Man One at the site of "Meeting of Styles:LA" that had portions painted over.
Muralists who went through channels met official resistance.
Where Arroyo Seco meets the Los Angeles River, 200 graffiti artists painted 10,000 square feet of concrete walls over the weekend of September 22 and 23. The art event, called "Meeting of Styles: LA," was organized by the Friends of the Los Angeles River (FoLAR) and downtown-based gallery Crewest. While permits were issued, County officials say it wasn't enough.
Within a week of the completed project, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina demanded a meeting with organizers. FoLAR and Crewest were reprimand for not following procedures, not providing plans, and officials consider part of the content of the series of murals as "unacceptable." At that same meeting, Molina demanded the work removed.
Organizers defended the project, stating that all known ways to secure permission from various agencies were followed.
Soon thereafter, a portion of mural were whitewashed with a gray paint "buff-out" and naturally believed to have been ordered by the County Supervisor.
Quickly, a letter from the Department of Public Works was sent to FoLAR stating that they were not responsible for the whitewash and the offices of the County Supervisor stated to VFaL that the Molina did not, nor order anyone to eradicate portions of the works.
It's considered by graffiti-as-art supporters that the removal of sites, like the Belmont Tunnel and The Venice Graffiti Pit, influence the current rise of illegal tagging. "You have to admit, the increase began when these resources were lost," said Debra Padilla of the Social
Public Art and Resource Center (SPARC), "The L.A. River was always seen as an alternative site for artists."
Shelly Backlar, Executive Director of FoLAR, agrees, "We wanted demonstrate the optional uses of the River as place for public art space," she said to VFaL. "We planned to leave some art work that would provoke ideas of what could happen, and create an atmosphere."
The art project was a contingency plan for a larger scale event that was slated to be at the Cesar Chavez Bridge and Los Angeles River. Support for that supported was a motion by 14th District Councilman Jose Huizar and seconded by 1st District Councilman Ed Reyes. It has since been shelved by FoLAR and Crewest to gain funding support, and it still planned to be held a year from now.
The smaller "Meeting of Styles" was delayed by a week due to weather,
and organizers obtained new permits. The event attracted 1,000 people to watch the
200 artists over a two day period.
While the fear that accepting graffiti art opens the door for tagging will be an ongoing debate, organizers who were successful to find ways to work with agencies at a professional level are finding there is no official protocol for projects like "Meeting of Styles:LA." Lewis MacAdams, founder of FoLAR stated "There was no subversive attempt with this project," and adds that for him, the project validated graffitti as an art form. He adds "A whole group of artists have been criminalized."
As for who ever ordered the whitewash, they share one thing in common with illegal taggers–– a desire for anonymity.
Top and Middle Photo: Man One, Detail of Man One Mural / VFaL
Bottom. "Meeting of Styles" artists at work / courtesy FoLAR
Crewest will hold RESISTANCE & RESPECT on November 17. (2pm to 6pm) A forum that will present an historical overview on the history of Los Angeles muralism and Graff Art from 1932 to the present. Starting with the screening of the 1971 PBS documentary of Siqueiros’ 1932 mural América Tropical by Jesús Salvador Treviño will be a presentation on early and current traditional muralism will be given by the East Los Streetscapers mural collective co-founder, painter, Wayne Alaníz Healy and muralists/painters Yreina Cervantez, Alma Lopez, and Noni Olabisi. Definitions of vandalism, tagging, graffiti, and Graff art will be explored by Chaz and a panel of Graff artists including Chaka, Nuke, and Zender. Olmeca, Oscar Magallanes, and Rage.
Its called vandalism. Don't mistake graffiti with vandalism. You cant base one action and dub it entirely with the name of the sub-culture. Its unfair, ignorant, acknowledgeable to the culture and the people mixed with in it. please change this misinterpretations mix with graffiti and vandalism. Both have different terminology.
pllllllleeeeeeeaaaaaaaasssseeeeeeeeeeee
get your use of definitions RIGHT before Graffiti become misinterpreted.
Posted by: C5005 | November 10, 2007 at 10:44 PM