Mural debate reignites as Korean-American coalition launches new campaign
LOS ANGELES - The debate over a school mural in Koreatown has pitted community members who called the work racist against anti-censorship artists and free speech advocates. Now a new and surprising voice has entered the fray: a coalition of artists, curators and local museum staffers advocating for the mural to be removed or substantially altered.
The mural by Beau Stanton at the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools complex depicts the face of Ava Gardner, who frequented the Cocoanut Grove nightclub that once stood on the Wilshire Boulevard site. But the orange-red and blue rays fanned out around her face, critics said, evoke the World War II-era imperial Japanese battle flag. The imagery is offensive to some Koreans and Korean-Americans who live or work nearby, critics have said.
The Los Angeles Unified School District agreed in early December to erase the mural. The school district then reversed its position after fierce pushback from artists, arts
