Councilman Introduces Motion to Separate Murals From Advertising

Councilman Bill Rosendahl is trying to bring murals back to Los Angeles.

Posted by Craig Clough (Editor), June 3, 2011 at 02:57 am

Few brought more attention to Los Angeles' public art and advertising laws recently than Barbara Black, who was fined after she turned her fence in a Valley Village alley into a mural. Facing more fines, and after a public battle that lasted several months, Black finally on April 7.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents District 11, has introduced a motion to the council that would create an ordinance to specifically identify murals as art instead of signs. The city has lumped them into the same category for nearly a decade.

From the Argonaut newspaper, via CurbedLA:

“I'm putting this motion in because I strongly believe in separating art from commercial advertising,” the councilman told The Argonaut. “(Murals) are artistic expressions that are often intertwined with culture and history, and they deserve to be viewed separately from commercial signage.”

Comments + Leave a Comment

Jeremy Oberstein June 2, 2011 at 07:47 pm

Actually, this motion is nothing different from the one Councilmember Krekorian helped draft a year ago to allow for the greater proliferation of murals. We continue to wait for a city department to come back with a report that should detail exactly how we can allow for greater artistic freedom throughout the Valley and L.A.
Jeremy Oberstein Communications Director Councilmember Paul Krekorian

Recommend

Flag as Inappropriate

Pat June 2, 2011 at 10:08 pm

A lot of people don't like street murals because the murals look like overglorified graffiti.

Recommend

Flag as Inappropriate

Lightnapper June 3, 2011 at 04:51 am

This is how our city employees operate. They cannot tell a mural from an advertising billboard. Now they will have to spend time and resources to amend the rules so those with the power to enforce these trivial edicts do not overstep the bounds of their bureaucratic stupidity. For this lady's mural to be ordered erased, someone in the neighborhood complained. A busybody irritated by a preceived offensive sight? And for what offense? Someone innocently tried to beautify an increasingly "Ugly LA." It's an alley. Ever seen an alley located off Crenshaw Blvd. in South LA? You'd be lucky to plow through the discarded trash just to observe what passes for art. How about the mural located on Woodman Ave. stretching from Roscoe Blvd., north for two blocks? Or the one located in the Coldwater Canyon Wash off of Fulton Ave. by Valley College? Or the one one the side of the liquor store on Burbank Blvd. east of Lankershim? Now we have to contend with the mural police. Big Brother strikes. If it were gang graffiti, it would still be there proudly displayed for all to see, to prove who has more rights and more power in this decaying city; who has more clout than a decent, civic-minded taxpaying citizen just trying to make life a little more fun. Maybe this misguided "miscreant" should have "bribed" the right city official. No wonder LA is in rapid decline-- politically, economically, socially, academically-- and obviously artistically. What happened to the spirit of this place?

Recommend

Flag as Inappropriate