Spring Break
Georgia Theatre renovations 'ruin' mural
Issue date: 6/26/08 Section: Variety
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Although I am sure the fan on the inside is great for keeping everyone nice and cool during sweaty shows and the back murals are awesome, my question is: What happened to the murals on the side of the building facing The Globe and Clayton Street? No one in Athens, a town that supposedly supports the arts, seems to notice or care.
I can tell you what happened to the mural - it was painted over and then accompanied by a smug "How Do Ya Like Me Now?" message on the marquee in an attempt to make the "building look better," Georgia Theatre employee Scott Orvold said. The Georgia Theatre painted over a mural that has been a part of downtown for as long as anyone can remember.
Apparently, the building's image was sullied by the old mural - a tombstone and poem dedicated to a deceased individual. The stick figures were deemed too rudimentary and the piece was "not very attractive," Orvold said.
I ask, what would have happened when people who found the Lascaux caves in France decided the horses and bulls were too rudimentary to be important? They could have just torn them down and maybe built a lovely condominium there - kind of like what the Georgia Theatre did to the mural. But if those caves would have been torn down or painted over, art would have lost an important part of its history, just as Athens has now lost an important part of its history.
The renovations were not a direct attempt to paint over the mural, according to Orvold. I'm sure there were no Georgia Theatre employees on the sidelines with noisemakers and painted chests yelling, "Yeah, ruin that mural. Show it who's boss!" But it was not an accident. A bucket of paint did not spill on the mural by mistake. Every stroke that covered up that mural was painted by someone, and it was intentional. It was painted over because none of the employees "knew what it was" and it "didn't make much sense to anyone," Orvold said.
My mistake, I wasn't aware the Georgia Theatre employees were all professional art critics.
- Courtney Smith is a staff writer for The Red & Black.
Viewing Comments 1 - 9 of 10
kell
posted 6/26/08 @ 9:53 AM EST
Actually the overdramatic "as long as anyone can remember" and comparison to Lascaux are a bit much. The real history of the GA. Theatre is lost on most that enter its confines. (Continued…)
Wilmot
posted 6/26/08 @ 11:24 AM EST
The mural was painted in 1999. The building had not been painted in at least 50 years. It was time to paint the building (way past due actually), and the mural had to be painted over. (Continued…)
a
posted 6/26/08 @ 12:57 PM EST
courtney, this is one of the most terribly misinformed and short-sided pieces i've ever seen.
touche, wilmot.
Some people live here
posted 6/26/08 @ 2:07 PM EST
"as long as anyone can remember"??????
I remember it clearly. Courtney, please enjoy your four year stay in Athens.
Michelle
posted 6/26/08 @ 3:10 PM EST
This is absolutely absurd. Let's find the artist who created the mural and see if he/she would dare compare the work to something like the Lascaux caves. (Continued…)
Bud Fox
posted 6/26/08 @ 4:01 PM EST
I for one see the hard work that Wilmot Greene puts into the Georgia Theater on a weekly basis. Mr. Greene has tried to make the Georgia Theater a place that we all should be proud of. (Continued…)
Hailey and Amber
posted 6/26/08 @ 4:18 PM EST
The only problem with Wilmot is that he'll steal your girlfriend. Or he'll take you on two dates and never call again. Thanks, Wilmot. You made us gain 30 pounds. (Continued…)
Shawna
posted 6/27/08 @ 5:13 PM EST
Courtney,
I am not sure if you have ever been to the GA Theatre, but most of the employees are musicians or artists of some form. The Theatre gives many artists the opportunity to do live paintings with many of the musicians that play at the Theatre. (Continued…)
Hunter
posted 7/01/08 @ 2:21 PM EST
Ms. Courtney,
I'm a sound engineer at the Georgia Theatre. Does having an M.A. in English count as being an "art critic"? That mural, though I'm sure created in love, was as poor in art as your article is poor in journalism. (Continued…)
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