Roger Reyes
Roger Reyes, also known as Roger Eyes, is a local Santa Ana multi-media artist that has been active in the art community since the early 2000s. Reyes received art training at The Art Institute of California – Orange County, Santa Ana College, and Platt College School of Graphic Design in Los Angeles. Additionally, he was an art educator at the Orange County Children’s Therapeutic Arts Center as late as 2017. In 2018, the Santa Ana Arts and Culture Commission awarded Reyes the Investing in the Artist Opportunity Grant, a $2,500-5,000 stipend for local artists. Reyes is also a contributing artist in the Santa Ana Community Artist(a) Coalition.
For Reyes public art, such as a murals. are special because they bring art into everyday life for people. His own artistic expression freely follows a combination of pop art and a graffiti-style street aesthetic, taking inspiration from the art and artists of the late 1980s, many of whom were heavily influenced by the idea of creating an accessible and open art practice.
2014
Life in the Golden City
Life in the Golden City is a 4-panel mural painted on a utility box highlighting Santa Ana’s iconic landmarks. Each panel features a golden-painted silhouette of a historic building in Santa Ana.
The panel facing north features the swirling, Churrigueresque flourishes of the Santora building, which became a symbol of local artist community resistance over the future of Downtown Santa Ana; the Santora building had recently changed ownership causing concern among the artist community.
The panel facing the sidewalk shows the silhouette of the Spurgeon Building, and the meter of the utility box is used to suggest the building’s iconic clock tower.
The panel facing Main Street features the Santa Ana Water Tower, with the writing “Downtown Santa Ana” mirroring the current city’s slogan on the Tower, “Downtown Orange County.”
The panel facing south depicts the more than 100-year-old Old Orange County Courthouse, which has currently been converted into the Orange County History Center.
Thick gold lines suggesting sunrays crown the tops of the buildings. The lines of the sunrays are a feature in pop art expression, as well as part of the Orange County sunshine mythos. The mythos extends to the bright blue color used as the background of the mural, suggesting clear skies and good weather. Meanwhile, white wavy arms spring from the base of the mural, reaching upward towards the sunrays. With only four fingers, the white hands are cartoonish and add a playful element.
Artist Roger Reyes painted a hidden message on he top of the utility box: “art is for everybody.” Attributed to the late artist and social activist Keith Haring, the quote reflects Reyes' own approach to creating art outside of a museum or gallery space.
The mural one of the seven utility boxes the Santa Ana City Council commissioned as part of the "Utility Box Art Project" that began in 2014.
Sources:
1. Jeff Kass, "Spurgeon Building on 2nd Historic List," Los Angeles Times, April 5, 1996.
2. "Santa Ana’s landmark tower: What is it? What does it do?" The Orange County Register, July 30, 2013.
3. "Old Orange County Courthouse," OC Parks.
4. Jessica Kwong, "Santa Ana adopts 10-year plan to develop role of arts and culture," The Orange County Register. August 17, 2016.
5. Ron Gonzales, "Coming to Santa Ana: Utility box art," The Orange County Register. January 11, 2014.
