Theodore Boggs was upset to learn the mural he helped paint 10 years ago on an Evanston wall was apparently mistaken for graffiti and illicitly removed.
“I think it’s a crime what the guy did,” Boggs said.
As an Evanston Township High School senior in 2002, Boggs and several classmates painted “A Loose History of Evanston” on the Metra-owned retention wall on Green Bay Road, near Emerson Street. The 110-foot mural, a class project, depicted famous and historically significant residents as part of a timeline.
Recently, and without seeking permission, the owner of an adjacent building paid to have the mural covered, according to Jeff Cory, the city’s cultural arts/arts council director.
“He just wanted to have what he considered to be a clean, fresh wall for the new tenant,” Cory said. A Hertz car rental business recently moved to the site at 1901 Green Bay Road.
Boggs, now a preparator at a Columbia College art and design gallery in Chicago, said he expected the mural to last at least 10 years.
“It was a nice wall,” he said. “It was good paint. We prepared it really well.”
Cory and Hertz employees were to unable to provide information about the landlord, who could not be reached for comment.
“It’s certainly a loss, and I think the community is quite disappointed that the mural was painted over, particularly because it spoke to the history of Evanston,” Cory said. “There were a lot of people in the community who appreciated the content of that mural.”
One of those is Hecky Powell, owner of Hecky’s Barbecue, across the street from the mural site. He remembers feeding the high school students while they worked, and was particularly proud of the portion of the mural that highlighted Evanston’s work to desegregate its schools.
“That’s what Evanston stands for,” Powell said. “That’s why we moved to this community. That’s what it’s about.”
He doesn’t buy the argument that the building owner mistook the mural, or portions of it, for graffiti.
“You know what graffiti looks like,” Powell said. “Graffiti does not say desegregation of schools. These kids did a beautiful job over there.”
The mural did include some artistic components that are similar to “tagging,” Cory said.
“The property owner may have misunderstood or mistook that for graffiti tags,” he said.
While Boggs said the mural can’t be restored, he said he’s energized about the prospects of creating new public art in Evanston. He’s even been in touch with some of his fellow painters.
“Everyone’s on board for a push to do a bunch of murals,” Boggs said. “We’ll make something new and better.”
Boggs and his group will present a concept and tentative budget to the city’s Public Art Committee, Cory said, and would likely require approval from the Arts Council, Human Services Committee and possibly the City Council. The group also would need consent from Metra, which owns the retention wall.
There are six sites in Evanston that are ready for new murals, either in the spring or summer, Cory said. The landlord has said “that he would be willing to make a financial contribution toward that as well,” he said.
Powell took it even further.
“He should be responsible for paying to have this redone, and also pay the kids to do it. And also pay me to feed them,” Powell said.
jhuston@tribune.com
Evanston mural mistaken for graffiti, painted over
This article
Evanston mural mistaken for graffiti, painted over
can be opened in url
http://newskingdome.blogspot.com/2012/11/evanston-mural-mistaken-for-graffiti.html
Evanston mural mistaken for graffiti, painted over