Miffed artist doesn't want to correct misspellings

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | October 9, 2004 | Leslie Fulbright

[Cincinatus' Wife]

.....Fed up, Alquilar said Friday that she was reconsidering her decision to correct her work because the people of Livermore had been so mean.

"If I come out, there will probably be a demonstration," she said. "There is so much anger. I am so upset, I can't even think straight."

Alquilar will wait for the issue to die down before she makes a firm decision, but she said she would prefer that the city just tear up the piece, which measures 16 feet in diameter and includes 175 historical names and cultural words.

"I will consent if the city wants to pay to have it removed," she said.

City officials, who paid $40,000 for the mosaic, said they hoped Alquilar would correct the mistakes but had not received an answer.

"She indicated that she is not sure if she wants to come back," said Assistant City Manager Jim Piper. .....

The city has not decided what to do if Alquilar, who lives in Miami, refuses to return,...

In the meantime, Alquilar has closed her gallery and says she plans to cancel an upcoming show because of the furor.

"My career in public art is over," said the artist, who has created murals at Valley Medical Center in San Jose, the Water and Sewer Administration in Sacramento and Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz.

In 1990, the U.S. General Service Administration gave Alquilar an award for her mural at the border crossing in San Luis, Ariz.

Livermore officials selected Alquilar in 2000 to create a mosaic at the entrance to Livermore's new library. It shows a tree of life in its center surrounded by icons representing science, art literature and history. Officials attending the library's opening in May noticed that 10 names and one word on the piece were misspelled. ...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Irked by `hate mail,'

artist won't fix typos

The Miami artist who misspelled the names of famous people in world history on a large ceramic mosaic outside a new California library can spell one word with ease: N-O.

That's Maria Alquilar's new position on fixing the typos.

She had planned to fly to Livermore and put the missing ''n'' back in Einstein and remove the extra ''a'' in Michelangelo, among other fixes. But after receiving a barrage of what she called ''vile hate mail,'' Alquilar said Livermore is off her travel itinerary and there'll be no changes by her artistic hand.

''No, I will not return to Livermore for any reason,'' Alquilar, of Miami, told The Associated Press in an e-mail. ``There seems to be so much hatred within certain people. They continuously look for a scapegoat. I guess I am the sacrificial goat.''

She previously told officials in Livermore, about 40 miles east of San Francisco, that she would fix the 11 misspellings. She asked for $6,000 plus travel expenses to correct the work they paid her $40,000 to create. The City Council, faced with the embarrassing prospect of leaving the typo-strewn work in front of its spanking new library, had voted 3-2 to approve the expenditure.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/9874206.htm

[Cincinatus' Wife]

A misspelled William Shakespeare is shown on the ceramic ground mural at the entrance to the Livermore Library in Livermore, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2004. The city of Livermore paid $40,000 for the artwork by Maria Alquilar, but it included the misspellings of Vincent Van Gogh, Michelangelo, Shakespeare and Einstein among the 175 names on the tiles. This week Livermore offered Alquilar another $6,000 plus expenses to fly from her Miami home just to straighten out the artistic oops. (AP Photo/JeffChiu)

[Cincinatus' Wife]

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

[mewzilla]

Paint it over.

[csvset]

I can't even think straight.

She can't spell worth a damn either.

[Novel]

She getting paid to fix her own errors? I think I'll get into public art. I misspell all the time. I'd love to get paid for it.

[raybbr]

"I just wasn't that concerned," she said. "None of us are particularly good spellers anymore because of computers. When you are in a studio full of clay, you don't give it much thought.

"When you look at Michelangelo's David, do you point out that one (testicle) is lower than the other?"

Actually that's a true reflection of life. Something this artist apparently is not able to comprehend.

[sirchtruth]

Could it be this "Artist" has stolen my cretive spelling dict and returned it unoticed as I can plainly see it sitting on my desk??

Wait a minute, I noticed some "A's" and "N's" are missing!!

[DB]

She should be sued to either perform the work she agreed to perform or refund the money plus damages.

What a flake.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The city debated leaving the misspelled names and creating a game where visitors try to find them -- an idea that angered Alquilar.

LOL

[I still care]

Heck the misspellings look fine to me. I'd leave them in. Frankly, I think she has a nerve to ask an extra $6000 to fix her own mistakes. Maybe travel expenses, yes, but if she can't spell, that's her problem to fix.

I have a feeling it's not the spelling, it's that people don't LIKE it. Actually, the materials alone are probably pretty expensive - mosiacs can cost a lot to produce. Most people don't understand how expensive art materials are.

[DB]

I'd bet good money she doesn't even use a computer.

[L.N. Smithee]

"When you look at Michelangelo's David, do you point out that one (testicle) is lower than the other?"

Actually, I am gratified that while David has a lean, muscular body -- something I no longer have -- I at least have him beat in that region.

[mgpilot]

This story is so full of political correctness it isn't even funny. One point - I'll bet California wouldn't have even considered an artist names 'Jones' for this contract.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Check post #10.

There is just no pleasing this artist.

It seems they're bending over backwards (in their own stupid way) to forgive her and smooth over the mess. I bet the city is catching a lot of heat on this. $40K for the work and now $6K more to fix the spelling!!? Outrageous!

[L.N. Smithee]

I'd bet good money she doesn't even use a computer.

Actually, she has two. One is a McIntosh and the other is a Del.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

This story is so full of political correctness it isn't even funny. ....

Bump!

[rawhide]

I guess the woman is mad, but I cannot figure out why the city has to pay another $6,000 plus expenses to this woman to fix the problem she, and only she, is responsible for. I think she is ripping off the taxpayers in this city, and I, if I lived there would also be mad at her, and also I would be mad at my government for agreeing to her extortion demands.
With being said, she is getting all this free publicity, and Livermore is probably getting more traffic to this mural because of it. I say leave it like it is, and both parties will prosper.

[L.N. Smithee]

She mistakenly calls herself an "artist." She forgot the "F."

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I have a feeling it will be fixed or removed.

The town will be a laughing stock for buying such "art" and the city fathers will be punished for their embarrassment.