Save Freeway Murals – 洛杉磯

Listed below will be the gorgeous 13 murals on downtown Los Angeles freeways that were commissioned for the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival. As each mural is preserved, 恢復, conserved and maintained (anti graffiti efforts) it will be listed on this index page and the link will take you to the summary pages for short super interesting videos, unusual photos and inside technical info. Sign up (top right of web page) for updates to be notified when we add new info!

1. The first mural to be worked on was the Jim Morphesis Monument by Kent Twitchell. It is located on the 101 freeway under the Grand Ave. overpass. Click here to see videos and written info.  銈://www.fineartconservationlab.com/jim-morphesis-monument-by-kent-twitchell/

 

History of Mural Conservation – Restoration Efforts

10 living master muralists, commissioned for the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, painted the the 1984 Olympics murals series that adorned Downtown LA freeways with 13 monumental fabulous murals. The smallest of these murals is 15 feet high and 45 feet wide. The largest is 23 feet high and 300 feet long!! 由於他們對高速公路的位置, 然而, vandalism graffiti has all but obliterated the fabulous, quality public works of art and has saddened millions of Los Angelinos and visitors. Once tagged, Caltrans has painted over 9 的 13 murals through the years with gray paint. 4 of the murals have escaped the overpainting by Caltrans.

There have been compelling desires over the years to restore first the murals not painted out by Caltrans but ultimately all of the 13 壁畫. Yes, the gray overpaint by Caltrans can be removed and the original murals restored to look wonderful. But efforts have always fallen short when it comes to maintaining the murals and keeping the graffiti off. 這已經有許多原因，但歸結到建立一個專業, committed organization/team to follow through and work well with all the entities involved… and the consistency to “stay on it.”

The definitive and actionable planning for this conservation – restoration and maintenance effort was put into action in April of 2011 when 在洛杉磯壁畫長春 (MCLA) invited FACL, 公司. 和 斯科特M. 哈斯金斯, art and mural conservator to meet on the freeways with Caltrans: 銈://www.fineartconservationlab.com/projects/murals/mural-conservancy-of- los-angeles-meets-with-caltrans-to-inspect-downtown-la-freeway-murals/.

Several graffiti removal processes were evaluated in a subsequent visit in June 2011 to the mural “吉姆Morphesis紀念碑” with Caltrans’ Vincent Moreno and artist, 肯特特威切爾. With the “adoption” of Jim Morphesis Monument and the raising of funds for its continued maintenance, 塗鴉清除 tests were done to establish the cleaning and mural restoration processes. Combinations of methodology and materials specifically customized to meet the needs of this particular mural were evaluated with the purpose of discovering the right method to get the job done quickly (高速公路上工作時的必然要求!) 並能夠隨著時間的推移，它很容易保持 (as the mural gets retagged). The results of research and treatment for this mural will be able to be applied for the conservation-restoration of the other 12 壁畫… in the near future, we hope!!!!

If your company/organization would like to sponsor a mural (and use the image, the artist’s collaboration and the positive PR for your company) or if you would like to make a personal donation to help keep the graffiti off the murals, go to http://www.muralconservancy.org and speak with 伊莎貝爾羅哈斯 - 威廉姆斯, Executive Director at MCLA (213)291 6900. Take action now to keep Los Angeles beautiful.