Susan Kelk Cervantes (née Susan Elizabeth Kelk; born 1944) is an American artist who has been at the epicenter of the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

movement and the co-founder and

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

of the community-based

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, Precita Eyes Muralists.

Personal life and education

Susan Elizabeth Kelk graduated high school a year early in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

to attend art school at the age of 16. Since her parents could not help pay her tuition after losing their floral and nursery business Kelk accepted a scholarship from the

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...

and attended the San Francisco School of Fine Arts, (now known as the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

or SFAI). Kelk received her

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

in 1965 and

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

in 1968 from SFAI. In her first year of college in the 1960s, Kelk met her husband and collaborator, Luis Cervantes (1924–2005). They had three sons together.

Career

Susan Cervantes is considered a leader in the Mission District community mural movement and considers herself a community artist responsible for over 400 murals. Cervantes was introduced to murals through Diego Rivera's ''The Making of a

Fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

Showing the Building of a City'' (1931) at

Diego Rivera Gallery The Diego Rivera Gallery is building, formerly a student-directed art gallery and exhibition space for work by San Francisco Art Institute students. History The gallery provided an opportunity for BFA, MFA and Post-Baccalaureate students to pres ...

and was inspired by and then joined the Mujeres Muralistas in the early 1970s. She was asked to help paint with the Mujeres Muralistas at Paco's Tacos, a restaurant on the corner of 24th and South Van Ness, which marks the moment she lost interest in her studio work on canvas. Though Cervantes was not

Chicana Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American iden ...

her work was strongly influenced by and sensitive to the

Chicano art movement The Chicano Art Movement represents groundbreaking movements by Mexican-American artists to establish a unique artistic identity in the United States. Much of the art and the artists creating Chicano Art were heavily influenced by Chicano Movement ( ...

. Later, Susan began volunteering as an art teacher at the Precita Valley

Community Center Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

where her Thursday night painting workshop quickly became a mural workshop. The class did not have a wall to teach on, so they painted on five plywood panels, totaling 20 feet when assembled. That mural, named ''Masks of God, Soul of Man'' was the first and only mural Susan created that didn't have a wall waiting for it, meaning that "Walls come to er and that her work is all currently by request. It was displayed in the

Bernal Heights Bernal Heights ( ) is a residential neighborhood in southeastern San Francisco, California. The prominent Bernal Heights hill overlooks the San Francisco skyline and features a microwave transmission tower. The nearby Sutro Tower can be seen from ...

Library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

and was debuted as the work of the

Precita Eyes Precita Eyes Muralists Association is a community-based non-profit muralist and arts education group located in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1977 by Susan and Luis Cervantes.United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Precita Eyes Precita Eyes Muralists Association is a community-based non-profit muralist and arts education group located in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1977 by Susan and Luis Cervantes.Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

and internationally. Some of her notable work has appeared at the ''MaestraPeace'' mural on the Women's Building, Clarion Alley Mural Project, Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation, Balmy Alley and on the

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

Latinx Student Cultural Center. Precita Eyes has participated in many of the murals that are in San Francisco's historic Mission District neighborhood, known for the murals that cover the walls of many buildings in the neighborhood. They collaborate with schools in the community, as well as other youth programs, to allow youth artists to plan and execute their own mural design at their school or local building. Precita Eyes partners with mural artists to teach technique and creative thinking to the students that they work with, making sure that they have guidance but the freedom to create a mural that is meaningful to them and their community. Also among their slew of programs is a toddler art class, support for young student artists through exhibitions of their work, and providing educational tours of the murals in the neighborhood.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cervantes, Susan 1944 births American muralists Women muralists Artists from San Francisco San Francisco Art Institute alumni Living people 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American painters 21st-century American women artists Painters from California