Fade to White

Lili Ann and a lesson in gentrification:

This is the "Lili Ann" Mural by Jesus 'Chuy' Campusano. In 1986 it was commissioned by the city of San Francisco as the first abstract community mural officially approved by Office of Community Development. In 1998 it was whitewashed by the building's new owners to make way for advertising space. Recently, those owners were fined $200,000 for destroying the work of art, but after years of legal haggling the whitewash has bonded to the mural and it will never be restored.

I remember when Lili Ann was painted. My brother and I would go past it in my dad's truck and try to find the hidden pictures (as five-years-olds, we weren't too familiar with the concept of abstract). Can you see the snail eyes, the ying yang and the knight's helmet? Well, neither can I anymore.

Don't forget this.
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