Gabriel Villa
Gabriel Villa (born 1965, El Paso, Texas, USA[1][2]) is a Pilsen, Chicago-based artist and muralist. His influences have been "Family, U.S Texas/Mexico Border Culture, American Sports, 1960’s Counter Culture, 1980’s Reaganomics, Indigenous and Western Art".[3]
2009 mural censorship controversy
In May 2009, he was commissioned to paint a mural on a private property in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood depicting three Chicago Police Department public surveillance cameras that carried the CPD logo along with other images, like a crucified Christ, a deer head and a skull. The mural was painted over completely by the Graffiti Blasters[4][5] at the behest of 11th ward Alderman James Balcer, who said about the mural "My main concern is the safety and well-being for the people in this community. We have gang violence and children getting shot, and I believed that the mural sent the wrong message.”[6] The incident sparked a local controversy over censorship, surveillance and private property.[7][8]
See also
References
- ↑ The art of Gabriel Villa. - Item Details - Chicago Public Library
- ↑ The Border of Gabriel Villa, The Art of Gabriel Villa
- ↑ http://neotericart.com/2012/02/01/interview-with-gabriel-villa/
- ↑ http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Chicago-Graffiti-Task-Force-Paints-Over-Artists-Commissioned-Mural-Gabriel-Villa.html
- ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/16/alderman-orders-mural-wit_n_204078.html
- ↑ "Balcer orders City to paint over mural on private property". July 3, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
- ↑ Gabriel Villa’s Mural Destroyed, 05.15.2009, By Shannon Benine, mediating the medium
- ↑ BLUECANVAS Magazine, No. 5 page 92 'Artist Vs. System' by Margarita Korol
- Notes