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MCLA NEWSLETTER
Volume 12, Number 1 -- Fall, 2002
IN THIS ISSUE: |
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$1.7 Budget Arrives, by Bill Lasarow
The pieces have finally been put in place to restore and protect virtually all of L.A.'s freeway murals. Come February the actual work is set to begin. |
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I.C.U. Art Mainstreams Graffiti Artists, by Margarita Nieto
UCLA trained art historian Stash Maleski turned his back on the museum world to work with street artists. And the I.C.U. crews are making a difference. |
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Freeway Mural Rankings Set by Cultural Affairs Panel
L.A.'s Cultural Affairs Department convened a seven member panel to establish priority rankings of all freeway murals. Here's the top group now lated for the first round of restoration work. |
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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 |
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First there was the wait for the State Legislature to jump off of the back of the state’s annual budget. Over Labor Day that happened, two months after the start of the fiscal year, and Governor Gray Davis was able to sign it into effect. That released a small budget item the the Governor had placed into the Department of Transportation’s budget: $1.7 million. That budget item speaks volumes about the growing comprehension in the chambers of the state and city halls that preserving public art makes sense, and that it is cost effective. It also puts in motion the model conservation program first envisioned by the Mural Conservancy nearly two years ago when it first became apparent that graffiti was being used to destroy the integrity of virtually all murals located on our freeway system. Regular Newsletter readers will recall that Jackie Goldberg brought together mural and Caltrans representatives to discuss ways in which art on these public walls might be protected. The Department had recently sent maintenance crews to mural sites that had been tagged, but some of those crews were simply painting out the mural in order to cover over the graffiti. Yikes! At the same time, the Caliornia Arts Council’s Director, Barry Hessenius, helped the Council set forth a fresh policy commitment to the ongoing maintenance of public art commissioned by the State--above and beyond the intital cost of such commissions. The Council also asked MCLA to begin the work of restoring and conserving the freeway murals by presenting a one time contract to begin work on a few of them--in hopes that eventually the full funding requirements might be met elsewhere. That occurred, apparently, when the matter came to the Governor’s attention. By early March the L.A. Times was declaring $1.7 million in funding a fait accompli, though this was by no means the case. |
 Karen Kitchel, “Urban Eden,” on the 101 Freeway at the Mulholland Dr. overpass. Photo courtesy of Nathan Zakheim Associates.  Margaret Garcia, “Silent World,” 8th St. onramp to the 110 Freeway (exterior wall), was tagged and then painted over by a Caltrans crew. Several murals were partially or fully painted over prior to agreements reached with officials during the last year.  John Wehrle, “Galileo, Jupiter, Apollo,” 101 Freeway at Spring St., displays splattered graffiti up towards the top of the mural. Previously most expected that protecting the lower ten feet of a mural was a sufficient guarantee against graffiti. |
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What was clear to all of those involved in this effort was that IF the Governor stood behind the expenditure through a budget deficit year in excess of $20 billion dollars, there would be political risk attached to this money. That it has made its way through this potential minefield and into the current budget of Caltrans District 7 chief Doug Failing attaches importance to the success of the project beyond the murals themselves. But whatever the political concerns may be on the part of State and City officials, successful restoration and protection of these murals is vital to the very existence of a meaningful mural movement in L.A.
While it is Caltrans to whom the money has been budgeted, it is the Cultural Affairs Department (CAD) that will actually spend it. This means that the two agencies, functioning at two separate levels of government, are creating a type of formal relationship that has little if any precedent. At press time these details are being ironed out, as are contracts with qualifying conservators. CAD’S Pat Gomez appears confident that the first group of ten murals will be set to work on early in the new year, most likely during February, given the various internal approval processes. The first mural in the pipeline, Frank Romero’s “Going to the Olympics,” is now complete. As has been discussed previously, Romero was commissioned last year by the Amateur Athletic Foundation to repaint it and when taggers interfered with the artist’s progress on several occasions, it was determined that the hiring of a security service to be stationed at the site along with placing California Highway Patrol on alert would be a necessary part of the restoration procedure. Treated as a special case, “Going to the Olympics” has become the model for all of the other freeway murals. Bringing to bear the support and resources of so many diverse agencies and organizations has resulted, over the last nearly two years, in the appearance of the unmitigated ruin of our freeway-based murals. But by considering all aspects of the job at hand and allowing public agencies to assume roles appropriate to their normal functions we are now about to embark on the actual rescue work. As that work begins by the time of our next Newsletter we will begin to judge the success of this effort on the performance of the conservators. And we will all begin to see the reemergence of the public art we value so much. |
FREEWAY MURAL PRIORITY RANKINGS
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| A panel of seven experts convened at the invitation of the L.A. Cultural Affairs Department (CAD) in the spring to establish a priority ranking of all fifty murals presently located on the freeways of greater Los Angeles. These rankings dictate the order in which each mural will be conserved. Work on each mural will continue down the roster of ranked murals until the entire budget has been spent. Might the entire $1.7 million budget be spent before all murals have been conserved? Certainly, that is one reason for this approach, so that none of the best quality murals fail to be included. While some may disagree with specific rankings, the independent judgement of a group of museum curators, university professors and other art professionals provided for a reasonably objective and fair evaluation. Our impression was that there was no favoritism. |
 Ruben Brucelyn, “Twelve Disciples” (detail), Glendale Blvd. underpass of the 101 Freeway, Echo Park, was among the first group of three mural restorations conducted by MCLA. Conservator Nathan Zakheim was assisted by a crew from I.C.U. Art. |
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As the conservation of all freeway murals is being prepared for, CAD has requested bids from qualifying conservators to restore the top ranked murals in the first round of restoration projects. Those murals include:
• Glenna Avila, “L.A. Freeway Kids,” 110 Freeway at Los Angeles St. (south wall), Downtown. • Ruben Brucelyn, “I Know Who I Am,” two murals, 2 Freeway near the Glendale Blvd. terminus, Echo Park. • Alonzo Davis and Joseph Sims, “Reach Out”, La Brea Ave. underpass of the 10 Freeway, Mid City. • Willie Heron III, “Struggles of the World,” 110 Freeway at Alameda St. underpass, Downtown. • Michelle Obregon, “Underwater Fantasy,” Nordhoff St. underpass of the 405 Freeway, North Hills. • Roberto Salas, “Ricochet, “ 405 Freeway at Manchester Blvd. (west wall), Inglewood. • Kent Twitchell, “Seventh Street Altarpiece,” 110 Freeway at the 7th St. underpass (two murals), Downtown. • Kent Twitchell, “L.A. Marathon Mural,” 405 Freeway at Manchester (east wall), Inglewood. • John Wehrle, “Galileo, Jupiter, Apollo,” 101 Freeway near the Spring St. onramp, Downtown. • Judith Baca, “Hitting the Wall,” 110 Freeway at the 3rd St. exit, Downtown. The City is presenting SPARC, whose longtime Artistic Director is Baca, with an individual contract. MCLA has already completed maintenance and restoration work on: • Judith Von Euer, “Flow Inversion,” 1st St. and the Harbor Freeway, Downtown. • Ernesto de la Loza, Annie Sperling, and Leonardo Jacomuzo, “Gateway to Silver Lake,” Silver Lake Blvd. at the 101 Freeway underpass (three murals), Silver Lake. • Ruben Brucelyn, “12 Disciples,” Glendale Blvd. at the 101 Freeway underpass, Echo Park. • Frank Romero, “Going to the Olympics,” Hollywood Freeway at Los Angeles St. (north wall), Downtown. |
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