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MCLA NEWSLETTER
Volume 11, Number 4 -- Summer, 2002
IN THIS ISSUE: |
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Freeway Mural Restoration Strategy Takes Shape, by Bill Lasarow
Now that the Governor has allocated $1.7 million to restore the freeway murals, just how the restoration and protection process will take place begins to come into focus. |
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MCLA's Freeway Mural Restoration Roster
Murals selected by the MCLA Board to head the priority restoration list. |
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Twitchell's "Six L.A. Artists" in Torrance Rededicated
The City of Torrance completes its restoration of Kent Twitchell's group portrait. |
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MCLA Mural Tours Looking for New Volunteers, by Robin Dunitz
With longtime director Robin Dunitz relocating to the East Coast, committee chair Jim Kenny looks to meet with new volunteers to sustain the Bus Tours program. |
| Regular Column: L.A.'s Newest Murals MCLA's regular column adds a look at the best new murals in the L.A. area. |
| Murals Protected by MCLA's Mural Rescue Program |
| Cultural Affairs Department's mural approval policy |
| The Mural Conservancy has moved into a fresh phase of mural restorations under contract with the California Arts Council (CAC), beginning with the cleanup and protection of the three panel “Gateway to Silver Lake” murals created by artists Ernesto de la Loza, Annie Sperling and Leonardo Gilles Fleur. Sponsored by the Silver Lake Improvement Association, which informs us that they are actively developing a series of upcoming new murals in the east-of-Hollywood neighborhood, the trio of murals were cleaned under the supervision of conservator Nathan Zakheim, a work crew from In Creative Unity Art (I.C.U. Art), and volunteers. But that is only the beginning of a much larger story, which began taking shape during the last two years when local taggers decided to make freeway murals one of their preferred targets. As has been reported here and elsewhere, virtually all of the approximately fifty murals located on L.A.’s freeways have been tagged, and tagged repeatedly. Even as new work goes up, it is being hit with tags as it progresses--witness the repainting of Frank Romero’s “Going to the Olympics,” slowed by the repeated tagging that has occured between the artist’s work sessions. Even the scaffolding was stolen on one occasion. This first restoration represents the opening shot of a campaign to reclaim as many of these important murals as possible that involves multiple state and local government agencies, and grass roots groups such as MCLA in a still developing coalition of forces and support. The fact that the CAC has already revised its policy orientation to public art so as to presume ongoing maintenance of public art that is publicly commissioned in order to protect the public investment illustrates the kind of policy rethinking that is well underway. The active participation of the CAC for the upcoming year, at least, has been effectively negated due to Governor Davis’ proposed, and probable evisceration of the agency’s current $31 million budget down to only $14 million. A large number of agency priorties will be reduced or eliminated as a result. Don’t look for much in the way of new public art commissions coming from the CAC either. |
 Annie Sperling, touching up “Gateway to Silver Lake,” one of three murals, 2000, acrylic on concrete, 12’ high, located at Silver Lake Blvd. at the 101 Freeway underpass. Photo courtesy of Nathan Zakheim Associates.  Judith Baca, “Hitting the Wall,” © 1984, 110 Freeway at the 3rd St. exit. Photo courtesy of Nathan Zakheim Associates.  Judith Von Euer, "Flow Inversion," 1974, Fremont St. at First St., was among the first group of murals restored. |
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A budget item of $1.7 million in the Department of Transportation (DoT) budget for freeway mural conservation and protection was agreed to by Governor Gray Davis early this year, but until the state’s legislature approves a final budget for fiscal year 2002/03 it will remain up in the air whether that money will become available. Given a significant projected budget deficit, there are doubts whether this will materialize; but at this writing it remains a possibility.
