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Artist: David Alfaro Siquieros Confronting Bodies: Beer garden owners in LA Date of Action: 1932 Specific Location: The area around Olvera Street, LA Description of Artwork: The Los Angeles mural was commissioned to decorate the wall of a beer garden on the theme "Tropical America." Prominent civic leaders including Otis Chandler were transforming the area around Olvera Street into a quaint reproduction of an idealized Mexican village, and they apparently expected Siqueiros to produce an idyllic panorama of nature and happy laborers. Instead he painted an indigenous man nailed to a cross above which an American eagle perches triumphantly. Description of Incident: Horrified owners of the beer garden quickly whitewashed a portion of the mural, and a couple of years later the rest was also painted over. Results of Incident: In recent months conservators have removed the whitewash, but they have decided against restoring the original colors. Instead they plan to build an interpretive center where visitors will be able to see a half-size reproduction of the mural as it originally looked. It is scheduled to open at the beginning of 2004. Source: NY Times, NCAC |