Cal Trans Sued for Mural Destruction ~ 101 Freeway
LA Now alerts us that:
Frank Romero, a noted muralist and pioneering Chicano painter, is suing Caltrans for painting over a mural he created along the Hollywood Freeway downtown in conjunction with the 1984 Olympics.
Last year, muralist Kent Twitchell won a $1.1-million settlement against the U.S. government and others for painting over his portrait of fellow artist Ed Ruscha on a federally owned building in downtown L.A.
Romero’s suit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, contends that sometime after June 1, 2007, a Caltrans work crew painted over his 102-foot-long, 20-foot-high mural, “Going to the Olympics,” erasing it from a wall at Alameda Street. The episode took place, the suit says, without Romero having been given the advance notice required under a 1980 state law protecting artists’ “moral rights.” The notice provides 90 days for the artist to save or relocate works of public art before a building’s owner can have them removed.
Romero actually repainted the mural in 2003 after it had been tagged following years of poor maintenance. CalTrans has never been known for discriminating taste in art, it appears in this case they went too far and have a legal responsibility to both restore the mural and perhaps pay restitution to the artist.
Photo Credit: Mister Goleta
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(15 tacos)
Samie Burrito wrote:
That is an awesome photo of an amazing mural I remember almost as well as the old grandmother with the quilt (N 101 just past 4 level). I hope to see this mural reborn soon! LA needs more art. I wish there was a crew of artists where you could join in on a workday and correctly remove all of the tagging on the piece. I would volunteer for that! I cant even fathom how someone could tag or paint over someone else work. If ya gotta tag, couldn’t you find a spot on the hundreds of thousands of square feet of walls in this city that does not have art on it? Really?
Posted on 01-Jun-09 at 2:53 pm | Permalink
OxDx wrote:
they painted over the mural last year that’s on the 101 North side just past the Barham exit before you hit Universal…
Posted on 01-Jun-09 at 3:23 pm | Permalink
Vter wrote:
Samie that’d be a good idea.
If they offer volunteer artist to restore, I’d do it.
Does anyone know a website to check out that does this?
Posted on 01-Jun-09 at 5:55 pm | Permalink
elponk wrote:
Thanks for the article. I wondered why it was removed and why they tagged on the mural when there was so much more wall space. It seems that they target the murals. It’s so lame. I miss the Freeway Kids mural.
Posted on 01-Jun-09 at 8:11 pm | Permalink
queso wrote:
why not have graffiti crews paint murals for LA
Posted on 01-Jun-09 at 10:54 pm | Permalink
texas chz dip wrote:
[stupid] People tag over those murals, because they don’t often buff/restore the murals, so the tags run much longer…
Posted on 02-Jun-09 at 9:24 am | Permalink
er5er wrote:
How about instead of crying foul and suing cal trans Frank Romero should get off his rump and paint something new. Atleast be allowed to. Art in motion should never remain stagnant. If the olympics started in LA then he may be justified in his plea. Get to work buddy.
Posted on 04-Jun-09 at 11:00 am | Permalink
Evan wrote:
Ever notice how the other murals on the 101 are always in bad shape, but the one of the CHP cop pointing at you to buckle up always looks well-kept?
Posted on 04-Jun-09 at 2:29 pm | Permalink
dirtcastle wrote:
To me, public art is always going to be at the mercy of “the public” (which includes government mistakes). If you don’t want your art to be at risk like that… don’t be a public artist. The fact that an artist has some sort of contract with the government is pretty silly. If you want something more permanent, then be an architect and design a building. Or sculpt a statue. A mural in L.A. will ALWAYS get fucked with. That’s a given.
Personally, I’m always relieved when a mural disappears off the freeway. They get stale. Some of the graffiti gets stale too, but at least graf changes and evolves. I would rather see ANYTHING new than have to drive by the same mural for 30 years.
Posted on 05-Jun-09 at 2:05 am | Permalink
StupidArtists wrote:
That law asumes that the work of art can be moved or saved. How does the artist propose to do either without being sued by the property owner for tearing the wall of the building?
Posted on 24-Jun-09 at 6:25 pm | Permalink