Phoenix Union High School - Phoenician Yearbook (Phoenix, AZ)

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I 5 5 Gfncierzf Grvilizafrm 4 kzizorzcz J CLQEQI'2f of.f'zo9fz515, By GUY L, JACKSON Visitors to the Arizona Department of Lihrary and Archives have said that Jay Datus has produced an uepic in oils, referring to the murals which adorn the iihrary foyer and main office on the third Hoor of the capitol in Phoenix. ln the paintings the muralist has emphasized periods rather than events, types rather than individuals, the character of people rather than of persons. the collective achievements of men and women who never gained fame hut who did their parts faithfully and weu, rather than the roles of any one or a few of them. The nameless characters, denizens of a prehistoric day, Indians, Conquistadores, mission- aries, trappers, traithlazers, prospectors, mountainmen, miners, mulesicinners, soldiers, colo- nists, range fotlc, forerunners of reciamationHhuiiders of Arizona'-au these are the actors in the Arizona Pageant of Progressf' - With few tools, and poor ones, to wort: with, these forerunners of today used weH what they had, gouged deeply and carved a state. The library murals signify the importance and depict the physical attrihutes of the types and groups that laid the foundations of Arizona and whose descendants constitute the hutwarlc of the future. In arriving at the'various units to he represented in the primary theme of the murals the artist deived deep into the prehistoric and ancient civihzations which. many hundreds of 1 years ago, the cliff wt health andl The muf centuries hi a people sa hunt earlier, the? period of manship. Undoub' food and 1 other they Grande, es' The seed other typed man's LI

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GQ ac S :megs :Sigma ln the second panel of the Apache series on the walls of the Arizona Department of Lihrary and Archives, two hraves crouch behind saguaro' and roclcs, watching live signal smolres warning of the approach of enemy soldiers mounted on horses. Pictured is Signal Mountain south of Glolne. The Apaches are dressed in hattle array, lureech clouts and war honnets, interesting in that they are so dilterent from any other trihe's. lnstead of a great array ot feathers on the crown and trailing down the haclc almost to the ground, as was the regulation head dress of the Sioux, they have only a small leather slcull cap with a tuft of owl feathers sticlting up in the center. The originals of these honnets may he seen in the Heard Museum in Phoenix. The warriors carry hows and arrows, which were deadly accurate at short range. Similar hows and arrows may he seen in the Heard Museum and in the University of Arizona Museum at Tucson. Visitors to the Department of Lihrary and Archives will Find much besides the Datus murals of interest: hut inasmuch as these outstanding worlcs of art supply the central theme of the present article, other distinguishing features will he slcetched hut Briefly and for the purpose of providing a setting for the jewel. Authorized in 1937, huilt in 1933 and occupied in April, 1939, it completes and forms the west stem of the letter H hy which the capitol's overall form is most accurately descrihed. lts architecture, the worlc of Orville A. Bell, is moditied Renaissance and its fourfstoried walls of native granite and tufa match, except for certain modemizations. those of older portions of the building. Among the many features which lend distinction to the quarters of the Department of Lilarary and Archives, ttrst in order of importance, though perhaps not the most ohvious to the average casual visitor, is the unusual interior arrangement and equipment, For convenience ot access, completeness and adaptalaility to the purpose for which designed -factors which malce for elliciency of operation and economy of admin- istration-it is believed that no lihrary plant in the country, whatever its size, can hoast superiority. This is largely due to the intensive study and careful planning hegun hy Director Mulford Winsor, head of the Department since March 18, 1952, long helore he was assured of new quarters. An attraction of much interest to visitors is the crescent shaped walnut charging counter which extends nearly the full width of the wide front olhce and houses an ingeniously contrived card catalogue. accessible to patrons, of the contents of the Departments several lilararies. lt serves also as an auspicious introduction to the main reading room, which is reached through a lnronze grille door and carpeted passageway.

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' , am 7 i Gf prehistoric peopfe wiffz a primlflve but progressive cuffure. nhahited the great Southwest, tiving on the plains, in the vatteys and high in tts and atop precipitous ctitts, as the time and occasion demanded, for security. happiness. at Ancient Civilization pictures a composite view ot hte in the civilization :tore the white man's discovery of the North American continent, where existed aasting a wett advanced cutture. hed ard Fifty years ago, and, according to some authorities, scverat centuries Ho-ho trams fthose who have gone heforej lived in this territory, and during the 'heir - 'cupation of the tand achieved complex feats of construction and crafts- he a' ist depicts them as of great stcitt in engineering and artistic projects. 'dty the two greatest problems facing these peopte were defense and an adequate at' supply. The First was solved hy matcing their houses fortresses. To sotve the ,ID vast irrigation systems of which the artist found ready evidence at Pueblo it Phoenix, and throughout the Salt River Vattey and the state. ie' .quaw at the right ot the panet is engaged in decorating a shattow dish. Of :at pottery made and used hy the Ho-ho-teams there was plain red ware. Dead- -n white and htactc on gray, red and hrown and potychrome. At the Museum v , 5 t Q i i i N Spanish gm of Northern Arizona at Ftagstatt, Heard Ntuseum, Puehto Grande, Arizona tx the Department of Library and Archives Ntuseum- att in Phoenix- and at tht of Arizona Museum at Tucson, examples of these types may he seen. The indians shown here are carrying on their daity wort: in their chit dw an overhanging shelf of roctc. Farther down in the vattey a communal house on a tcnott. Puehto Grande is a ruin of this type ot dwelling, and the modem would he the Hopi puehtos in the northern part of the state. The targe hui' vattey near the irrigation canal is a compound. tn the panel Htvtissionary Era the artist presents the second important era'- of the Spaniards-the Conquistadores to exploit the tand and Indians, and th impart their faith and learning to the natives. The Conquistadores tootc muc little, hut to the great .tesuit and Franciscan fathers who Came to this territory to spread their faith, we owe a deht of gratitude, for it was they who taid the for the present-day civilization. Vv'hen the tht-ine of the murals was stitt in a nehutous state, Datus made a Arizonays history, Az this time it was thought to matte the murats a series of in toricat events and incidents. This was discarded in favor ot huitding the murat