Tony Ortega

Artist Statement

I want to acknowledge and thank my son Cipriano Ortega for his assistance in painting and creating this wonderful project.

Looking west, in the direction of the mountains, a full moon is glowing overhead. I draw the theatrical curtains to the sides, offering the viewer a gathering place of people and history. Musicians, dancers, and guests are of diverse backgrounds and historical time periods. The jazz orchestra is the focal point and is inspired by a historical black and white photo that was lent to me by community member Adrienne Martin-Fullwood of her father Allen L Martin and his jazz band The Allen Coos. A few other photos are incorporated as inspiration in the creation of this mural. Theatre Artibus provided a variety of them, and I encountered a few images at the History Colorado. In the 7 months that it required to create this piece, I explored how I could merge a rich history of the community with this building. I created a series of drawings to set up balance and directional movement that informed the final composition of the mural. I used color to create a sense of harmony and intimacy. 

During its time, the Savoy building had many occupants, but there has been one constant, it has been a gathering place for the Curtis Park and Five Points communities. The era’s encapsulated in the mural range from the 1880s to the present. On the far right, we see a storyteller sharing the history that unfolds in the mural. Next to her, there is a Jewish delicatessen owner who once worked at the Savoy. Below, the jazz musicians are two groups of two children as they witness and hear the history and the two women in white dresses with red sashes represent a Danish sisterhood that would use the Savoy as a meeting place. To the sides of the orchestra are two 1940s era couples, with the men wearing their zoot suits, dancing to the music. To the far left, two Mexican American female musicians perform, this vignette is an homage to the Chicano community’s history in the neighborhood. The female musicians also represent my personal connection with the community. As a child, I would visit my great aunt, uncle and cousins who lived nearby on Stout street across from Tosh’s La Hacienda restaurant. I employed beats and rhythms of colored shapes to animate the painting. By utilizing colors as beats, the viewer will join the celebration and dance to the music and enjoy the space. I wanted to make the mural welcoming to everyone in the community. With such a diverse history, the Savoy has always been a gathering place for people, and my hope is it will continue as such a place and you will become a part of its history.