Duluth mural source of controversy

Evidently one man's art is another man's "inner city crap."

[image]

Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com

Christa Lawler of the Duluth News Tribune reports work has been stalled on a mural in Cascade Park titled "Unity in Community" because, well, the community doesn't think it's very pretty.

"It's the same kind of things that they arrest people for," said Dan Williams, who owns rental property across the street from Cascade Park where work on the mural began last week. "It's graffiti. It's not a craft. It's not art. If it was a mural of quality I wouldn't say anything about it."

"It's going to affect my property value," Williams goes on to say later in the article. "It's going to look like inner-city crap."

According to Lawler's story, the mural - painted mostly by children - is based on a similar technique employed by St. Paul artist Ta-Coumba Aiken, who painted a mural in the student union at the College of St. Scholastica this winter.

The mayor has called a meeting with folks on both sides of the debate to determine whether the project should move forward, or be painted over.

My colleague Bob Collins is taking votes on whether or not the unfinished mural is art. What do you think?

• After five years, State of the Arts comes to a close
• Park Square’s second stage to open Friday
• Most critics find ‘Romeo and Juliet’ a dreamy delight