Posted on 10/09/2004 10:30:13 AM PDT by MikalM
The artist who created the now-infamous Livermore library mosaic that contains 11 misspellings says she no longer wants to fix it because of the "nasty messages from people who don't understand art."
Maria Alquilar, who complained that her name, too, was often misspelled, said she had been overwhelmed by dozens of phone calls and more than 1,000 e- mails since her errors -- from "Eistein" to "Shakespere" to "Michaelangelo" -- were widely publicized.
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. "We will get her final decision next week."
The city has not decided what to do if Alquilar, who lives in Miami, refuses to return, but officials are evaluating their options....
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
And they wonder why some sensetive artists only accept what is due them if it comes from the National Endowment for the Arts. With NEA money, an artists doesn't have to be good, original or talented, only hate America and be willing to steal taxpayer money.
Get Tom Wolfe's THE PAINTED WORD.
Me, too. Spelling was always one of my favorite subjects in elementary school. I guess I got that from my mother who was one of the best spellers in her school. They had many spelling bees and she was one of the last standing every time.
Well, it's a great library (I live in Livemore) except for the fact that it's filled with junior high schoolers now playing video games on the dozens of new computers in it. It's more like an arcade than a library.
But I suppose lots of brand new libraries are like that these days. . .
And didn't I read the majority liberal council approved more money to fix it instead of suing the artist to correct her mistakes?
"Hooked on Phonics" it werked for me.
but what about "Eistein"?
"If you are serious about your post, you should try hanging out on some other website where Ebonics and taxpayer funded sh***y art is appreciated."
If you are serious about your scatalogical post, you should recognize that personal attacks on apolitical artists is not in the spirit of free expression. I don't think this woman has a political agenda here. I think there are a lot of people here that have a problem with the NEA and the idea of publicly funded art and are using this woman as a scapegoat. I simply think the hysteria is misplaced. If people have a problem with publicly funded art they should take it up with the city council and the NEA directly instead of harassing this woman with e-mail.
i love her logic:
1. she is well-educated and not dyslexic
2. none of us spell very well anymore because of computers.
i think the first statement might be incorrect, and the 2nd statement is a rationalization.
"but what about "Eistein"?"
O.K. you may have a point about Eistein. Still, the level of hysteria is bizarre. It's not like the woman is John Kerry in heels.
eye feel wee shud hab kompasun fer tha talunted graduiate ub tha piblik screwl sistem,
"Many illustrious people frequently spelled their name in various ways including William Shakespeare who spelled his name Shakespeare, Shakespere, Shakespear, Shakspere and Shaxspere."
So wright you are. In my own ancestry, in one family the father and his two sons spelt their surname three distict personal ways (Scots-Irish).
Starrat
Starratt
Starritt
My own great-grandfather is the source for my surname. In his lifetime he spelled it three ways (Swedish).
Andreasson
Andersson
Anderson
Reasons for spelling differences abound: Many people couldn't read and write, immigration, change of customs, etc.
No justifiable reason to be hard on this woman, who is apparently a legitimate artiste.
"2. none of us spell very well anymore because of computers."
You're assessment maybe correct if you are addressing the students of the "flower power" generation and their children. But for my generation, it was a requirement that you knew how to spell, do arithmetic manually and parse sentences correctly before being advanced to the next grade. Just because Johnny was 16 and still in fifth grade did not cut it. In other words, he was not advanced until he got it right
George Bush obviously has problems with speaking in a grammatically correct way. If you look at a transcript of the debate his words and sentences probably look fractured and don't follow a strict rules.
I'm not voting for him for his strict adherence to grammar rules, but rather the content of his ideas. Kerry speaks in a rigid, grammitically correct way, but his ideas are hollow. Maybe some of the grammar police here should switch sides and vote Kerry.
the computer things was the artist's excuse for her bad spelling.
i was paraphrasing what she said.
my impression is that she just isn't very bright, is a bad speller, and doesn't even realize that it is a problem to mispell "Einstein" on a library mural.
Understood. Thanks.
What a coincidence!
This is precisely the overwhelming consensus of people who have seen the product of this hack "self-proclaimed" artist who would starve were it not for welfare for delusional wannabe artists.
Not only incompetent, but delusional.
The city needs her permission??
I'm sure she's quite proud of her real-life resume, and would be delighted to have it posted next to her Livermore installation.
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