WTF Files: War on L.A. River Graffiti Funded by Federal Stimulus
BJD Resourcing was awarded $837,000 in Recovery Act funds to rid the L.A. River Basin of its graffiti. Seen here, BJD's Sullas Dorsey buffs L.A. graffiti writer Saber's famed masterpiece.
Last month, during California’s desperate attempt to close its $24-billion dollar budget gap, countless programs were thinned out or altogether slashed. Among the mind-numbing list of cuts, however, was a dramatic reduction in state spending for textbooks — a decision that automatically puts kids in California schools at an educational disadvantage. Here’s what the Los Angeles Times reports:
The state Board of Education won’t approve new books for kindergarten through eighth grade until January 2016 at the earliest, and districts have postponed approvals of new high school books as well. A state requirement that districts purchase books within two years of adoption has been waived until 2013.
The reasoning behind the decision, it sounds, is survival based:
Additionally, state funding previously earmarked solely for textbooks — nearly $334 million this year — can now be spent by school districts for other needs over the next four years, providing flexibility that educators say is essential at a time of severe budget reductions. (via Los Angeles Times)
In contrast to California’s vanishing textbook funds, BJD Resourcing — a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers subcontractor — was awarded $837,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to rid the L.A. River Basin of its graffiti. Now it’s obvious these two examples are completely unrelated. But they beg the question of priorities in budget spending. Sure, buffing the L.A. River Basin has afforded BJD Resourcing the luxury of hiring new staff (eight people according to Jeff Vaughn, BJD’s project manager) and ticking down the unemployment rate by some finite percentage. But given L.A.’s reputation as home to some of the world’s most prolific graffiti artists, the freshly painted walls will no doubt be crushed with new tags and pieces in no time. Which makes you wonder: Why spend the money in the first place?
Author’s note: During its stimulus-funded clean up, BJD Resourcing painted over legendary graffiti artist Saber’s famed L.A. River Basin Masterpiece, which held a prominent place in American/world history as a Guinness Book World Record holder for largest graffiti piece ever painted. (I know, “Boo hoo,” said the graffiti-hating masses, but we can have the art vs. crime conversation another day.) See before/after images below.
Saber piece before the buff (Image via Known Gallery).
Saber piece after the buff (Image via Known Gallery).
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This is all about priorities.
The federal government prefers to spend money erasing an illegal piece of art, which could be recreated in that same spot, with little cost to the artist, and arguable harm to the community, instead of spending money supporting better education, which will have long-term results, and help the entire economy, not just the immediate area. The jobs created by that money could easily have spent to enable better jobs for today’s youth tomorrow. What a waste. And yes, I feel graffiti is art.
Matt, why the change in the name of this blog??
That’s my reason for drawing the comparison. It just seems ridiculous to me that stimulus funding is being used for a project like this. But it also shows the bloated nature of government, something we all know. The crazy part about the L.A. River Basin cleanup is that the painted over graffiti just looks bad. If they would have sandblasted it off, at least it would be back to concrete. Whether you love or hate graff, how is this end result any better looking?
Re: blog name change… I’m shifting my focus from solely mental health issues, so I wanted a more distinct name. It’s also part of a new, larger project I’m working on.
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What a waste of money during times of scarce resources; the graffiti should be appreciated for adding interest and beauty to a stark landscape. I love reading your posts and hope you are doing well.
What makes even less sense is that this particular piece of graffiti has been in the L.A. River Basin for at least a decade. Why clean it up now? Why earmark nearly $1 million in stimulus funding? If you read through this site, it gets even more frustrating… http://www.recovery.gov/
BTW – Thanks for the kind comments. I’m flattered to hear you love the posts. Also, I’m doing well, thanks.
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They’re taking down the MTA graffiti tomorrow. http://tinyurl.com/yafrvvt