For some reason I thought that the beautiful Retna / Dame / Werc mural in Silver Lake "Por El Suelo" would be there for years. I thought it would still be there long after I left the neighborhood, and that kids would grow up walking past it from the time they were little to the time they were married with their own children.
Not quite.

I don't like to post pictures of the destruction of community art (unless it's done by the City of LA, in which case they need to be called out). I don't like to give the exposure to the vandals. But the defacing of this wall on Virgil is just shocking in its vileness.


Maybe the artists will try to fix this, though I can't imagine how difficult that would be. I know that it's a fact of life for street artists that their work may vanish right away - or stay visible for years - but that has to be really disappointing. At least it is to me, as a resident of the neighborhood.

Pictures of what the mural looked like before after the jump.
All photos by Mark Mauer

Above, Retna working on the mural in early February.
Dame working on his part of the mural.
Click here and here to see the original posts from February, 2008.

All photos and footage by Mark Mauer.
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://mt.laweekly.com/mt-tb.cgi/68928
David Gueringer presents an erotically charged mix of... JOSH "CURIOUSJOSH" REISS
The festival goes back to its roots — or does it? BY KARINA LONGWORTH
At Compton BBQ joint, meat is high art. BY JONATHAN GOLD
Full of so much win. BY ERIN BROADLEY
So sorry, Santa Monica. Apologies, Beverly Hills. The jewel you have coveted and negotiated for — billionaire Eli Broad's proposed museum,... More >>
Waiting for Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry to show up last week was like waiting for the glitzy Grand Avenue hotel-shop-condos project... More >>
Last week's cover story on people living in their vehicles ("Living off the Grid: When life takes you out of your house and into your car," by... More >>
Only 26 when she launched the L.A.-based IAMSOUND label in 2006, Niki Robertson had been an A&R talent scout for U.K. label Parlophone and was... More >>
View more photos in Lina Lecaro's "Nightranger Hits the Grammy Scene" slideshow. With a couple exceptions, "music's biggest night" was again... More >>
Friday/February/5Daedelus, Nosaj Thing, Jogger at the Echoplex We've heard rumors that Pasadena bass-head Nosaj Thing may be releasing his... More >>
Dear Mr. Gold: A friend went back to Wisconsin for the holidays and returned with a bounty of cheesy treats. I was introduced to... More >>
When food people visit New York, they may check out what David Chang or Mario Batali are up to, contemplate a fancy French meal and swing by the... More >>
View more photos in Anne Fishbein's "Lazy Ox Canteen" photo gallery.If you are a man who enjoys a little Black Sabbath with his dinner, the new... More >>
As personal assistant to the U.S. ambassador to France, James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) can keep himself in well-tailored suits and keep his... More >>
The further we get from it, the clearer it seems that the Age of the Waves — the '60s and '70s, roughly demarcated — was film... More >>
The rain that sheets down in nearly every scene of Robert Hamer's 1947 It Always Rains on Sunday is as much a psychological phenomenon as a... More >>
Some people have it rough. Born into the East Coast cultural aristocracy in 1913, Mercedes Matter began life as a beloved and privileged... More >>
Asking about the "seeming conflict, or antagonism, between painting's representational function and its self-reflection," the art historian and... More >>
Ginny Bishton is an artist who defies expectations. Or rather, completely dismantles them, leaving their components arranged in neat rows. One... More >>
We present several issues where we highlight our premier clients. Here's the top providers of goods and services in your area.
House of BluesWest Hollywood, CA |
The Magic CastleL.A., CA |
Urth CaffeBeverly Hills, CA |
Comments
There are 6 comments posted for this article.
i saw this driving down virgil and was so annoyed. people suck for ruining this.
Posted on June 27, 2008 10:49 AM by anon
Jealousy creates hatred. People with no skills feel better about themselves if they ruin a masterpiece.
Not sure if this can be fixed. It may have to be completely redone.
Posted on June 27, 2008 11:13 AM by Graffhead
Dude that's sucks I'm sure it was some little punk with nothing else 2 do anyways when I went 2 belmont years ago 2 get flicks I had a strap pulled on me and he ask where I was from I finished flicking since he was on the hill and I booked it is their anything new at this sight
Posted on June 29, 2008 10:49 PM by eric
wow, that is awful. It;s one thing to have your piece gone over or buffed but this is disrespect to the fullest.
Posted on July 2, 2008 5:05 PM by Anonymous
People People this will be redone/fixed soon and very soon. Regardless They didnt even right there name, which means there real real brave to diss it. Sall Good w/ me. Thanks for the support.. Peace
Posted on July 4, 2008 9:00 PM by dame msk
Now presenting the Remix.
http://www.knowngallery.com/gallery/image/1311
The whole wall will be finished hopefully next week. Hopefully everyone can respect our time and money and heart to help keep this wall running. Peace Dame
Posted on July 26, 2008 3:53 PM by dame msk