Statues of Junípero Serra (Ventura, California): Difference between revisions

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The '''''Father SerraA statue''''' in [[Ventura, California]], depictingrepresenting [[Junípero Serra]], the founder of [[Mission San Buenaventura]], was commissioned by [[Ventura County]] through the [[Works Progress Administration]] as part of the [[Federal Art Project]] in 1935. TheThis statue, sculptedmade of concrete from a clay model by [[Uno John Palo Kangas]], was placed in a prominent location in a public park across the street from the [[Ventura County Courthouse]] in 1936. After the Courthouse was repurposed as Ventura City Hall, the concrete ''Father Serra statue'' was designated as [[City of Ventura Historic Landmarks and Districts|City of Ventura Historic Landmark]] No. 3 in 1974. As deterioration of the concrete statue became a concern, a wood replica was created by local carvers and used to make a bronze cast. The concrete statue was replaced by the bronze cast in 1989. The wood replica was set in the atrium of the city hall for public display.

The public display of [[Junípero Serra statue|Serra statuary honoring Serra]] has been a source of controversy, particularly among those alleging that Serra was responsible for the [[California mission clash of cultures|suppression of the culture]] of [[Chumash people]]. The city council decided in 2020 to remove the bronze statue and the wood replica from public display.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-07-16|title=Ventura City Council Votes To Remove Junipero Serra Statue|url=https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/07/16/ventura-city-council-removal-junipero-serra-statue/|access-date=2020-07-18|website=losangeles.cbslocal.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

Kangas began by visiting the Santa Barbara and Ventura missions to study images of Serra and to learn about his life and style of dress. He also made multiple sketches in preparation for the work.<ref>"Comparison of Three Statues", a paper by Shirley Week (Kangas's daughter), October 9, 1990, p. 3, contained in Serra Statue ephemera file at the Research Library of the Museum of Ventura County.</ref> The sculpting process began with the creation of a full-size clay model; the clay model took four months to complete and was built at Kangas's studio at 3929 Fountain Avenue in Los Angeles.<ref name=LAT36/> The clay sculpture was built around a frame of wood and chicken wire which Kangas then covered with layers of clay.{{r|Mervyn|page=6}} According to a contemporary of the artist, Kangas used Meiners Oak resident Gordon Douglas as a model for the face of Serra.{{r|Mervyn|page=3}} In August 1936, the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' published on its front page a large photograph of Kangas posing with the clay sculpture.{{r|LAT36}}

Kangas built a breakaway mold of the clay sculpture using [[plaster of parisParis]]. The mold was placed in front of the courthouse and a scaffolding was built around the mold.{{r|Mervyn|page=6}} Kangas gathered sand and gravel from the [[Ventura River]],<ref name=LAT89/> which he used to make a concrete aggregate material that he poured on location into the mold.{{r|Mervyn|page=6}} After the concrete hardened, the mold was removed and Kangas smoothed the outer surface.{{r|Mervyn|page=6}}

On November 27, 1936, Kangas's concrete sculpture{{r|HPC 7-1-2020}} was unveiled in prominent location in a small public park across the street from the [[Ventura County Courthouse]]. The unveiling ceremony was attended by Kangas, Governor [[Frank Merriam]], Mayor George A. Newell Jr., and other notable persons. In his speech, Gov. Merriam said: "A beautiful statue is about to be made visible, exemplifying the spirit of this pioneering priest – noble, brave and holy – a patriot of patriots."<ref>{{cite news|title=Merriam Pays High Honor to Father Serra|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=November 28, 1936|page=7|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19279533/merriam_pays_high_honor_to_father_serra/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> After the Courthouse was repurposed as Ventura City Hall, the small park was included in the property transfer. The concrete ''Father Serra statue'' statue was designated as [[City of Ventura Historic Landmarks and Districts|City of Ventura Historic Landmark]] No. 3 in 1974.<ref>{{cite web|title=City of San Buenaventura Historic Landmarks & Districts|publisher=City of Ventura|date=May 3, 2016|access-date=April 15, 2018|url=https://www.cityofventura.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7730}}</ref>

