Contributed by Mary Clark Ormond
What are the chances that, 82 years after the giving, a graduation present would be rescued from the shadows to shine brightly for generations to come? For West Aurora High School, the chances are high.
The massive mural “The History of Writing and the Alphabet” was a gift to the school from the Class of 1933, but after nearly half a century fell victim to forgetfulness and neglect as the building changed hands and then stood abandoned. Today it has not only been rescued from the now-demolished school building at 14 Blackhawk Street, but is about to be restored and put back on display, thanks to the efforts of a citizens group which wants to preserve this moment in Aurora history and American art. Heading up the committee are artist Wendell Minor, author Nancy Hopp, West High principal Dr. Chuck Hiscock and Aurora Historical Society president Mary Clark Ormond.
Beginning May 29, 2015, a portion of the mural will be on loan for the “WPA Art in Aurora” exhibit at the Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer Place in downtown Aurora. The West Aurora Art Heritage and Education Committee is funding an on-site restoration and conservation of the 12-foot segment.
Art conservator Scott Sherwood of Aurora, who, during the winter of 2014, painstakingly removed the mural from the building that once was West High, will be on hand at the opening reception from 5-7:30pm on May 29, and will continue to work on the piece throughout the summer during open hours and at special evening events. The exhibit will close on September 5, 2015.
The exhibit is an offering of the Aurora Public Art Commission and is curated by Mary Ann Signorelli. Hours for the Pierce Center are Noon-4pm Wednesday-Saturday. Anyone who is interested in funding the preservation of this mural and would like special access to the curators and conservators, is invited to join a donor society. Details are available atwww.CommunityFoundationFRV.org under the heading “See All Funds/West Aurora Art Heritage”.
The mural, by Chicago artist Paul Stoddard, was partially funded through the depression-era Works Progress Administration. The Class of 1933 chose the artist and the topic, and underwrote a portion of the cost. Ninety-three feet long and six and a half feet high, it is a grand record of what may be the most illustrious accomplishment of the human mind, written language. It begins with earliest cave images, and ends with images of a linotype machine and Michigan Avenue in Chicago as it appeared at the time of its completion, the 1930s.
Future plans for the mural are to display the 12-foot segment this fall and continue to raise money to restore the remaining 81 feet for eventual installation in a District 129 school.
Other WPA murals exist in Aurora and a few, once thought lost, are being rediscovered in schools such as Freeman Elementary, where a mural of Pilgrims in the New World was located in May after being obscured by a drop ceiling put in for energy efficiency.
For more information please call the Aurora Historical Society at 630-906-0650 and leave a message for the West Aurora Art Heritage Committee.
I have a series of photographs of that mural, taken almost exactly 3 years ago on May 30, 2012, showing the entire mural (in sections) and how it looked back then. It is wonderful to know that it has been preserved–that was my one concern as I watched the building coming down these past few months.