IN THIS ISSUE:

$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.

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.

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.

Regular Column: L.A.'s Newest Murals
MCLA's regular column adds a look at the best new murals in the L.A. area.

THE HELP ARRIVES: $1.7 MILLION BUDGET ENSURES
CONSERVATION FOR L.A.’s FREEWAY MURALS

by Bill Lasarow

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.