MONTEREY — After three years stored away in safe keeping, the Monterey Conference Center’s mosaic mural is finally being re-installed.
The 11- by 45-foot mural depicts 150 scenes from Monterey’s history, including boats, ships, buildings, historical figures in greens, blues, grays and other earth tones. It has been in storage since construction on the conference center began in August 2015. Now the 663 tiles are being strategically pieced back together to create the mural as it was before the renovations started.
“It represents Monterey colorfully depicted in glazed ceramic and also with humor,” said acting Community Services Director Dennis Copeland. The work, originally created by San Francisco-born artist Guillermo Wagner Granizo, will be located where it was previously, at the corner of Del Monte Avenue and Pacific Street.
“It’s at the same corner but at a different angle due to the architecture of the renovation of the conference center,” he said.
The mural was commissioned in 1983 by the city of Monterey as part of its Art at the Center program. Originally costing $77,000, it was paid for by the donations of local businesses, organizations, families and individuals. The city made up the difference needed when it was completed on March 27, 1984.
“It was truly a community project,” said Copeland.
On hand Monday to place the first tile on its new wall was Ron Wagner, Granizo’s son. Granizo died in 1995.
“As we were putting it up people were driving by honking and yelling ‘Yay! It’s back,’” said Wagner, who along with his brother Bob (also a muralist) will be on hand Monday morning to place the last tile on the piece. “The last tile I’ll put up and then the grouting starts after that,” said Wagner, who along with his brother, acts as curator of his father’s works.
Those working on the re-installation of the mural were give one instruction – to not cut any of the pieces to accommodate the new wall’s different angle.
Putting the mural in storage was a process in itself. The city of Monterey commissioned ARG (Architectural Resources Group) Conservation Services to remove and restore the wall painting. The building restoration service started by detaching the hand-painted tiles one by one before labeling them to ensure their correct placement and wrapping them in protective foam. Tiles damaged by weather were sent to their studio in San Francisco. In all, the restoration process cost between $55,000 and $100,000. ARG also helped protect the mural back in 2009 when it needed cleaning, re-grouting and repair on some of the tiles.
Wagner said this particular mural was very meaningful to his father.
Granizo, who lived in Guatemala for 11 years became enamored of expressive ceramic designs. Graduating from the San Francisco College of Art, he served as art director for KRON Television and produced educational films on artists. In 1970 he began to devote all his time and energy to the creation of ceramic tile mural with colored glazes.
“My dad did a lot of murals around California and outside of California – actually all over the world – but this one was very special that Monterey had commissioned him to do,” said Wagner, noting one particular feature of the piece that many people aren’t aware of. That feature is the hot air balloon on the mural’s top right-hand side that includes three of the area’s influential figures, John Steinbeck, Bing Crosby and Samuel FB Morse.
“He would study the history of the area, putting everything from indians being there until Monterey was built up to be basically a destination city,” said Wagner.
Said Copeland, “It shows Monterey’s panorama of history with Granizo’s great sense of humor.”
A ribbon-cutting event celebrating the mural’s re-installation will take place some time in November.
