December 10, 1999

Father Tupa Paints the Missions with Uncommon Flair

Opens exhibit where the first mission was built in the California

By Sandy Burgin

Now that Father Jerome Tupa has painted the California Missions can Mexican Missions be next on his palatte?

Father Tupa's exhibition "An Uncommon Mission," featuring 21 oil paintings and 39 watercolors of the 21 California Missions opened last week at the San Diego Historical Society's Serra Museum.

The "Uncommon Mission" project, commissioned by Mervyn's California, will run through March 12, 2000 at the Balboa Park site before moving on to Santa Barbara and Fresno.

At the reception for the inaugural event Father Tupa said, "I have talked with people who have asked me why we can't have this exhibition come down to Mexico because `we've got missions too.' I have a feeling after its California run, the paintings will be going on to Minneapolis and New York,'' Father Tupa added. "But I'd love to brink the exhibit to Mexico and I'd love to go there too and do paintings of some of the missions.

"In Mexico you've got the very historic missions. These in Califormia are late comers. The Mexican Missions are the real historic grandparents of the missions here in California,'' said Father Tupa.

"Sometimes we don't understand the significance of our historical past. And we let these places fall into ruin and there isn't a lot of money to help them to be rebuilt,'' Father Tupa added. "I feel that this cultural and historical past is what roots us in who we are, it gives us an identity. And California's identity is Mexican-American, it's Spanish, it's not only white European types. And that's why the missions are so terribly important."

Father Tupa's interpretation is unique in that his paintings are neither illustrations nor historical or romantic recreations of a lost time. Instead they are powerful explorations of the architectual remnants of California's Spanish past by a painter who also happens to be a Catholic priest.

The title for the exhibit "An Uncommon Mission" was created by Dr. Holly Witchey, the manager of New Media Initiatives at the San Diego Museum of Art. Witchey, who is the curator of the exhibit wrote the text for the fullcolor book "An Uncommon Mission'' fullcolor book that also includes the photography of Terry Ruscin, whose own book "Mission Memoirs" was published in September.

Ruscin's photographs of the 21 California Missions are part of the display aside of each of Father Tupa's oil paintings.

Jose Alfred Ureno-Gamboa, a student and photographer from Anaheim was a special invitee of Ruscin's at last week's opening. "I had met him (Ruscin) at his book signing in Anaheim,'' said Ureno-Gamboa, "and he invited me to the exhibition. Father Tupa's paintings are wonderful and show great vision.''

Ureno-Gamboa brought a photograph of a painting to be given to Father Tupa. "`It's a picture of the ex-convento de San Agustin. It shows a lateral facase, pink-quarry stone from the baroque period in the 1600s from my home town of Zacatecas, Mexico.'' Ureno-Gamboa said. "It certainly would be wonderful if Father Tupa did come to Mexico to paint some of the missions with his unique interpretation."

Ureno-Gamboa's 15-year-old nephew Cesar Lopez had his own take on Father Tupa's work. "Some of the paintings are weird in a nice way, especially the lopsides ones (San Antonio De Padua's Cloister Walk and San Luis Obispo De Toloso's Ups and Downs). They are all very creative."

Prior to the formal opening of the exhibit Father Tupa presented the Historical Society with one of his special mission etchings.

"This is a wonderful exhibit,'' said Chris Fontana, President of the San Diego Historical Society. "Father Tupa's paintings are full of color, full of life, very creative. This is the inaugural show and it's very appropriate that it should be here since the first mission in California was established here."

Strangely enough, while Father Tupa took his painting pilgrimage along the same route followed by Franciscan month Padre Junipero Serrar and his Spanish missionaires and soldiers in 1769, he began his journey at the last mission built (Mission San Francisco Solano). Father Tupa, a Benedicine monk worked his way down the California coast to San Diego de Alcala.

"Of all the missions, San Diego is probably the most important,'' said Father Tupa. "It was the first one here in the United States coming up from Baja. To have it here at such a wonderful facility in Balboa Park is incredible. It's just the perfect place for it.''

One aspect of Father Tupa's personna not seen by everyone at last week's reception were his bright red socks. "I need color,''said Father Tupa with a mischievous smile. "Someone bought them for me recently. They were in Rome and with red being the color of the Cardinals, they thought it was appropiriate for me. I love color and I think color is fun.''

Anyone who views "An Uncommon Mission" will certainly attest to that.

The exhibition will also offer bilingual English-Spanish art education materials, an interactive exhibit for children, a family day event on March 4 and an exhibition catalogue. An added attraction to the opening night gala preview party was the entertainment provided by Gabriel Tenorio Y Su Domingo 7 of East LA.

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