was also an
opportunity for the distribution of a free 2008 calendar with photos of Venice
murals. The calendar was put together by Stephen Pouliot and Paul Tanck, with
the assistance of SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center). A free copy of
the calendar can be obtained by calling Betsy Goldman at
396-2600.
Others speaking at the event
included Betsy Goldman, MC; City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl; Suzanne Zada,
Edward Biberman estate representative; Venice Postmaster Art Santana; Musician
Brad Kay and the Venice Community Choir, who sang a new song about Venice;
Brandon Maggart, who read a poem about Venice; and Westminster Elementary
students. Notably absent from the podium were any of today’s Venice
muralists.
A canvas replica of the
mural was hung above the front door of the post office and was unveiled at the
end of the program. In addition, the Venice cancellation stamp, which
hasn’t been seen for a few years, was used to hand cancel envelopes
commemorating the event.
Edward
Biberman was a noted authority on murals in his day. He became an advocate of
public art after becoming acquainted with the great Mexican muralists Diego
Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Jose Clemente Orozco. However, the Venice
mural is the only one of his that is currently on display. He also painted two
murals in the old Los Angeles federal building which have been in storage since
the building was dismantled.
The
muralist was the brother of Herbert Biberman, the Hollywood screenwriter and
director who was blacklisted as one of the Hollywood Ten. Despite the blacklist,
Herbert Biberman directed the classic film, Salt of the Earth, about a New
Mexico miners strike. The blacklist also affected Edward Biberman, who lost work
because of the notoriety about his
brother.
Howard Fast, once the most
read author in the world, wrote a forward to Biberman’s 1953 art book, The
Best Untold. A film, Brush With Life: The Art of Being Edward Biberman, was
released in 2006. The artist died in
1986.
–Jim Smith
Posted: Sat
- December
1, 2007 at 07:21 PM