Los Angeles lifts 10-year ban on
public murals
By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 09.04.13
Word Count 935
Murals painted outside the home of entertainer Chris Brown in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los
Angeles, California, on Friday, May 10, 2013. The city cited Brown for "unpermitted and excessive
signage." Photo: Barbara Davidson/Los Angeles Times/MCT
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council lifted a decade-long ban on
public murals. The change marked a decisive victory for artists who had argued
that the law made no sense in a city with such a rich tradition of street art.
The decision culminates years of debate over how Los Angeles should regulate
murals. Their defenders point out that murals have chronicled generations of
city history, from the mid-20th century struggles of Latinos on the Eastside to
freeway displays celebrating the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
The 13-2 vote is expected to free a new generation of muralists. They will now
be able to “reclaim our legacy as a mural capital of the world,” said Isabel
Rojas-Williams, executive director of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles.
The council voted on Aug. 28.
New rules will seek a balance between clashing interests: reviving the city’s
muralist tradition; protecting neighborhoods from unwanted intrusions of large,
sometimes controversial artworks; and controlling a proliferation of advertising in
the guise of art.
"A Long 10 Years"
It was the latter objective that led to the ban a decade ago. Advertisers sued the
city on First Amendment grounds, arguing that it was unfair that artists could
create big, eye-catching murals when they were banned for commercial
enterprises. Officials opted to prohibit all new murals.
In the years since, weak and arbitrary application of the ban created
inconsistencies and obstacles to new works, officials and art activists said. “It’s
been a long 10 years,” said Nyla Arslanian, president of the Hollywood Arts
Council. “We have in Hollywood some of the most beloved and internationally
known murals. And it’s about time that we have more.”
Not all murals were treated equally in what artists call the “dark ages” of the
ban. Some were permitted by the city. Studio City Hand Car Wash owner Ben
Forat received positive feedback — and no real City Hall hassle — when he put
up a 75-foot-long painting on his business depicting the community’s
landmarks.
The same was true for downtown artist Robert Vargas, who painted a stylized
portrait of a mariachi band in Boyle Heights. And for young Pacoima muralist
Levi Ponce, who sought to fill his community’s walls with colorful works.
But when pop star Chris Brown put up 8-foot-high fanged creatures on a
retaining wall at his Hollywood Hills home, neighbors deluged City Hall with
complaints. The singer was cited and within weeks the cartoonish scene was
obliterated.
Compromise Worked Out
The new rules await final approval this week. Should they pass, they will permit
new murals in business and industrial zones as long as artists register projects
with the city and pay a $60 application fee. Commercial messages are
prohibited and works must remain for at least two years as part of the city effort
to control advertising.
Residential areas will be allowed to “opt in” to the mural program by petitioning
the city. Once approved, those neighborhoods could see artworks on walls and
homes. Councilman Jose Huizar, who sponsored the new regulations, initially
hoped to permit murals in all areas of the city. Individual single-family
neighborhoods would have been able to “opt out” through a petition.
But that approach failed to win support from representatives of suburban
communities.
“It’s difficult to strike a balance,” said Councilman Mike Bonin, who represents
Venice, Westchester and Pacific Palisades. “We’re a city of murals, but we’re
first and foremost a city of neighborhoods.” Huizar and Bonin supported the
final compromise.
Councilmen Paul Koretz and Bob Blumenfield voted against the measure. Both
said neighborhoods that don’t want murals would not have enough say in where
they go.
Some Fear Scary Murals
Koretz, who represents parts of the Westside and parts of the San Fernando
Valley, said residents of those areas have told him they don’t support the new
rules. In addition to concerns about the murals' appearance, residents worry
that they will attract graffiti and become “God-awful eyesores,” he said.
Blumenfield said he supports murals, but worries that the new rules won’t give
residents enough say in the kinds of images that will be allowed. He said some
residents fear that “a giant, very inappropriate picture” could go up that will
scare their children — a comment that drew boos from supporters of ending the
mural ban.
“I’m not saying it’s a rational fear,” Blumenfield told the audience in the council
chamber. “But you can’t dismiss them as not important because people have
these fears.”
Several artists argued for unfettered access to residential areas. Muralist Kent
Twitchell, whose iconic 1971 painting of the late movie idol Steve McQueen is
on a two-story house west of downtown, said he was disappointed with the
general exclusion of single-family homes.
“They lifted the moratorium, which is a good thing,” he said after the vote. “But
they’ve made it illegal for people to decorate their homes as they have for
decades.”
An Instantaneous Mural Culture
He said there were no mural regulations when he painted the McQueen piece.
“We were a free country then."
Murals exploded in Los Angeles in the 1970s as artists took to walls to express
concerns about political and social issues. Topics included nuclear energy,
student uprisings, political unrest in Mexico and Chile and the civil rights
struggle at home.
“It was this instantaneous culture that happened in Los Angeles,” Rojas-Williams
said. “And it all happened at the same time without the artists knowing each
other until later on.”
According to Councilman Gil Cedillo, who represents mural-rich areas of the
Eastside, murals are "part and parcel of the social and cultural and historic
fabric of the city. We should recognize that.”
Quiz
1
New rules regarding L.A.'s murals are set out to do all of the following, EXCEPT:
(A)
control obscene or vulgar street art
(B)
bring back the city's culture and history
(C)
control depicting art used for advertising
(D)
control the size of art on commercial buildings
2
Select the paragraph from the article that provides the MOST evidence that Los
Angeles was the mural capital of the world.
3
What did Los Angeles ban before completely prohibiting murals?
4
(A)
commercial artwork
(B)
controversial artwork
(C)
eye-catching displays
(D)
artwork that created fear
According to the article, Nyla Arslanian, president of the Hollywood Arts Council,
has the following opinion of murals?
(A)
She believes Los Angeles should ban murals.
(B)
She feels Los Angeles should have more murals.
(C)
She disagrees that Los Angeles should regulate murals.
(D)
She agrees with laws preventing graffiti in neighborhoods.
Answer Key
1
2
New rules regarding L.A.'s murals are set out to do all of the following, EXCEPT:
(A)
control obscene or vulgar street art
(B)
bring back the city's culture and history
(C)
control depicting art used for advertising
(D)
control the size of art on commercial buildings
Select the paragraph from the article that provides the MOST evidence that Los
Angeles was the mural capital of the world.
Paragraph 20:
Murals exploded in Los Angeles in the 1970s as artists took to walls to
express concerns about political and social issues. Topics included
nuclear energy, student uprisings, political unrest in Mexico and Chile
and the civil rights struggle at home.
3
4
What did Los Angeles ban before completely prohibiting murals?
(A)
commercial artwork
(B)
controversial artwork
(C)
eye-catching displays
(D)
artwork that created fear
According to the article, Nyla Arslanian, president of the Hollywood Arts Council,
has the following opinion of murals?
(A)
She believes Los Angeles should ban murals.
(B)
She feels Los Angeles should have more murals.
(C)
She disagrees that Los Angeles should regulate murals.
(D)
She agrees with laws preventing graffiti in neighborhoods.