Frontier Justice
- Title
- Frontier Justice
- Creator
- Eric J. Garcia
A Chicano artist, Eric J. García was born in South Valley Albuquerque, New Mexico. His art has common themes in history and politics taking on many forms of media such as (political) cartoons, installations, hand-printed posters, and public murals with the purpose to create dialect surrounding socio-political messages and talking points. Identifying not as just an artist/creator, but also as an educator, specifically on topics that are not talked about in public spaces as much as subjects that the mainstream media would touch on. Garcia received his Bachelor of Fine Arts with a minor in Chicano studies from the University of New Mexico and later receiving his master’s in fine arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago. Garcia posts weekly political cartoons on his Instagram @elmacheteillustrated, as well as having some of his pieces in exhibits at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Museum of Mexican Art. - Date
- Date of Creation: 2019
Date of Documentation: October 27, 2024 - Description
- Garcia’s mural “Frontier Justice” can be found in the St. Paul Creative Enterprise Zone at 875 North Prior Ave, St. Paul, selected by the Chroma Zone Mural Festival and partnering with E-Z Recycling to bring this mural to fruition. The mural only consists of four colors, yellow, red, white, and blue. The piece depicts a Deer and a Loon, the Minnesota state bird, in nature picking up plastic cans and bottles stored in bins. The two bins are the two windows protruding from the building on which the mural lives on. The Loon is in a canoe floating down river, notably with a Minnesota Twins baseball cap on, while the Deer is off to the side with an axe in hand. Near the bottom of the mural, you can see the original piping of the building that was integrated into the art piece. The pipes are painted blue to blend-in with the painting, representing an oil rig which was cut by Deer’s axe. The Deer is in a dominant stance, resembling the art piece of George Washington crossing the Delaware River, on the oil rig looking off into the distance. A key component of the Deer is the content of its shirt which displays “Line 3” with an arrow through it, representing a recently installed oil pipeline that passes through north Minnesota, a controversial subject of debate during the time of the mural’s creation. Lastly, the top of the mural you can spot a mountainous landscape and an urban skyline releasing fumes into the air behind a tree line.
- Subject
- The mural “Frontier Justice” highlight the ideas of local environmental awareness and sustainability by depicting Minnesota wildlife and regional conflicts to educate viewers and create dialogue about our local environment. Sustainability and recycling is key when viewing the mural, seen by the Loon and Deer loading up their bin with plastic and glass bottle. Most importantly, the Loon, admired and recoginzed by many local Minnesotans, is seen with a Minnesota Twins baseball hat. The use of the baseball hat creates a bridge between local sports pride and awareness to our environment which calls the attention of locals by creating a sense of recognition and relatability. The most notable symbol in this mural is the Deer and the content of its shirt. The “Line 3” with and arrow through it, is an oil pipeline that was in the discussion of being constructed during the time of the murals creation and in 2024 is now fully constructed. The reason for its controversy is due to the placement of the line, passing through the Mississippi headwaters and twice again across the Mississippi River, causing concern for the negative environmental impact oil has shown to be in the past via deforestation or spillage. Line 3 also would negatively impact indigenous communities by the line passing through Ojibwe land which are supposed to be protected by treaties with the U.S. Government where the Ojibwe are free to harvest wild rice, hunt and fish. Not only intruding on indigenous land and communities, but economically, according to the state of MN, would cost up to $287 billion dollars in damages over the next 30 years, making environmentalist, indigenous communities, landowners, and many Minnesotans resist the construction of pipeline 3 for it being unlawful and nonessential. In “Frontier Justice” we can see the negative impact of the oil pipeline by the blue pipes towards the bottom of the mural, depicted as a serpent-like creature encapsulating a sense of danger and its negative impact towards our environment, but ultimately dismantled by the Deer. The Deer is then seen looking off into the distance toward the direction of the city, calling attention to Minnesotans again, that environmental change doesn’t just apply to natural environments or rural areas for which the mural takes place in, but the real environmental change starts in local communities around the state working towards a clean earth. Also targeting twin cities residents that the most crucial change starts with us, but change also comes from the people in power and our elected official to make a bigger and postive impact on the environment when it comes to sustainability. When it comes to the color contrast, 4 colors was intentional and when talking with Eric he mentioned he found inspiration from souvenir tablecloths that he had seen at gift shops during his time in Minnesota. A simplistic map with a few key figures and symbols at specific locations around the state, resembling the mural and its simplicity of a few colors, but Garcia also uses well-known Minnesota symbols and colors to match the culture and environment for where it lives. Environmental conflicts are still a reoccurring issue in today’s world, but the mural still stands and continues to educate and influence spectators of being conscious of their local ecosystems and natural environments and importantly, what it looks like to make a efforts towards sustaining the planet we call home.
- Rights
- Artist: Eric J. Garcia
Researcher: Tito Chagil-Mason - Source
Garcia, Eric J. “Eric J. Garcia.” Eric J. Garcia , 2019, www.ericjgarcia.com/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Garcia, Eric J. “Chroma Zone Mural & Art Festival.” Chroma Zone Mural & Art Festival, 2014, www.chromazone.net/eric-j-garcia. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
“Stop Line 3 - MN350.” MN350, 11 Feb. 2019, mn350.org/campaigns/stop-line-3/.
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Citation
Eric J. Garcia A Chicano artist, Eric J. García was born in South Valley Albuquerque, New Mexico. His art has common themes in history and politics taking on many forms of media such as (political) cartoons, installations, hand-printed posters, and public murals with the purpose to create dialect surrounding socio-political messages and talking points. Identifying not as just an artist/creator, but also as an educator, specifically on topics that are not talked about in public spaces as much as subjects that the mainstream media would touch on. Garcia received his Bachelor of Fine Arts with a minor in Chicano studies from the University of New Mexico and later receiving his master’s in fine arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago. Garcia posts weekly political cartoons on his Instagram @elmacheteillustrated, as well as having some of his pieces in exhibits at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Museum of Mexican Art., “Frontier Justice,” accessed January 14, 2025, https://mspmurals.omeka.net/items/show/50.