As a first step towards a lawsuit, artist Kent Twitchell filed a claim today against the U.S. Department of Labor in connection with his painted over "Ed Ruscha" mural in downtown Los Angeles (see earlier posts here, here, and here). According to the Los Angeles Times, he's seeking damages of $5.5 million. The Times also reports that in the past few days two other Los Angeles murals were partly painted over, "an apparent error by a Caltrans work crew cleaning up graffiti." A Caltrans spokeswoman says the paint will be removed next week and that, because they were covered by a protective coating, "the removal process will not affect the artwork."
UPDATE: This week's LA Downtown News has more here and here.
