City ponders next move with controversial mural
By Edwin Folven, 8/30/2012
Some consider artwork in alley to be offensive
A mural depicting male and female sex organs painted last weekend in an alley behind the 7900 block of 3rd Street has been deemed offensive by some nearby residents, prompting calls for it to be removed.
Some people believe a mural painted in an alley behind shops on 3rd Street is offensive. (photo by Edwin Folven)
The mural was painted by artist Annie Preece behind The Proper Barbershop. Preece, who described herself as a local street artist, said she painted the mural on a shed behind the shop as a gift to her friends, Vinnie Morey and Trent Magnano, the owners of the barbershop. She added that the artwork, titled “A Proper Mural”, does not have a particular message, other than the symbols are supposed to represent the different people who work at the barbershop. Both Magnano and Morey said the mural is art, that it is open to interpretation, and it should spark emotions in viewers, whether positive or negative. Others in the neighborhood believe it is offensive, and should not be allowed.
“It’s an incredibly profane mural,” nearby resident Joel Rothman said. “It takes a lot to shock me, and this is beyond the boundary of any standard of decency I’ve heard of.”
Morey said he has had different artists paint murals on the shed every four or five months during the past three years that he has owned the shop, and he had not received complaints about any of the previous artworks. The mural was completed Tuesday, and Morey added that it was news to him that anyone was offended.
“Annie is a friend of mine, a friend of the shop. She is one of the hottest artists in L.A. right now, and we wanted to give her the opportunity to show her art,” Morey added. “We told her to make it funny and make it about us. Make it something amazing and horrific at the same time.”
Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz, 5th District, who represents the area, said he finds the mural to be offensive.
“I think it is unnecessarily obscene, and it’s not something young kids in the neighborhood need to see,” Koretz said. “My office has contacted Building and Safety, and have been in touch with the owners, and hopefully we don’t have to take any enforcement action.”
Koretz’s deputy, Paul Michael Neuman, confirmed the complaints had been forwarded to the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, and an inspector was scheduled to go to the site before the end of the week to determine if it is illegal. The city has limited jurisdiction over murals painted on private property, but can require that they be covered up if they can be seen from public spaces, such as an alley. The city handles them on a case-by-case basis, according to Neuman.
“There is a distinction between an alley and private property,” Neuman said. “With these things, Building and Safety can say it is illegal, and then it can either be adjudicated, which takes some time, or they can comply.”
Neuman said Morey indicated he would have the mural painted over within the next couple of days. When interviewed at the barbershop on Tuesday, Morey echoed that sentiment.
“If it’s going to be a problem, we’ll paint over it,” he said. “It sucks though. She spent a lot of time on it.”
Tags | mural in alley near 3rd street A Proper Barbershop City Councilman Paul Koretz
When creating an artistic piece that is a public display, it needs to conform to the public’s decency considerations. This artist is quite talented, but does not consider the public’s point-of-view in a broad sense and therefore needs to be reminded that her creation is offensive to some and therefore needs to be removed. If it was in a museum or private collection the piece would be acceptable. Wake up if you intend to create works that all are “exposed to.”
Its not public property; she appears to have had consent of the property owners. The “alley” argument makes it a gray area, but, it seems there are just some nosy busy-bodies who are making an issue out of nothing. And art should be provoking. The fact that her work causes pause is proof that she is an artist worth her current fame.
It is offensive. Remove it. I have a young child and I wouldn’t want him to witness that.
I’m sorry but I have to agree with the Council member Paul Koretz that it is “unnecessarily obscene.” The thing that yields the mural shocking is that it’s drawn in such a way, like coloring pages, that school age children could be drawn to it, and not to mention that it is easily comprehensible. If the mural was at least subliminal enough where children had a difficult time understanding it overall, then maybe… Also, let’s not mention that it is indicative of racism. Seriously, a bean wearing a sombrero and holding a maraca… it might as well also have an image of big black lips smoking a crack pipe. And yes, I understand that it is on a private property wall, but it’s obviously for “public” display, and duh, that includes everyone. If the artist wanted to paint this same mural as a gift for her barber shop friends, I’d say do it somewhere “private” like their garage.
Really? Is ‘obscenity’ in art, publicly visible only from an alleyway, worse than half-naked men and women grinding each other and staring suggestively from billboards and buses all over the city? Not to mention TV and the internet! As long as you can’t see any nipples right? Are you folks going to protest Michaelangelo’s ‘David’ if it ever comes to LACMA? There’s some serious junk just hanging out there in that piece. Instead of sheltering your children from art, try to shelter them from intolerance and having a closed mind. This painting reflects our culture–beans, phallus, and all. Stop trying to shut out art, it’s a fascist strategy.