By the 1980s, itthe statue had deteriorated from years of exposure to Ventura's salt air and from the pooling of rainwater in the collar of the statuefigure's robe, which formed a basin. In addition, the statue was vandalisedvandalized with paint and the City sandblasted the statue, damaging the statue'sits smooth outer layer and accelerating the decay.<ref name=LAT89/> The statue was removed from its pedestal in September 1989 to make room for installation of the bronze cast.<ref name="LAT89" /> The City planned to store the concrete statue until the completion of a planned farm implements museum, where the concrete statueit was to be installed.<ref>{{cite news|title=Father Serra ending tour of duty: 53-year-old Downtown statue being replaced|newspaper=Ventura Star-Free Press|author=Jim McLain|date=July 2, 1989}}</ref> The farminauguration implementsof this museum was delayed when its chief proponent, Bob Pfeiler, became ill.<ref name="Tale">{{cite news|title=A tale of the three Father Serra statues|newspaper=Oxnard Star|author=Kim Lamb Gregory|date=June 1, 2001|pages=E1, E6}}</ref> In 1996, the concrete statue was discovered by a reporter for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' in an industrial storage yard operated by Oilfield Service & Trucking Company (OST) along Ventura Avenue.{{r|LAT96}} A crane from OST had been used to remove the statue in 1989 and the statue was to have been temporarily stored at the OST yard.<ref name="LAT96" />{{r|Mervyn|page=53}} {{As of|April 2018}}, the concrete statue remained at the OST yard in a decaying wooden crate.<ref name="Tale" /><ref name="VCS 2020/06/28">{{Cite news|last=Wenner|first=Gretchen|date=June 28, 2020|title=Two meetings on fate of Ventura's Father Serra statue slated as emotions run high|url=https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/ventura/2020/06/28/ventura-city-hall-father-serra-statue-focus-city-council-meetings/3273167001/|access-date=2020-06-29|work=[[Ventura County Star]]|language=en}}</ref>

Ownership of the concrete statue passed from Ventura County to the City of Ventura in 1971.{{r|Mervyn|page=11}} In 1983, Ventura City Councilman Russell Burns, a mechanical engineer, presented a report to the City Council describing the deterioration of the statue and concluding that the statue "in the not too distant future will fall apart."{{r|Mervyn|page=12}} The City in 1984 commissioned studies of the statue by an art conservator, an engineering firm, and a concrete expert.{{r|Mervyn|page=13}} The studies reached the conclusion that the statue should be moved inside and that the statueit was too fragile to be copied by molding.{{r|Mervyn|page=13}}<ref name=LAT87/>

Based on the findings, Councilman Burns proposed the creation of a wood replica of the statue which could then be used as a model for a bronze cast to be put in place of the decaying concrete statue.{{r|Mervyn|page=13}} In 1986, Burns's proposal was unanimously adopted by the Ventura City Council. The City loaned an initial sum of $15,000 to begin the process to be repaid by local boosters who raised more than $100,000 through the sale of limited-edition {{Convert|18|in|cm|adj=on}} bronze replicas (hand-tooled by Charles Kubilos),<ref>{{cite news|title=Former engineer creates Serra replicas|newspaper=The Ventura County Star-Free Press|author=Brett Pauly|date=November 3, 1989}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Serra statue stands tall|newspaper=The Ventura County Star-Free Press|date=May 23, 1988|page=A1}}</ref> posters/lithographs,<ref>{{cite news|title=Father Serra posters added to drive: $20 commemorative will help pay for statue repair|newspaper=The Ventura County Star-Free Press|author=Michael Marlow|date=August 17, 1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Lithographs available of Junipero Serra statue|newspaper=The Ventura County Star-Free Press|date=October 14, 1989|via=The Museum of Ventura County ("Junipero Serra Statue" biographical file)}}</ref> and T-shirts, hats, and pins bearing the phrase "I Support the Serra Statue".{{r|LAT 11011995}}{{r|Mervyn|page=17–19}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Kids, corporations back Serra statue fund drive|newspaper=The Ventura County Star-Free Press|date=May 27, 1988|page=A3|author=Michael E. Hoffman}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=A City Treasures Its Serra Heritage|newspaper=The Tidings|date=July 1, 1988|page=1|via=The Museum of Ventura County (biographical file for "Junipero Serra statue")}}</ref>

