Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

The death of an arts scene?

For almost two years, the naked woman sat placidly before a silhouette of the Las Vegas Strip - a flower between her legs, wings extending from her back and the words "The Birth of An Arts Scene" painted below her.

The mural at the corner of Casino Center Boulevard and Colorado Avenue was how one-named artist Dray saw the area when he first moved into the dilapidated cottages and threw himself into the Las Vegas Arts District.

The artist cottages, an extension of a scene that had begun years earlier at the Arts Factory, became a focal point of the First Friday Street Fair outside the Funk House.

But developers eyed the land under the cottages for a condo tower. As the land switched owners three times, property values soared from six figures to seven.

Still, the artists continued to renovate the cottage interiors and mark their territory. They fought against the development and believed the cottages would be saved as artists' studios. Dray said he expected all eight apartments in the four cottages to someday be leased to artists.

Then he got a five-day eviction notice. Outraged, the artist painted over all of his three murals, including "The Birth of An Arts Scene."

That shocked area residents who had embraced it as a symbol of the grass-roots arts effort in Las Vegas. The mural had been featured in travel books and national magazines. It had become a landmark.

"People come down and take pictures of the mural all the time," said Cindy Funkhouser, who owns the Funk House across the street from the cottage studio known as Dray's Place. "I'm sorry to see it go. A lot of people said that on First Friday."

Though he knew the inevitable was going to happen, Dray said he was still upset over the eviction of the four residents, including artist Christine Wetzel, who held her last show at this month's First Friday event.

Wetzel had been paying rent on her cottage. Neither Dray nor his neighbor, Sidney Waithe, has paid rent for the past year. Dray said that he had bartered for the rent and that the owners said they could stay until construction on the high-rise condo tower began.

Ken Miller of Sun Development, which has 10 percent of the project planned for the corner, said the artists could have stayed on the property rent-free for several months, but that the owners grew tired of the artists' "shenanigans" in attacking their development plans.

The free rent, Miller said, was a result of the poor conditions of the cottages. At one point Dray had mushrooms growing out of the wall because of a leaky swamp cooler.

Dray hasn't lived at the cottages since January, though he's been working at his studio there. He lives with his girlfriend and shares gallery space with Jennifer Main at the Arts Factory.

Miller said he intended to work with the city on preserving the "Birth of an Arts Scene" mural.

Nobody talked to him about preserving the mural, Dray said.

"I just felt like I didn't want to give them my art, especially given what's happened."

Miller had mixed feelings about the lost mural.

"The only redeemable characteristic of the property is gone," he said. "It's a shame. It really is a shame.

"And they're not harming us. In reality, do you know how much money he saved us?"

Battered bin Laden

Elvis impersonator Jesse Garon opened the Art Bar at 1511 S. Main St. as a hip way to bring art to the trendy younger crowds and give exposure to local artists. Perhaps the mix of alcohol and controversial art meant that it was inevitable that something crazy would happen.

Painter Michael Kruis learned this the hard way when his satirical painting, "Bert & Bin 2008," was slashed at the bar earlier this month.

The painting pairs Bert of "Sesame Street" fame and Osama bin Laden as running mates in the 2008 election, satirizing a popular e-mail image sent around after 9/11.

The $400 painting was only on the wall for a day before someone slashed several times across bin Laden's portrait. To save face, the artist duct-taped the painting from the back, rehung the work and attached an angry letter to the "idiot" who missed the point of the piece.

"I took it personally," Kruis said. "I don't know if they think they're getting back at bin Laden, but they're terrorizing an individual."

Although the damage is difficult to see from afar, Kruis said the duct tape will eventually give way and the slashes will unravel across bin Laden's face. He considered stitching the torn canvas.

"Then there will be a scar across it," he said, with a soft laugh.

Garon said this was the first time any art was attacked in his bar. He doesn't know which patron lashed out at the painting, but he said, "It couldn't have been one of our more intelligent customers because they would have kind of gotten it."

Kruis said: "I'm not defending or glorifying bin Laden. I am making fun of him. It is a story within a story within a political flier that is intentionally confusing. I didn't know anyone would attack the painting. Obviously I am making fun of bin Laden. It was obviously silly. I mean, Bert's right next to him."

First Friday report

There are no surprises in Las Vegas' report on First Friday, which was released this month.

But it came during a contentious week in the Arts District with gallery owners accusing the city of "guerrilla tactics" and barking about licensing laws.

The report, paid for with a $6,000 grant from Nevada Arts Council, is the city's reaction to the growth of the monthly arts festival that many locals say is getting out of hand. The city partners with Whirlygig, the event's nonprofit producer, to carry out the 12 events each year and contributes $100,000 annually.

The report was prepared by Reno resident Karen Craig, who attended a First Friday event and spent two days with gallery owners, city representatives and artists. She concluded that the event needs to be professionalized by using private funds and hiring a professional director for Whirlygig. The need for more galleries in the area and "better art" in the current galleries was also mentioned in the report.

Enforcers from the city's Finance and Business Services Department stopped in at several galleries at this month's event to see if owners had business licenses.

Michael Griesgraber, who owns MGriesgraber in the Holsum Lofts, did not and was cited. Griesgraber said he considers his space to be a working studio rather than a business, even though his work is for sale at the gallery. He says he rarely sells work and opens the gallery on First Friday just to participate in the event.

"It got me wondering, 'Why do I let all the people wander through here?' " Griesgraber said.

Griesgraber says he has sold just two paintings in six months and that he shouldn't have to pay for a business license. To make a statement, he says he will charge admission to his gallery during September's First Friday event.

The incident follows recent complaints by gallery owners upset that the city is enforcing alcohol laws at the monthly event.

Nancy Deaner, city cultural affairs manager, said "It's not a mom-and-pop festival anymore. There are growth issues trying to be addressed by the city. There are more marshals at the event, but there are no strong-arm tactics."

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