Graffiti obliterated this famous mural done to celebrate the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Taking back the city!

1. Graffiti Removal From Famous Mural
Amazing Transformation for Public Art
Olympic Freeway Mural by Kent Twitchell
Jim Morphesis Monument under Temple St. Overpass in LA
Kent Twitchell painted the realistic mural "Jim Morphesis Monument" under the
101 freeway overpass of Grand Ave. in downtown Los Angeles. It is part of a two
piece mural called "The 7th Street Altarpiece." And Altarpiece is part of the 1984
Olympics murals series that adorned our freeways with 11 murals by living
masters. Since their placement on the freeways, however, vandalism graffiti has
all but obliterated the fabulous, quality public works of art and has saddened
millions of Los Angelinos and visitors.
There have been several attempts over the years to restore the mural in the
picture above but efforts have always fallen short when it comes to maintaining
them and keeping the graffiti off. There have been a number of reasons for this
but it boils down to establishing a professional committed organization to follow
through and work well with others… and the consistency to “stay on it.”
Enter the picture: The Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles (MCLA) driven by

2. Isabel Rojas-Williams, Executive Director and a partnership with art
conservation firm, FACL, Inc. and Scott M. Haskins, President and Head
Conservator. MCLA has targeted the saving, protection and maintaining of these
11 Olympic murals from 1984 as their highest priority right now. The problem
that motivates MCLA? Caltrans. The highway maintenance department of the
State of California, who has a mandate to paint out graffiti, has painted out 7 of
the 11 murals much to the despair of artists, art lovers, and the general public
which has commented energetically on blogs and websites every time a mural
gets painted out.
Well, MCLA to the rescue who has been fantastic at raising awareness, making
the political connections, fund raising and pulling together the professional
organization to get the job done and follow through for the long term. Combine
MCLA's resources, contacts and energy with FACL, Inc. and Scott M. Haskins
and there has been great progress! The first mural on the list to benefit from the
new partnerships and efforts: Kent Twitchell's "Jim Morphesis Monument"
This has been in the planning now for almost a year. The first meeting of the
minds occurred in 2011 when FACL, Inc. and Scott M. Haskins met on the
freeways with Caltrans last April:
http://www.fineartconservationlab.com/projects/murals/mural-conservancy-of-
los-angeles-meets-with-caltrans-to-inspect-downtown-la-freeway-murals/.
With the “adoption” of Jim Morphesis Monument and the raising of funds for its
continued maintenance, graffiti removal tests were done to establish the
cleaning and mural restoration processes.
Kent Twitchell in front of the heavily tagged Jim Morphesis Monument

3. Several graffiti removal
processes were
evaluated and a
combination specifically
customized to meet the
needs of this particular
mural were the right
method to get the job
done quickly (a
necessary requirement
while working on a
freeway!) and be able to
maintain it easily over
time. Without getting
into all the gory details
of what we used and the techniques, the short version of the explanation is that
we first cause the graffiti paint to swell and then we blast it off with a technique
that doesn't hurt the original mural's paint. Here's what the graffiti paint looks
like as we swell it (see photo).
Here's a great photo shot of the graffiti
peeling off the original mural and allowing
the gorgeous original colors to come
screaming into the daylight once again.
Kent Twitchell was blown away by the
successful results of these graffiti processes.
Its an emotional experience to see a
gorgeous work of art buried in filth and
darkness and then see it liberated and be
resurrected and reclaimed. I was moved
also. The transformation was amazing!
So, where there was doubt, now there is
hope and light and we see the way to get the
job done on a massive scale for the other
murals too. And, in fact, there is a doable
plan for the extensive graffiti removal in this
difficult location for FACL, Inc. and Scott M.
Haskins to follow through on and do quality,
efficient work.

4. The job then required doing the paperwork with Caltrans and Public Works,
getting into motion the logistics (which are not a few!) and then scheduling the
work. The stars aligned and the traffic gods complied, FACL, Inc. and Scott M.
Haskins’ art conservation team completed the graffiti removal and art
conservation/restoration work at the beginning of December 2011.
There has been a general gasp of amazement and excitement seeing the really
terrific, world class, colorful mural of Jim Morphesis Monument by Kent
Twitchell resurface again, clean and gorgeous.
Jim Morphesis Monument by Kent Twitchell after graffiti removal, retouching and protective varnish Photo by Gil Ortiz
Kent Twitchell said, I never dreamed or hoped that my mural could look so
amazing after all its been through. You, Virginia and the others of your team
have worked well with Caltrans to make this a wonderful project. Thank you and
I look forward to working with you on other projects.!”
And Isabel Rojas-Williams, “I have nothing but gratefulness for you and the
FACL team. What a wonderful job you all did, the mural looks stunning! I never
hoped that the mural could look this amazing! You’ve done a fantastic job with
the restoration/conservation work. Thank you for being such a leader in the
process and being such a quality professional. I am looking forward to keep on
working with all of you to have LA regain its title as The Mural Capital of the
World!”

5. 3 short entertaining videos have been made and can been seen free on the blog
for the project (no opt-in required): 1. Testing, 2. Graffiti Removal, 3.
Restoration. Want to see FACL, Inc. and Scott M. Haskins in action? Want to see
the processes? Want to see and know the inside scoop on this super cool high
profile job that millions of freeway travelers are seeing? Go to
http://www.fineartconservationlab.com/jim-morphesis-monument-by-kent-
twitchell/
This blog site (link above) is the first place the information will be posted for
work on the other 1984 Olympic Freeway Murals in downtown LA when the work
begins. Infact, there promises to be a lot of action in 2012. Stay tuned… we’ll keep
it interesting and entertaining!
So, sign up for blog updates NOW!
Please spread the word. Click on the THUMBS UP. Leave a comment.
Media inquiries of all media welcome
Mural conservation and art conservation questions? Call Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438
The Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles: Isabel Rojas-Williams 213 291 6900
Kent Twitchell, artist 310 709 2037
See other vids on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/bestartdoc?feature=mhee
Subscribe to our channel!
Follow us on Facebook
Save Freeway Murals
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Freeway-Murals-Los-Angeles/306554516039121
Mural Art Conservation – Restoration
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mural-Art-Conservation-
Restoration/176077192428392?ref=ts