Art and Ads

* Re “But Is It Art?” Feb. 17, and “Now, a Mural From Our Sponsor,” Feb. 23.

By the L.A. city sign ordinance’s restrictive definition, a wall mural is not a billboard. With words allowed on only 3% of the total copy, the function of a mural is clearly defined by its form. From the T. Rex above the Hollywood Freeway, to the portrait of the L.A. Chamber Orchestra next to the 110 Freeway downtown, to the Jeep rough-riding the daily commute out of the city on the 10, the ordinance allows for murals. As such, they transform the buildings they are integral to and the area they are situated near into arenas of public art.

Your editorial asks, “When is art really advertising?” The truth is that art itself is “really advertising.” Among other common goals, art and advertising both seek to persuade, to inspire, to affect--in short, to communicate. As such, it is not and should not be the purvey of a commission of citizens appointed by the mayor to censor the content of murals, nor to determine whether an image--commercially sponsored or not--is “art.”

DASH STOLARZ,

Public Affairs Representative,

Eller Media Co.

Los Angeles