Miami Artist to Fix Spellings on Library Mural, but Defends Work

AP/TBO ^ | 10/06/04

[nuconvert]

LoL. She's got a problem

[nuconvert]

Well, she wanted her work to unite people....she's united them in laughter.

[tang-soo]

"The people that are into humanities, and are into Blake's concept of enlightenment, they are not looking at the words," she said. "In their mind the words register correctly."

Part of the "See-and-Say" or "Whole Language" method of reading nonsense.

[eccentric]

I wonder if that is because they are the product of our schools - and, like many, lack the ability to read and write -

My daughter just came home from school feeling bad about not being able to get better grades in English. I'll forward this article to her English teacher, telling her that my daughter is an artist who doesn't need to be well educated.

[Pastnowfuturealpha]

It really makes you wonder at times -

This artist really put her foot in her mouth -

It's really sad that things didn't change like they should have when the new government came into power and I think it has to do with the lifers we have in government - the ones who stay no matter which party wins the election.

President Bush needs to wake up and investigate the schools and this illegals issue. They (these issues) are equally doing great harm to this nation.

in my opinion -

[SlowBoat407]

I looked at her website. She is pretty good. It looks like the misspellings were intentional- the looseness of spelling to suit the style. I think she and the mural should be left alone. An artist should have the right to be a bit spacy.

My wife is a professional, full time ceramic muralist who has won numerous awards for her work. She makes a good living doing what this woman does, only better. She has been nationally published and her work is displayed internationally. I have listened to her rage about this travesty. Here are the comments that are suitable for printing.

First, who says you don't have to conduct yourself like any other professional if you are a professional artist? Aquilar made several mistakes on a piece that was quite expensive She was paid $226 per square foot for the piece, which is good compensation for relief sculpture.

When a client commissions a sculpture from my wife, she assumes she needs to do some research. She would be mortified if she had a large commission with such glaring errors, especially taking into account the fact that the client is dedicated to education and literacy. The "artist" should fix these errors at her own expense and apologize.

Artists who get these public commissions seem to be great at politics and marketing, but when it comes time to defend their work, they are suddenly allowed to be space cadets. Wrong. They must be professional in all aspects.

I would like to steer you to her site if it did not cross the line into the appearances of advertising.

[orangelobster]

You are assuming that this was a mistake. I think her work has a primitive style to it. She says that it is inspired by Blake. I think misspellings are fine in that context.

Besides that you are also assuming that there is a correct spelling of Shakespere. Here is an excerpt from an online grammar encyclopedia -

Spelling Variations
Background:

In most cases, if you turn back the clock less than a century, you will find at least one, perhaps more examples of a spelling change in a surname.

Many illustrious people frequently spelled their name in various ways including William Shakespeare who spelled his name Shakespeare, Shakespere, Shakespear, Shakspere and Shaxspere. Over the centuries names have changed greatly.

[orangelobster]

Seeing that prior to the 20th Century people often spelled their names in various ways I think the real problem here is this councilwoman Lorraine Dietrich and the tighta**ed librarians in California.

The artist and her work should have been left alone.

P.S. your wife also does excellent work.

[ExtremeUnction]

"The people that are into humanities, and are into Blake's concept of enlightenment, they are not looking at the words," she said. "In their mind the words register correctly."

So, if we are not supposed to be looking at words when we study her "art", why the hell did she put words into it? I mean, give me a break. Get on a plane, study a dictionary, learn the language, and fix it. If I was your 4th grade teacher, you'd get a D-.