The reproduction process began by taking precise measurements of all aspects of the concrete statue, using 1,782 points of reference.<ref name=LAT87/>{{r|Mervyn|page=24}} According to a book written on the process, "more than 4,000 charts, drawings, grids, and photographs were made from the measurements.".{{r|Mervyn|page=28}} Master carver Wilbur Rubottom and a team of 16 carvers from the Channel Islands Carvers club then painstakingly created the wood replica in a studio at the old livery building on Palm Street in Ventura.<ref name=LAT87>{{cite news|title=Transformation: Retired Cabinetmaker's Rendering of Father Serra Helps Resurrect a Statue Ravaged by Sea Air, Time|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|author=Jesse Katz|date=October 29, 1987|page=IX-1, IX-6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19261559/transformation_father_serra_statute/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>{{r|Mervyn|page=28–39}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Wooden Serra statue replica taking shape Downtown|newspaper=The Ventura County Star-Free Press|author=John Krist|date=April 23, 1987|page=D1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Serra statue reborn sans fanfare|newspaper=The Ventura County Star-Free Press|author=Michael E. Hoffman|date=June 4, 1988|pages=A1, A6}}</ref> The carving began with large strips of basswood from [[linden tree]]s in a Great Lakes forest that were glued together to form a {{Convert|1,200|lb|kg|adj=on}} block.{{r|Mervyn|page=2}} The carvers' studio was open to the public, and busloads of schoolchildren, senior citizens, and tourists visited the studio to observe the process.<ref name=LAT87/> During the 1987 Ventura County Fair, the wood block was temporarily moved to the county fairgrounds where the carvers' work became an attraction for visitors.{{r|Mervyn|page=37}}

In 1988, the City of Ventura accepted a $17,000 bid from a group of student artists at the California Sculpture Center at [[College of the Desert]] in Palm Desert to create a bronze cast of the sculpture using the wood replica.<ref>{{cite news|title=Father Serra Pact OK'd|newspaper=Oxnard Press Courier|author=Jim Schultz|date=March 22, 1988|pages=1–2}}</ref> A group of the student artists visited the wood statue at the old livery building and made latex molds in multiple sections.{{r|Mervyn|page=57}} The bronze figure was then cast in 20 pieces using the "[[Lost-wax casting|lost wax]]" method.<ref name=DP89>{{cite news|title=Father Serra sculpture being recast at COD|newspaper=Desert Post|date=May 26, 1989|page=6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19279292/father_serra_sculpture_being_recast_at/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name=LATPD>{{cite news|title=Palm Desert Sculpture School to Cast Bronze Copy of Junipero Serra Statue|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=March 24, 1988|page=IX-5|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-03-24-ve-262-story.html|access-date=July 25, 2020}}</ref>{{r|Mervyn|page=58–59}}

Serra was [[canonized]] as a saint by [[Pope Francis]] in September 2015, drawing national attention to Ventura's Father Serra statue.{{r|NYT 2015/09/20}} In August 2017, amid the controversy over public display and vandalism of Serra statues, the ''[[Ventura County Star]]'' published an [[Opop-ed]] calling for the removal of such statues. The author, Rellis Smith, wrote: "To have statues such as the one in front of Ventura City Hall is a direct slap in the face of all Chumash and other Native American cultures."<ref>{{cite news|title=Remove Serra statues|newspaper=Ventura County Star|author=Rellis Smith|date=August 15, 2017|url=https://www.vcstar.com/story/opinion/readers/2017/08/15/remove-serra-statues/571088001/}}</ref>