If, indeed, the DoT receives this money within its budget it will be the L.A. Cultural Affairs Department (CAD) that will direct its expenditure. CAD has already completed its own set of inspections--MCLA completed its own in January. The two sets are now being compared for areas of agreement and divergence. They have also had panels of local experts rate and prioritize the freeway murals as candidates for restoration, and developed a list of qualifying conservators who might be contracted to do the actual site work. Pat Gomez, CAD’s City Art Collection/Murals Manager, tells us that the Department plans to hire multiple conservators simultaneously in order to treat as many murals as possible within the upcoming year--if the DoT budget item is approved. Another staffer over at DoT, Dahlia Perloff, indicates that as the CAD teams complete work on individual murals they will then promptly send contractors out to apply protective sacrificial coatings. But, again: IF the budget item is approved. And Deputy District Director of Maintenance Michael Miles has publicly affirmed that DoT recognizes the cultural significance of the murals, that the paintovers of murals as a graffiti abatment measure have ceased, and that the agency is in the process of revamping its policy. And if the budget item is deleted? Every official we have spoken with is clear that we’ll all be looking at “plan B.” However, no one knows quite what “plan B” looks like. As for murals located on the city streets of Los Angeles--remember so far we’ve been discussing freeway murals--CAD completed an inventory and rating assessment only two years ago, and last year conserved a diverse selection of twelve of them located in all sections of the city. As each mural has been restored, another city agency involved in the process, Operation Clean Sweep (OCS), arranges for protective coating to be applied, a standard practice within their budget. This servicing by the city includes freeway murals located on the outside walls and underpasses, but not up on the freeways themselves--that’s strictly the DoT’s jurisdiction. Speaking with OCS’ Delphia Jones on the subject, we were told that the contractor they use for this, Graffiti Control Services (GCS), applies a permanent type coating. Her agency, which is an office within the L.A. Public Works Department, has worked with an obviously now outdated policy that requires GCS to apply the coating according to a uniform instruction. Jones indicated that “guidelines provided by Cultural Affairs that would help us update our present policy would be welcome,” and given the information provided to us by Jones and GCS’ Barry Woods, MCLA has gotten involved in helping facilitate just such updating. The product used at present is called Genesis GCP 1000, which Woods describes as a “sound but not top of the line product.” Asked about the possible use of Soluvar and sacrificial coating products, Woods outlined various scenarios in which one or another product might be the best solution--pointing out that the best solution for individual murals will vary. Many readers will recall that MCLA’s resident conservator Nathan Zakheim has argued more categorically in favor of the use of Soluvar rather than urethane-type permanent coatings, with the sacrificial finishing coat added where tagging frequency dictates. A factor that mitigates against the common use of sacrificial coating on street murals, at least to date, is that very few have been a magnet for graffiti. Naturally one of our concerns is that this situation could suddenly change in any given region of the city just as it did on the freeways--given how the social dynamics at work in this or that neighborhood can change even where there has never been a previous problem with tagging. As to the question of whether it is workable for OCS to be directing GCS to apply coatings according to several variable options, and not just one, every opinion we’ve gathered appears to agree that it is a matter of adjusting the policy, not finding contractors capable of carrying out differing options or inherent limitations in OCS’ administrative capability. Indeed, CAD’s Gomez recorded strong interest in developing the necessary guidelines for OCS. At this writing, however, it is too early to say exactly when, of even if these new guidelines will be put in place. But the technical ramifications that revolve around this issue, together with the establishment of updated policies, will play an important, perhaps decisive role in whether protected murals’ condition will maintained beyond decades and into the centuries. |
MCLA’S ROSTER OF FREEWAY MURAL RESTORATIONSby Bill Lasarow |
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As reported at the top of the companion article, MCLA has already begun to restore murals on freeway property. Under conservator Nathan Zakheim’s supervision crews composed of I.C.U. Art member artists and MCLA volunteers have begun work on a group of as many as seven murals (ten mural walls) that the MCLA Board has selected. This restoration program, supported under a contract with the CAC, helps launch the larger partnership to restore all freeway murals in Los Angeles between the California Department of Transportation and the L.A. Cultural Affairs Department. Nonetheless, should the money to support that effort fail to materialize, these restorations still initiate an effort aimed at the same goal: to combat and eliminate the destructive impact of the worst wave of graffiti attacks in L.A. mural history.
MCLA is currently restoring as many of these prioritized murals as possible within the budget alloted under the CAC contract. Here is the list of freeway murals selected by MCLA: • Judith Baca, “Hitting the Wall,” 110 Freeway at the 3rd St. exit. • Ruben Brucelyn, “12 Disciples,” Glendale Blvd. at the 101 Freeway underpass. • Russell Carlton, “Unto Ye Heavenly Garden of Knowledge,” 10 Freeway near the National Blvd. exit. • Judith Von Euer, “Flow Inversion,” 1st St. and the Harbor Freeway. • Ernesto de la Loza, Annie Sperling, and Leonardo Jacomuzo, “Gateway to Silver Lake,” Silver Lake Blvd. at the 101 Freeway underpass (three murals). • Kent Twitchell, “Seventh Street Altarpiece,” 110 Freeway at the 7th St. underpass (two murals). • John Wehrle, “Galileo, Jupiter, Apollo,” 101 Freeway near the Spring St. onramp. |
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