Word: mural
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...Though the mural was begun nearly 40 years ago, this week's installation is the first time the work has been seen by the public. A colorful 30-m long painting of 14 panels, Myth of Tomorrow is a remarkable window into the early vision of Okamoto, who died 12 years ago. The struggle of its recovery and restoration over the past two decades is just as memorable. The painting was commissioned for the lobby of a luxury hotel in Mexico City in 1968, but financial problems halted the hotel project, and the finished mural was never displayed. Sometime during...
...that more freely. When Myth of Tomorrow was commissioned, his secretary and life partner, Toshiko Okamoto, questioned his decision to represent such destructive imagery. "He told her, 'Because it is Mexico, this will work,' " says Akiomi Hirano, Toshiko's nephew and the producer of the Shibuya mural project for the Taro Okamoto Memorial Foundation. The Mexican hotel developer who commissioned the mural, Manuel Suarez, immediately took to the concept. "Taro wanted the Japanese to surmount the misery of the past rather than to retract inwardly - to blossom outward and look ahead. That was a radical concept...
...mysterious guerrilla prankster has responded to the council's decision. "I don't know what next door is complaining about - their building is so ugly the 'No Trespassing' sign reads like an insult," the statement reads, referring to Royal Mail, a tenant of the building that has sought the mural's removal. In light of several other recent controversies over Banksy's outdoor works, this removal is further indication of the challenges that can arise when a famous artist uses private property as his canvas. (See pictures of Banksy...
...There is currently a dispute over who owns the wall: Royal Mail, which wants the mural removed, or the property investment firm Searchgrade, which filed papers to keep the mural, claiming it's an advertisement, according to councilor David Boothroyd, who served on the planning committee that decided the mural should go. The council denied Searchgrade's request and is working to determine the wall's true owner. If it turns out to be Searchgrade, the company may appeal the decision and, ultimately, the mural could stay. Boothroyd guesses that the process will take a few more months...
...work stays, there's a chance the wall's owners could profit in more ways than one. For starters, Banksy murals bring foot traffic. Crowds of admirers and photographers have invaded the Westminster block since the mural appeared in April. But not everyone likes the attention. According to Boothroyd, the crowds are Royal Mail's main complaint, as they block the mail vans from coming in and out of the parking...