In June 2020, as the [[Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials|national call for the removal of certain statues]] intensified, the mayor of Ventura, the pastor of [[Mission San Buenaventura]] and Julie Tumamait-Stenslie, the tribal chair of the [[Barbareño/Venureño Band of Mission Indians]], issued a joint statement agreeing to take down the statue and have it “moved"moved to a more appropriate non-public location".”<ref>{{Cite news|last=Campa|first=Andrew J.|date=2020-06-19|title=Junipero Serra statue to be moved away from Ventura City Hall|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-18/statue-of-controversial-roman-catholic-saint-to-be-moved-away-from-ventura-city-hall|access-date=2020-06-19|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|language=en-US}}</ref> Tumamait-Stenslie, reacting to defenders of Serra who say he protected and cared for indigenous people, said {{cquote|"He did that because we were the free labor force, the slave labor for the missions. Of course he was going to protect us. What else would he do? Go out and actually pay somebody to do the work? He had free slave labor.”<ref>{{Cite news|last=Skelton|first=George|date=2020-07-11|title=California is confronting its ugly, racist past. But how do we best do it?|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-10/california-confronting-its-ugly-racist-past|access-date=2020-07-30|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|language=en-US}}</ref>}} The removal proposal was overwhelmingly approved by the city council in July.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Harris|first=Mike|date=July 16, 2020|title=Ventura City Council decides to remove controversial Junipero Serra statues at City Hall|url=https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/ventura/2020/07/16/controversial-junipero-serra-statues-ventura-city-hall-removed/5447659002/|access-date=2020-07-16|work=[[Ventura County Star]]|language=en}}</ref> Since the bronze cast had never been officially designated a historic landmark after it replaced the concrete statue, the council found that the current statue was not a historic landmark for which a review under the [[California Environmental Quality Act]] would have been required.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Harris|first=Mike|title=Grassroots group sues Ventura over removal of Serra statue from in front of City Hall|url=https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/ventura/2020/07/29/ventura-sued-over-removal-junipero-serra-statue-front-city-hall/5516274002/|access-date=2020-07-29|newspaper=[[Ventura County Star]]|language=en}}</ref> The replica was not found to be potentially historically significant on its own.{{r|VCS 2020/06/28}}

The attention and damage to the [[List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests#Genocide of indigenous peoples|statues of Junípero Serra]] was renewed during the [[George Floyd protests]], which expanded to include monuments of individuals associated with the [[Genocide_of_indigenous_peoples#Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas|genocide of indigenous peoples]] in the Americas. A [[Statue of Junípero Serra (Los Angeles)|statue in Los Angeles]] and another [[Statue of Junípero Serra (San Francisco)|statue in San Francisco]] were toppled on [[Juneteenth]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=KABC|date=2020-06-21|title=Demonstrators topple statue of Junipero Serra, who helped found missions in California, in DTLA|url=https://abc7.com/6258309/|access-date=2020-06-23|work=ABC7 Los Angeles|language=en}}</ref> A [[Statue of Junípero Serra (Carmel, California)|statue in Carmel]] was removed for safekeeping.{{r|MH 2020-06-24}} [[Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa|Mission San Luis Obispo]] also removed their statue from public display.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Avalos|first=Gina|date=2020-06-24|title=Junípero Serra statue removed from San Luis Obispo Mission|url=https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/junipero-serra-statue-removed-from-san-luis-obispo-mission|access-date=2020-06-26|work=KSBY|language=en}}</ref>

* [[JuníperoStatue Serraof (Cadorin)|''Junípero Serra'' (CadorinU.S. Capitol)]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Father Serra, Junipero, statues of, Ventura, California}}

[[Category:Statues of Junípero Serra|Ventura, California]]

[[Category:Landmarks in Ventura, California|Statues of Junípero Serra]]

[[Category:July 2020 events in the United States|Statues of Junípero Serra]]