$40,000 Library Mural Misspells Names - Welcome to the Bush Era

[Bluebear]

LIVERMORE, Calif. - It didn't take a nuclear physicist to realize changes were needed after a $40,000 ceramic mural was unveiled outside the city's new library and everyone could see the misspelled names of Einstein, Shakespeare, Vincent Van Gogh, Michelangelo and seven other historical figures.

"Our library director is very frustrated that she has this lovely new library and it has all these misspellings in front," said city councilwoman Lorraine Dietrich, one of three council members who voted Monday to authorize paying another $6,000, plus expenses, to fly the artist up from Miami to fix the errors.

Reached at her Miami studio Wednesday by The Associated Press, Maria Alquilar said she was willing to fix the brightly colored 16-foot-wide circular work, but offered no apologizes for the 11 misspellings among the 175 names.

"The importance of this work is that it is supposed to unite people," Alquilar said. "They are denigrating my work and the purpose of this work."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=19&u=/ap/20041007/ap_on_fe_st/library_mispellings

[katym]

1. I'm sure that if someone writing about Alquilar....

spelled HER name wrong, she would throw a fit.

[Worst Username Ever]

2. "Eistien" ha!

[Selwynn]

3. Ok, I was all set to defend the artist... until I read her response

Umm..

Why not just say, "you know it was hard stressful work and I mistakes got made. I wish more than anything that any one of the hundreds of people who saw the work in progress would have giving me a friendly bit of information - while I had my face buried in plaster and 2 hours of sleep the letters sort of all started blurring together."

But no, you have to imply that somehow a true atrisan and person involved in the humanities would not even CARE that the words were misspelled? Give me a break.

[booksenkatz]

4. Why do they have to pay her to fix her mistakes?

Oh, wait, it's just tax money, which we all know comes from the Magic Money Tree. Hell, let's give her another $12,000 just because she's so dadgum deep.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

5. someone paid $40,000 in taxpayer funds for that piece of sh*t?

the art is at best child-like...why would anyone pay for this? Just stop the damn check, dig up the crap, and look for something more fitting to do with the space...

theProdigal

[Bluebear]

8. Really, it looks like cookie dough art....

Not to offend, but $40,000 in tax money for a "Better Homes & Gardens" craft project? :shrug:

[Lefty48197]

6. Is our children learning?

.

[displacedtexan]

7. After the unveiling...

why the Cheney did they let the artist skip town?

Learning impaired much, Livermore City Council and librarians in power?